The Hebrew that is translated as “Saul has killed his thousands; and David his tens of thousands” or similar in English is translated in Falam Chin as “Saul killed by the hundreds, David killed by the thousands.”
“While translating the book of 1 Samuel, we came across a number of verses (18:7; 21:11; 29:5) where people sang praises to David for his skill in killing the Philistines. The people sang: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.’ I asked myself: Did the people of Israel actually count the bodies killed by Saul (thousands) and by David (ten thousands) at every place where battles had taken place? It was very doubtful to me that they did it. It seemed more likely that they sang this song with a figurative meaning: that is, David had killed ten times more than Saul had, without any thought for the exact numbers. Being figurative it was not necessary that we translate the verse literally; adjustment could be made if necessary without being unfaithful to the text. Compelling us in this direction was also the fact that in the Falam language it would be unnatural to translate the above song literally. It would be funny to sing it. So we changed it to read ‘hundreds’ and ‘thousands’:
“(English equivalent):
‘Saul killed by the hundreds,
David killed by the thousands.’
“Fortunately there is even an internal rhyme in this verse in Falam. And the figurative meaning of David killing ‘ten times’ more than Saul did is kept. This, in my view, is an acceptable translation in spite of the adjustment made. The principle of making an appropriate adjustment in figurative language without being unfaithful to the text seems to be true in this case also.”
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)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 18:7:
Kupsabiny: “They were singing that, ‘Saul has killed many people, but David, he has killed countless!’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Rejoicing, the girls sang songs like this, "Saul has killed thousands, And David has killed thousands and thousands.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “This was their song: ‘Saul has-killed a thousand, but David on-the-other-hand ten thousand.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “As they danced, they sang this song to each other: ‘Saul has killed 1,000 enemy soldiers, But David has killed 10,000 of them.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Many languages use a “body part tally system” where body parts function as numerals (see body part tally systems with a description). One such language is Angguruk Yali which uses a system that ends at the number 27. To circumvent this limitation, the Angguruk Yali translators adopted a strategy where a large number is first indicated with an approximation via the traditional system, followed by the exact number according to Arabic numerals. For example, where in 2 Samuel 6:1 it says “thirty thousand” in the English translation, the Angguruk Yali says teng-teng angge 30.000 or “so many rounds [following the body part tally system] 30,000,” likewise, in Acts 27:37 where the number “two hundred seventy-six” is used, the Angguruk Yali translation says teng-teng angge 276 or “so many rounds 276,” or in John 6:10 teng-teng angge 5.000 for “five thousand.”
This strategy is used in all the verses referenced here.
Sang to one another: some understand this verb to mean that the women sang to one another (Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, and Revised English Bible), but others, to mean simply that they sang (Good News Translation, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New American Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible). The latter seems preferable.
As they made merry: that is, “as they rejoiced.” This represents the same verb that is translated “made sport” in the story of Samson (Judges 16.25, 27) and “play” in 2 Sam 2.14.
The words of this song are repeated in 21.11 and 29.5. The conjunction waw (and [David]) connects what is said about Saul to what is said about David. Were the singers intending to contrast what Saul and David had accomplished (“but”), or were they simply stating what both had done (and)? Either is possible, but at least some sense of contrast or addition seems intended.
In addition to Good News Translation, the following versions mark that contrast with the conjunction “but”: Revised English Bible, New Century Version, and An American Translation. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Bible en français courant, Moffatt, and Knox omit the conjunction altogether. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch also uses a conjunction marking contrast. Curiously, New American Bible has “and” in this case but uses the contrasting conjunction “but” in 21.11 and 29.5. Translators are, however, advised to be consistent whichever solution is adopted.
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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