The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 2:11:
Kupsabiny: “David ruled for forty years. He ruled in/from Hebron for seven years, and then he ruled in Jerusalem for thirty three years.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “He had reigned in Israel for forty years, having reigned in Hebron for seven years and in Jerusalem for thirty-three years.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “He had-reigned over Israel for a period/[lit. inside] a 40 years — 7 years in Hebron and 33 years in Jerusalem.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “David had been the king of Israel for 40 years: He ruled for seven years in Hebron and for 33 years in Jerusalem.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
This verse constitutes a kind of summary of the reign of David. Since it comes after the mention of David’s death, in some languages it will be especially important to ensure that the verb tenses are appropriate. Note that Good News Translation translates “had been king” and New Century Version says “had ruled.” Revised English Bible joins this with the previous verse, but begins with the verb form “having reigned.”
The length of David’s reign is also reported in 2 Sam 5.4-5 and 1 Chr 3.4. He probably began to reign about the year 1010 B.C. The number forty may be a round number, rather than a precise number, indicating that David reigned for a full generation. Other persons who are said to have reigned “forty years” include Othniel (Jdg 3.9-11), Gideon (Jdg 8.28), Eli (1 Sam 4.18), Solomon (1 Kgs 11.42), and Jehoash (2 Kgs 12.1). Even though this may be a standardized expression rather than an exact number of years, all translations consulted consistently say “forty years” in all of these verses rather than something like “a full generation.”
In certain languages it will be more natural to reorder the elements of this verse, giving the separate figures for Hebron and Jerusalem before mentioning the total number of years in David’s reign. A possible model for this is:
• He had ruled for seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem, a total of forty years as king of the people of Israel.
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 .
2:11a The length of David’s reign over Israel was forty years—
David had ruled over ⌊the land/people of⌋ Israel for forty years. -or-
For forty years he had been the king of Israel.
2:11b seven years in Hebron and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.
He had ruled in ⌊the town of⌋ Hebron for seven years and in ⌊the city of⌋ Jerusalem for thirty-three years. -or-
For seven years ⌊he had ruled⌋ from Hebron ⌊town⌋ and for thirty-three years ⌊he had ruled⌋ from Jerusalem.
2:11a-b (reordered)
David had ruled Israel for seven years in Hebron and then for thirty-three years in Jerusalem. His reign had lasted for ⌊a total of⌋ forty years.
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