27Those officials supplied provisions for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table, each one in his month; they let nothing be lacking.
The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is transliterated as “Solomon” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “wise” referring to 1 Kings 3:12. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 4:27:
Kupsabiny: “The leaders of provinces/regions would bring food to Solomon on the month allocated to them and to all the people who were in his home. Those people would bring those things and nothing would be lacking.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “His twelve District Officers, each in his monthly turn, managed the food needed for King Solomon and those with him to eat. They made sure that nothing was lacking.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The governors in the districts were the-(ones) who give the provisions of King Solomon and all who were there in the palace. Each one of them has a turn to give each month. They really make-sure that they could-give the needs of Solomon.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “His twelve governors supplied the food that King Solomon needed for himself and for all those who ate in the palace. Each governor supplied food for one month each year. They provided everything that Solomon required.” (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.”
Those officers are the twelve officers mentioned in verses 7-19. The same translation should be used here for officers as in verse 7. And it is probably a good idea to specify the number “twelve” as well (so Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie).
The words supplied provisions translates a single Hebrew verb, which is rendered “provided food” and “to make provision” in verse 7 (compare verse 22).
All who came to King Solomon’s table: See the discussion on “those who eat at your table” in 2.7.
Each one in his month is in the month during which each officer was responsible for providing food for the king’s palace (see verse 7).
They let nothing be lacking: This negative statement may be more naturally translated positively in a number of languages; for example, some may say “The governors made sure he had everything he needed” (New Century Version) or “they provided all the supplies that Solomon required.”
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 .
4:27a Each month the governors in turn provided food
Every month one of the governors/overseers gave/supplied food -or-
Each month the twelve men/officers in charge of the different regions took turns providing food
4:27b for King Solomon and all who came to his table.
for King Solomon and those who ate from his table/kitchen. -or-
for King Solomon and all his dependents.
4:27c They saw to it that nothing was lacking.
They made sure that nothing was missing/neglected. -or-
They gave him everything that he needed.
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