The Hebrew, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “soul” in English is translated in Chol with a term that refers to the invisible aspects of human beings (source: Robert Bascom), in Yagaria with oune or “shadow, reflection” (source: Renck, p. 81), and in Elhomwe as “heart” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
The Mandarin Chineselínghún (靈魂 / 灵魂), literally “spirit-soul,” is often used for “soul” (along with xīn [心] or “heart”). This is a term that was adopted from Buddhist sources into early Catholic writings and later also by Protestant translators. (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 32, see also Clara Ho-yan Chan in this article )
In Chichewa, moyo means both “soul” and “life.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 11:37:
Kupsabiny: “So, I will make you Jeroboam to become ruler of upper Israel, and you shall rule the way you wish.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “And I will choose you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires. You will be the King of Israel.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “If concerning you, I will- make you king of Israel. You will-rule-over all that you want.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “I will enable you to become the king of Israel, and you will rule over all the territory that you want to.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
I will take you: God had already chosen Jeroboam. The essence of what he says here is that Jeroboam would now be placed in the position of leadership for which he had been selected. Revised English Bible says “I shall appoint you.” The second person singular pronoun, you, is given a prominent place in Hebrew for the sake of emphasis. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible attempts to reflect this by translating “You yourself, I will take you.” Similarly, Bible en français courant says “With regard to you, Jeroboam, I will….” Revised Standard Version gives a literal translation of the Hebrew verb for take, but such a literal rendering is not idiomatic English. God is not going to take Jeroboam anywhere. The Hebrew verb is used here in the sense of “take [you] on [as king].”
Good News Translation reintroduces the name “Jeroboam” here in order to remind the reader to whom God is speaking (also Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie).
You shall reign over all that your soul desires: Nearly all translations understand this part of the verse to be saying that Jeroboam may rule over as much territory as he desires, and this seems to be the most natural reading of the Hebrew. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, however, translates this “reign wherever you wish” and says in a footnote that it means “establish your residence [wherever you wish].” The same expression occurs in 2 Sam 3.21 in Abner’s words to David. Regarding the meaning of the Hebrew noun rendered soul, see the comments on 1 Kgs 1.29. In 2 Sam 3.21 Revised Standard Version translates this same Hebrew noun as “heart.”
You shall be king over Israel: In this context Israel refers to the northern kingdom only and not to the united kingdom over which David and Solomon had reigned. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “You shall be king over the ten tribes of Israel” (similarly Bible en français courant). If the text is translated literally here, then it may be helpful to have a footnote such as that in Parole de Vie, which says “This refers here to the ten tribes of the North.”
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
11:37a But as for you, I will take you, and you shall reign over all that your heart desires,
“ ‘But as for you, I choose you (sing) to rule over all that you desire ⌊to rule⌋ -or-
“ ‘But you, ⌊Jeroboam,⌋ I shall appoint to rule over all the land that you (sing) wish. -or-
“But you, (sing) ⌊Jeroboam,⌋ you will rule over all the territory you want.
11:37b and you will be king over Israel.
and you (sing) will become the king of Israel. -or-
You (sing) will reign over ⌊the land of⌋ Israel. -or-
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