complete verse (1 Kings 20:10)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 20:10:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then Ben-hadad sent this message to Ahab, ‘Let lightning strike me if I do not destroy the city of Samaria completely.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Then Ben-hadad sent another message to Ahab, "May the gods punish me severely if the dust that remains of Samaria is enough even to give a handful to each of my soldiers."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Ben Hadad again sent a message to Ahab, ‘May the gods punish me severely if I will- not completely -destroy Samaria. I will-make-sure that even dust nothing will-be-left that can-be-scooped-up-by-hand by my soldiers.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “In that message he said, ‘We will destroy your city completely, with the result that there will not be enough dust and rubble left for each of my soldiers to have one handful! I hope/wish that the gods will strike me dead if we do not do that!’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Honorary "rare" construct denoting God ("punish")

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, basse-rare-ru (罰せられる) or “punish” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 20:10

Ben-hadad sent to him and said: Verse 9 ends by stating that the messengers of Benhadad brought another message to Benhadad. This verse begins with Benhadad sending another message to Ahab. But according to Good News Translation, the same event is referred to at the end of verse 9 and at the beginning of this verse: Benhadad sending another message to Ahab. However, the meaning of the end of verse 9 and the beginning of verse 10 is correctly expressed in New Living Translation as follows: “So the messengers returned to Ben-hadad with the response. 10 Then Ben-hadad sent this message to Ahab.”

Sent to him and said may be translated “sent him a message saying” or “sent him the following message” (New Jerusalem Bible). Because this is not the first message sent by Benhadad to Ahab, some may find it more natural to say “Then Ben-Hadad sent another message to Ahab” (New Century Version).

The gods do so to me, and more also, if …: Regarding this oath, see Jezebel’s oath in 1 Kgs 19.2. New Jerusalem Bible says “May the gods bring unnameable ills on me and worse ills too, if….”

The dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me: The emphasis of what Benhadad says in the Hebrew here is slightly changed in the Good News Translation rendering. It is not simply that Benhadad will have enough men to carry off the rubble. Rather, Benhadad’s army will have so many men that all of the dust and rubble from the city would still not be enough for each Syrian soldier to have a handful, or the sense may be that Samaria will be so completely destroyed that there will not be enough dust for each soldier to carry off.

All the people who follow me is literally “all the people who [are] in/at my feet.” The Hebrew idiom “in my feet” means “to follow behind someone” (also used in 1 Sam 25.27). In this context the people who follow me may be rendered “the troops who are with me” (Nouvelle Bible Segond), “my fighting troops” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), or “my soldiers” (New Living Translation). Most versions, however, translate simply something like “all those who follow me.”

For Benhadad’s message to Ahab, compare the following two translations, which may serve as models:

• The gods do the same to me and more, if enough dust is left in Samaria to provide a handful for each of my men (Revised English Bible).

• The gods kill me and worse, if there is sufficient dust in Samaria for each of my followers to have a handful! (Moffatt).

In certain languages it will be more natural to restructure this verse in such a way that the oath comes at the end rather than the beginning. International Children’s Bible provides a possible model for this type of restructuring:

• I will completely destroy Samaria. There won’t be even enough left for each of my men to get a handful of dust. May the gods punish me terribly if I don’t do this!

Although the Hebrew text does not actually state that Benhadad plans to destroy the city of Samaria, International Children’s Bible makes this explicit, as does Good News Translation. Parole de Vie similarly says “I am going to completely destroy Samaria. There were not be left enough dust in the city to fill the hands of all my soldiers….” This information may be made explicit in other languages also.

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 .