complete verse (1 Samuel 12:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 12:6:

  • Kupsabiny: “Samuel continued saying that, ‘God is the one who chose Moses and Aaron and brought your grandfathers from the country of Egypt.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The LORD is the one who chose Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Then Samuel said, ‘The LORD is-the-one who chose/appointed Moises and Aaron to-become leaders/[lit. heads] of your (plur.) ancestors/[lit. old-ones], and he (is) the-one (who) brought- them -out of Egipto.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Samuel continued by saying, ‘Yahweh is the one who appointed Moses and Aaron to lead our ancestors. He is the one who brought them out of Egypt. And he is the one who will testify that what I am saying is true.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

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

Translation commentary on 1 Samuel 12:6

In view of the ongoing conversation between Samuel and the rest of the people of Israel, the verb said may be translated by a different verb (“proceeded”) or a different form of the verb (“went on to say”).

Hebrew lacks the words is witness, who. Many translations follow the Septuagint by including these words (Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible). Whether original or not, these additional words make explicit what is implicit in the sense of the Hebrew, and translators may therefore include these words.

The verb appointed translates a Hebrew verb that often means “to do” or “to make.” Fox says “It is YHWH who wrought-deeds with Moshe and with Aharon.” But in some contexts this verb means “to appoint [someone to be something].” According to Exo 6.26 the LORD appointed Moses and Aaron to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

Your fathers: the word fathers here is not to be taken literally but refers to forefathers going back many generations. Modern versions are therefore correct in translating “ancestors.” Samuel speaks to the people of Israel as one standing apart from them when he says your fathers. If the use of the pronoun your will lead the reader to believe that the ancestors in question were not the ancestors of Samuel but only those of the other Israelites, then it should be translated “our ancestors” (La Bible du Semeur).

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 .