Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 6:13:
Kupsabiny: “I will live in this house and live/stay together with these people of Israel without abandoning them.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Then I will live in the midst of Israel, and I will never abandon my people Israel."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “‘If you obey my regulations and commands, I will- also -fulfill through you what I had-promised David your father. I will-live among my people Israelinhon in this temple that you are-building and I will- not -abandon them.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “I will live among the Israeli people, in this temple, and I will never abandon them.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
I will dwell among the children of Israel: Good News Translation makes explicit what is only implicit in Hebrew, that is, that God will dwell among the Israelites “in this Temple” (also Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). 1 Kgs 9.3 states explicitly that God will dwell in the Temple. An alternative rendering for this clause is “Here I will live among my people Israel.”
The children of Israel (see the comments on this expression in verse 1, where it is rendered “the people of Israel”) and my people Israel refer to the same people, not to children and adults.
And will not forsake my people: The Hebrew verb rendered forsake means “to leave,” “to give [someone] up,” “to abandon” (so Good News Translation). The Hebrew says only that God will not abandon his people. In the context, however, God’s promise is unconditional as long as Solomon continues to obey God. For this reason many translations say “I will never abandon/forsake…” (Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie).
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 .
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