5Now Adonijah son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king.” He prepared for himself chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
The Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated into English as “chariot” is translated into Anuak as “canoe pulled by horse.” “Canoe” is the general term for “vehicle” (source: Loren Bliese). Similarly it is translated in Lokạạ as ukwaa wạ nyanyang ntuuli or “canoe that is driven by horses.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
Other translations include:
Chichicapan Zapotec: “ox cart” (in Acts 8) (ox carts are common vehicles for travel) (source: Loren Bliese)
Chichimeca-Jonaz, it is translated as “little house with two feet pulled by two horses” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
HausaCommon Language Bible as keken-doki or “cart of donkey” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 1:5:
Kupsabiny: “David had a son who was called Adonijah, and the mother of Adonijah was called Haggith. This boy was following Absalom and had a handsome face/appearance. Then, this boy praised himself saying that he was the one fit to become king. Then he prepared carts to be pulled by horses and fifty men who would be running in front. His father did not rebuke him any single day saying, ‘What is this you are doing?’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Adonijah, son of King David, whose mother was Haggith proudly declared, ‘I will be king". So he made ready for himself chariots and horsemen and fifty men who would run in front of him.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Now, Adonia the child of David with Hagit boasted that he will-become king. So he prepared chariots/(carts) and horses and 50 men who were his bodyguard.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “After Absalom died, David’s oldest surviving son was Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith. He was a very handsome/good-looking man. But David had never rebuked him about anything he did. After Absalom died, Adonijah thought that he would become king. So he started to boast, saying ‘I will become king now.’ Then he provided for himself some chariots, and men to drive them, and horses to pull them, and 50 men to run as his bodyguards in front of those chariots wherever he went.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, 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.”
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.
1:5a At that time Adonijah, David’s son by Haggith, began to exalt himself, saying,
Then Adonijah, whose mother was ⌊a woman named⌋ Haggith, boldly declared, -or-
Adonijah the son of ⌊David and⌋ Haggith tried to take charge. He announced that
1:5b “I will be king!”
“I am the ⌊new⌋ king!” -or-
he would be the ⌊next⌋ king.
1:5c And he acquired chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run ahead of him.
He assembled some war chariots and horses, and also ⌊he ordered/hired⌋ fifty men to run in front of him ⌊as guards⌋. -or-
He ordered his men to prepare war carts/wagons and horses/cavalry. He also ordered fifty guards ⌊to accompany/escort him⌋ by running in front.
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