complete verse (1 Kings 13:15)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 13:15:

  • Kupsabiny: “The old man said to that man, ‘Come let us go home and you eat (with us).’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “‘Come home with me and have something to eat.’” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The old prophet said, ‘Come to the house and eat.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The old prophet said to him, ‘Come home with me and eat some food.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Japanese benefactives (tabete)

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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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.

Here, tabete (食べて) or “eat” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 13:15

He said to him: In order to keep the participants in the story straight, one or both of the pronouns may need to be translated as nouns or noun phrases. In this case it is the elderly prophet who is speaking to the man under the tree, who happens to be the prophet from Judah. Parole de Vie, for example, says “the old prophet said to him.”

Come home with me is literally “Come with me to the house” (see the comments on verse 7).

Eat bread: See the comments in verse 8 regarding the use of the Hebrew noun bread to mean “food” in general. For this reason New Revised Standard Version and La Bible Pléiade say “eat some food.” Revised English Bible simply omits the direct object and for the whole quotation says “Come home and eat with me.”

Again the direct quotation may be translated indirectly by saying “the old prophet invited the man under the tree to go home with him to eat together.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Kings 13:15

13:15 So the prophet said to the man of God, “Come home with me and eat some bread.”

So the ⌊old⌋ prophet said to him, “Come home and eat with me.”
-or-
Then the aged/elderly prophet invited him to go with him to his home ⌊in Bethel⌋. Then they could eat together.

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