complete verse (1 Chronicles 12:34)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Chronicles 12:34:

  • Kupsabiny: “One thousand (1,000) leaders and thirty-seven thousand (37,000) soldiers who had shields and spears came from the clan of Naphtali.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “From the tribe of Naphtali came 1,000 officers and 37,000 soldiers bringing shields and spears.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “From the tribe of Naftali: 1,000 officers and 37,000 soldiers who were carrying shields and spears.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “There were 1,000 officers from the tribe of Naphtali. With them were 37,000 soldiers, each carrying shields and spears.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

large numbers in Angguruk Yali

Many languages use a “body part tally system” where body parts function as numerals (see body part tally systems with a description). One such language is Angguruk Yali which uses a system that ends at the number 27. To circumvent this limitation, the Angguruk Yali translators adopted a strategy where a large number is first indicated with an approximation via the traditional system, followed by the exact number according to Arabic numerals. For example, where in 2 Samuel 6:1 it says “thirty thousand” in the English translation, the Angguruk Yali says teng-teng angge 30.000 or “so many rounds [following the body part tally system] 30,000,” likewise, in Acts 27:37 where the number “two hundred seventy-six” is used, the Angguruk Yali translation says teng-teng angge 276 or “so many rounds 276,” or in John 6:10 teng-teng angge 5.000 for “five thousand.”

This strategy is used in all the verses referenced here.

Source: Lourens de Vries in The Bible Translator 1998, p. 409ff.

See also numbers in Ngalum and numbers in Kombai.

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Chronicles 12:34

12:34a From Naphtali: 1,000 commanders,

From the tribe of Naphtali, there were one thousand officers.
-or-
And there were one thousand (1,000) officers who came from Naphtali.

12:34b accompanied by 37,000 men with shield and spear.

They had thirty seven thousand men with them. These men carried shields and spears. (English Easy-to-Read Version)
-or-
They had thirty seven thousand (37,000) soldiers with them who carried shields and spears. (Easy English Bible)

© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.