The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Saul” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign that depicts “sword in chest” (referring to 1 Samuel 31:4 and 1 Chronicles 10:4) and also “self-centered.” (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
The Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that is transliterated as “Samuel” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “listen” referring to 1 Samuel 3:10. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the inclusive pronoun, including everyone. They both also use the exclusive pronoun, excluding Samuel.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 11:12:
Kupsabiny: “After that, the people told Samuel that, ‘Where are those people who said that Saul cannot manage to rule? Those people deserve to be killed.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Who are the ones that said Saul should not reign over us? Deliver them into our hands to be killed.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “After the battle, the Israelinhon said to Samuel, ‘Who (were) those people who said Saul should not become our (incl.) king? Bring them here to us (excl.) for we (excl.) will-kill them.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Then the people of Jabesh said to Samuel, ‘Where are those men who said that they did not want Saul to be our king? Bring them here, and we will kill them!’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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 choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
Here, watashite (渡して) or “hand over” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
As in verse 9 above, this verse contains a quotation within a quotation. In some languages it may be more natural to change the second quotation into an indirect quotation. The problem is further complicated by the fact that the embedded quotation is a question. The overall sense of the whole quotation may be captured by saying something like “asked Samuel who were the people who had [earlier] questioned Saul’s ability to rule. They insisted that those men come forward so that they could kill them.”
Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ This almost certainly is an allusion to the people mentioned in 10.27.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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