44At the seventh time he said, “Look, a little cloud no bigger than a person’s hand is rising out of the sea.” Then he said, “Go say to Ahab, ‘Harness your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’ ”
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)
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Ahab” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the signs for “king” + “jealous” referring to the story in 1 Kings 21. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 18:44:
Kupsabiny: “But/And at the seventh time, that servant came to say, ‘I see a small cloud like the palm of a hand which is climbing/moving up from the ocean over there.’ Then Elijah said to his servant, ‘Go and tell Ahab to hurry to enter his chariot and go home so that the rain that does not prevent/stop him.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “The seventh time, seeing something coming in the distance he spoke like this, "There is a cloud that looks as small as a man’s hand coming up out of the sea." Elijah said, "Go to Ahab and tell him, ‘Make your chariot ready and go back home before the rain comes and stops you.’"” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “On the seventh time that he returned, he said to Elias, ‘I saw a dark-cloud just as small as a palm of a man, that is rising-up from the ocean.’ So Elias said, ‘Go, and tell Ahab to ride on his chariot and go-home before the rain reaches him.’ [lit. go-home sa/(generic prep.) not yet he arrive/reach-upon by rain]” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “But when the servant went the seventh time, he came back and said, ‘I saw a very small cloud above the sea. As I extend my arm, the cloud is about the size of my hand/fist.’ Then Elijah shouted to him, ‘Go and tell King Ahab to get his chariot ready and go home immediately! If he does not do that, the rain will stop him!’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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)
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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, goran (ご覧) or “see/behold/look” (itself a combination of “behold/see” [ran] and the honorific prefix go- — see behold / look / see (Japanese honorifics)) 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).”
He said … he said …: The verb said occurs twice in this verse, with different subjects. At the beginning of the verse the servant is the subject of the verb, but Elijah is the subject of the second verb.
Behold, a little cloud: The Hebrew focusing particle translated Behold is ignored by many modern versions, but it serves to highlight the appearance of the small cloud after seeing nothing the previous times.
Like a man’s hand: The word rendered hand is the Hebrew word for “palm.” The Hebrew does not mean “in the shape of a human hand,” but rather it means “like the small size of a human hand.” But since Hebrew uses the word for “palm,” translators are not advised to follow New Century Version, which says “the size of a human fist” (similarly Contemporary English Version). There is, of course, no special emphasis on the fact that the comparison is made with the hand of a man rather than a woman. The idea is that the cloud was so small that it is compared to “a human hand” or “a person’s hand” (New Revised Standard Version).
Is rising out of the sea: While clouds may appear to come up out of the sea, this is not literally the case. If this is understood literally in a language, it may be better to say “is coming from the direction of the sea” or “is appearing over the sea.” Revised English Bible translates “coming up from the west.” As in the previous verse, the sea is the Mediterranean Sea.
Go up simply means “Go” in this context (so Good News Translation; see verses 41 and 43).
Prepare your chariot translates a single Hebrew verb meaning “Harness up” (New American Bible) or “Hitch up” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Anchor Bible) with the words your chariot only implied. But Revised Standard Version correctly conveys the essential meaning. For chariot see the comments on 1.5-6.
Go down means go down from Mount Carmel.
Lest the rain stop you: The meaning of this expression may be better given in a separate sentence as in New Living Translation, which reads “If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you” (similarly International Children’s Bible).
The words of Elijah to his servant contain an embedded quotation, which gives the words that the servant was to say to King Ahab. In order to avoid confusion in the receptor language, it may be advisable to change this into indirect speech as in Good News Translation. Another possible model is that of Contemporary English Version, which says “Elijah told him, ‘Tell Ahab to get his chariot ready and start home now. Otherwise, the rain will stop him.’ ”
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 .
After the seventh time, the servant said ⌊to Elijah⌋, -or-
And after he went/looked for the seventh time, the servant reported
18:44b “There is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising from the sea.”
“There! A small cloud, ⌊the size of⌋ a person’s hand, is coming/going up from the sea.” -or-
that he could see a small cloud. It was as small as the palm of a hand, and it was rising/lifting up from the sea.
18:44c And Elijah replied, “Go and tell Ahab,
So Elijah said, “Go (sing) and tell (sing) Ahab, -or-
Then Elijah said ⌊to his servant⌋, “Go (sing) ⌊to King Ahab⌋. Tell (sing) him
18:44d ‘Prepare your chariot
‘Prepare (sing) your chariot -or-
to get his horses and war-cart ready
18:44e and go down before the rain stops you.’”
and go (sing) ⌊back⌋ down ⌊now⌋ so that the rain will not stop you.’” -or-
and ride back ⌊to his home/palace⌋. ⌊If he waits/delays,⌋ the rain will prevent him ⌊from traveling⌋.”
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