mourn

The Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that is translated as “mourn” or similar in English is translated in Newari as “have one’s heart broken” or “have a bursting heart” (source: Newari Back Translation).

In Cherokee it is translated as “going around feeling badly” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 16).

complete verse (1 Kings 13:30)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 13:30:

  • Kupsabiny: “He buried the corpse in the cave/grave which was his own and he cried out in grief with his sons saying, ‘Oh, my brother, sorry, oh!’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “He put the corpse in his own grave, and speaking like this they felt heartbroken because he had died, "My dear younger brother!"” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “He buried him in the burial-place which he himself caused-to-make for himself, and they really mourned for his death. They cried out, ‘Aroy!/Aroy! Our brother.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “He buried the prophet’s corpse in the grave where other people in his family had been buried. Then he and his sons mourned for him, saying, ‘We are very sorry, my brother!’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 13:30

His own grave: The man’s grave was most likely a “family grave” (so Good News Translation). See the comments on “the tomb of your fathers” at verse 22.

They mourned: The pronoun they probably refers to the old prophet and his sons. Good News Translation makes this understanding explicit by saying “he and his sons.” But it is also possible to understand this pronoun as referring to “the people” in general, as Bible en français courant does.

Alas, my brother!: It is possible that these words were a set phrase used by those who mourned (see Jer 22.18, where the same words in Hebrew occur in the context of mourning, but Revised Standard Version says “Ah my brother!”). Some other possible translation models are “Oh no, my brother, my brother!” (God’s Word) and “Alas, my brother is dead!” (Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie). The word Alas is an interjection showing sympathy or pity. In some languages it may be translated “How sad” or “What misfortune” (Nouvelle Bible Segond). And some may prefer to render this direct quotation as indirect discourse. Contemporary English Version, for example, avoids the direct quotation altogether and says simply “cried for the prophet.”

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 13:30

13:30a Then he laid the body in his own tomb, and they lamented over him,

Then he buried the dead body in his own ⌊family⌋ grave, and they cried for him and said,
-or-
He buried the dead prophet in the tomb he had ready/prepared for himself. He and his ⌊family/household⌋ cried/grieved over the prophet.

13:30b “Oh, my brother!”

“Oh my brother, my brother! How sad!”
-or-
“Oh no, brother! What a tragedy!” they exclaimed.

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