וְאַתָּ֞ה אִם־תֵּלֵ֣ךְ לְפָנַ֗י כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר הָלַ֜ךְ דָּוִ֤ד אָבִ֨יךָ֙ בְּתָם־לֵבָ֣ב וּבְיֹ֔שֶׁר לַעֲשׂ֕וֹת כְּכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוִּיתִ֑יךָ חֻקַּ֥י וּמִשְׁפָּטַ֖י תִּשְׁמֹֽר׃
4As for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my ordinances,
The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “serve,” “minister,” “walk with,” or “service” is translated in Igede as myị ẹrụ or “agree with message (of the one you’re serving).” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
In Quetzaltepec Mixe, “serve” is translated as “obey.” (Source: Robert Bascom)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 9:4:
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.
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
See also pronoun for “God”.
The name that is transliterated as “David” in English means “beloved.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying king and a sling (referring to 1 Samuel 17:49 and 2 Samuel 5:4). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )
“Elizabeth” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España
In German Sign Language it is only the sling. (See here ).
“David” in German Sign Language (source )
For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .
The (Protestant) Mandarin Chinese transliteration of “David” is 大卫 (衛) / Dàwèi which carries an additional meaning of “Great Protector.”
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: David .
Verses 4-5 form a conditional sentence. Verse 4 expresses the conditions that Solomon must fulfill, and verse 5 states what God will do if Solomon does what is expected of him. Since this verse expresses several conditions, Good News Translation repeats the word “if.”
And as for you: This verse begins in Hebrew with the words “and you.” The pronoun gives extra emphasis, which is not preserved in Good News Translation. New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, New Living Translation, and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh express this emphasis by saying “As for you.” Revised English Bible keeps this nuance by saying “If you, for your part.” Compare also New Jerusalem Bible: “For your part, if you.”
If you will walk before me, as David … walked: Regarding the figurative use of the Hebrew verb “to walk,” see the comments on 1 Kgs 3.3.
Integrity of heart: The Hebrew noun rendered integrity comes from a root meaning “to be complete.” When the noun is used in an ethical sense, it means “to be perfect” or “to have integrity.” The heart was considered the center of one’s desires and intentions (see the comments on 1 Kgs 8.23). Some other possible translations of this expression are “fair” (New Century Version), “honest” (Contemporary English Version), and “sincerely” (New American Bible).
Uprightness: See the comments on this noun in 1 Kgs 3.6, where it occurs in the expression “uprightness of heart.” The two expressions integrity of heart and uprightness refer to essentially the same quality. But most translations try to find synonymous expressions, such as “fair and sincere” (New Century Version) or “honest and fair” (Contemporary English Version).
Statutes … ordinances: See the comments on these nouns in 1 Kgs 2.3.
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 .
9:4a And as for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, with a heart of integrity and uprightness,
“And you (sing), if you conduct yourself in my sight with a sincere heart/mind and in all truth/honesty, in the way that David your father did,
-or-
“You on your side must live/behave with complete/true sincerity. I am watching you. David your father lived/behaved in this way, and you must do the same.
9:4b doing all I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and ordinances,
and if you (sing) do all that I order you to do, obeying/keeping my decrees and laws,
-or-
You (sing) must obey my commands and follow all the different/various rules I give you.
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