11“I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not carried out my commands.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all night.
The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is translated as “(was or became) angry” in English is translated in Kwere as “saw anger.” In Kwere, emotions are always paired with sensory verbs (seeing or smelling or hearing). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
In Bariai it is “to have grumbling interiors” (source: Bariai Back Translation).
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “feel (terror, pain, suffering, anxiety, thirst)” or similar in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) in association with the verb kumva or “hear,” “as if the feeling is heard in the ear.”
In Psalm 115:7 the stand-alone “feel” is also translated as “hear.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “cried out the Lord (or: Lord)” in English is translated in Newari as “took the name of the Lord (or: Lord)” (source: Newari Back Translation).
The Hebrew in 1 Samuel 15:11 that is translated as “regret” or similar in English is translated in Vidunda as “have sadness.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
The name that is transliterated as “Samuel” in English means “heard of God,” “asked of God,” “offering of God,” “appointed by God.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 15:11:
Kupsabiny: “‘I am disappointed because I made Saul to be a king, now that he is not doing what I tell him to do.’ When Samuel heard like that, he was angry/sad and he cried to God throughout that day.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “I regret a lot for making Saul king, because he has gone far from me, and he has not obeyed my commands. Samuel was at a loss to know what to say [lit. "what to say what to say" happened to Samuel], and weeping all night he prayed to the LORD.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “‘I regret/am-sorry that I made Saul king, because he has-turned-away from me and he has- not -followed/obeyed my commands.’ When Samuel heard this, he (was) very troubled/disturbed, so he prayed to the LORD the whole/entire night.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “‘I am sorry that I appointed Saul to be your king, because he has turned away from me and has not obeyed what I commanded him to do.’ Samuel was very disturbed/upset when he heard that, and he cried out to Yahweh all that night.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, 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.”
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