complete verse (1 Kings 18:43)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 18:43:

  • Kupsabiny: “He said to his slave there, ‘Go over there and look in the distance towards the ocean.’ That slave went to look and came (back) saying, ‘But I see nothing.’ Elijah told him to do like that seven times.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “He said to his servant, "Go and look carefully towards the sea.
    "The servant went, looked carefully and said, "I don’t see anything."
    Then he said, "Go again!" He spoke to him seven times like this.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Then he said to his servant, ‘You go-up and look toward the sea.’ And the servant obeyed this.
    When- he -returned to Elias, he said, ‘I did- not -see anything.’ Seven times Elias said to him to go-back and look.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Then he said to his servant, ‘Go and look out toward the sea, to see if there are any rain clouds.’ So his servant went and looked, and came back and said, ‘I do not see anything.’ This happened six times.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 18:43

Go up now: Elijah had already gone to the top of Mount Carmel (verse 42) and now he tells his servant to go to the part of the mountaintop from which he can view the sea. Perhaps this is an instance where the verb Go up is used without any real sense of a change in elevation (see verse 41). The word now may translate the Hebrew particle of entreaty here (see the comments on 1 Kgs 1.12). God’s Word renders it “Please” and Nouvelle Bible Segond has “I beg you.”

Look toward the sea means that the servant was to look westward toward the Mediterranean Sea from where the west winds were blowing the rain clouds.

Go again seven times: These words may be taken entirely as a direct quotation, as in Revised Standard Version, or they may include the command “Go again,” which is followed by a shorthand indication that this action was repeated seven times (so De Vries). New International Version follows the second interpretation by translating the last sentence as “Seven times Elijah said, ‘Go back.’ ” This interpretation seems much more likely to be the intended meaning of the text. In fact, a number of modern versions avoid a direct quotation altogether at this point. Revised English Bible renders the whole obscure expression indirectly as follows: “Seven times Elijah ordered him back.” Good News Translation has “Seven times in all Elijah told him to go and look,” which seems to suggest that the servant went a total of seven times, but the sense seems to be that he went eight times. The number seven here symbolizes completeness.

At the end of this verse the Septuagint has the words “and the servant went again seven times.” It is possible that these words were accidentally omitted from the Hebrew, and a number of modern versions follow the Septuagint here (so Revised English Bible, Peregrino, La Bible Pléiade). Even if translators follow the shorter text of the Masoretic Text here, they may wish to add the words “and the servant went again seven times” for reasons of translation.

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 18:43

18:43a “Go and look toward the sea,” he said to his servant.

Elijah said to his servant, “Now go (sing) up and look out to the sea.”
-or-
Elijah told his servant to go and look toward the sea.

18:43b So the servant went and looked,

So his servant went up and looked.
-or-
The servant went to look.

18:43c and he said, “There is nothing there.”

Then he said, “Nothing is there.”
-or-

⌊When he returned,⌋ he said/reported that there was not anything there ⌊to see⌋.

18:43d Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

Seven times Elijah told him, “Please go (sing) ⌊and look⌋.”
-or-
Seven times Elijah sent him ⌊to check/look⌋.

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