11Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.”
“Sheep are known throughout most of the world, even though, as in Central Africa, they are a far cry from the fleecy wool-producing animals of colder climates. Where such animals are known, even by seemingly strange names, e.g. ‘cotton deer’ (Yucateco) or ‘woolly goat’ (Inupiaq), such names should be used. In some instances, one may wish to borrow a name and use a classifier, e.g. ‘an animal called sheep.’ In still other instances translators have used ‘animal which produces wool’, for though people are not acquainted with the animals they are familiar with wool.” (Source: Bratcher / Nida)
In Dëne Súline, it is usually translated as “an evil little caribou.” To avoid the negative connotation, a loan word from the neighboring South Slavey was used. (Source: NCEM, p. 70)
Note that the often-alleged Inuktitut translation of “sheep” with “seal” is an urban myth (source Nida 1947, p. 136).
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.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 16:11:
Kupsabiny: “Samuel asked Jesse that, ‘Are these all your sons?’ Jesse replied that, ‘There is the last born, but he is looking after sheep in the field.’ Samuel told Jesse that, ‘Send for him now to come. We shall not sit down until he has arrived here.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Then Samuel asked Jesse, "What, are these all your sons?" Then Jesse said, "There is still the youngest, but he has gone to graze the sheep." Samuel said to Jesse, "Summon him and bring him here. We will not sit down to offer sacrifices until he comes."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Then Samuel asked Jesse, ‘(Are) they your (sing.) only children/(sons)?’ Jesse replied, ‘There-is still, the youngest, but he is-watching-over/tending the sheep.’ Samuel said, ‘Send him here, for we (incl.) will- not -continue what we (incl.) is-to-be-done until he comes.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Then Samuel asked Jesse, ‘Do you have any other sons?’ Jesse replied, ‘My youngest son is not here; he is out in the fields taking care of the sheep.’ Samuel said, ‘Send someone to bring him here! We will not sit down to eat until he gets here.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The Hebrew text repeats the verb said three times in this verse, but the conversational nature of the text may make it necessary to use different words. For example, the translation may sound more natural if translators use more specific words like “asked,” “replied,” and “responded.” In many cases it will also be necessary to specify “Jesse” as the subject of this verb in the second occurrence, where the Hebrew has only the pronoun.
Send and fetch him: the verb Send will require an object in some languages. So translators may say “send some men” or “send messengers.” The verb fetch is rather old-fashioned American English, meaning to go somewhere to get something and bring it back to the original location. For this reason New Revised Standard Version replaces it with “bring.” In this case the unnamed agents were to go and find Jesse’s youngest son and bring him back to Samuel.
We will not sit down till he comes here: the verb rendered sit down is often translated “turn” or “go around.” The meaning here is most likely “go [or, sit] around the table.” A literal translation of the Hebrew may incorrectly suggest that they will not sit down to rest. It will be necessary in many languages to make explicit the reason for sitting down. Compare New American Bible (“we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here”) and New Jerusalem Bible (“for we shall not sit down to eat until he arrives”). See also New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, which is very similar to New Jerusalem Bible: “for we will not sit down to eat until he gets here.”
It is also possible that the intended sense is “we will not go around [parade around] the altar before he comes.” This is the meaning accepted by Good News Translation, which understands this to refer to beginning the rituals of the sacrifice. Klein avoids choosing between the two possible meanings, leaving the translation ambiguous: “for we will not go ahead [meaning, we will not begin] until he comes here.” It will be better, however, to choose one interpretation and make that meaning clear in the text, and then perhaps include the other in a note.
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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