17Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go; why should I kill you?’ ”
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)
In Malay, the pronoun beta for the royal “I” (or “my” or “me”) that is used by royals when speaking to people of lower rank, subordinates or commoners to refer to themselves in these verses. This reflects the “language of the court because the monarchy and sultanate in Malaysia are still alive and well. All oral and printed literature (including newspapers and magazines) preserve and glorify the language of the court. Considering that the language of the court is part of the Malaysian language, court language is used sparingly where appropriate, specifically with texts relating to palace life.” (Source: Daud Soesilo in The Bible Translator 2025, p. 263ff.)
The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “enemy” or “foe” in English is translated in the HausaCommon Language Bible as “friends of front,” i.e., the person standing opposite you in a battle. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
In North Alaskan Inupiatun it is translated with a term that implies that it’s not just someone who hates you, but one who wants to do you harm (Source: Robert Bascom), in Tarok as ukpa ìkum or “companion in war/fighting,” and in Ikwere as nye irno m or “person who hates me” (source for this and one above: Chuck and Karen Tessaro in this newsletter ).
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 19:17:
Kupsabiny: “Saul became very tough/fierce towards Michal and told her that, ‘Why did you lie to me that my enemy was there, and yet he has fled?’ Michal replied him that, ‘He told me that if I did not help him flee, he was going to kill me.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Saul said to Michal, "Why did you lie to me? Why did you let my enemy get away so easily? Michal replied, "He threatened, saying, If you do not send me off I will kill you."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Saul said to Mical, ‘Why have- you (sing.) -deceived me and let- my enemy -flee/get-away?’ Mical answered, ‘He said to me that he would-kill me if I would- not -help him to-escape/get-away/flee.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “When they reported that to Saul, Saul summoned Michal and said to her, ‘Why did you trick me like that? You allowed my enemy to escape!’ Michal replied to Saul, ‘David told me that if I did not help him escape, he would kill me!’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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 second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.
In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
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 third person singular and plural pronoun (“he,” “she,” “it” and their various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. While it’s not uncommon to avoid pronouns altogether in Japanese, there are is a range of third person pronouns that can be used. In these verses a number of them are used that pay particularly much respect to the referred person (or, in fact, God, as in Exodus 15:2), including kono kata (この方), sono kata (その方), and ano kata (あの方), meaning “this person,” “that person,” and “that person over there.”
The Hebrew text leaves certain information implicit. Since Saul was not with the messengers, it is most probable that he sent for Michal to come to him.
Escaped: see the comments on verse 10 above.
And Michal answered Saul: Good News Translation follows English style by not immediately repeating names. Good News Translation also changes direct discourse into indirect at the end of this verse. In Hebrew the words of David are a quotation within the larger quotation of Michal’s speech.
He said to me: in this context the verb said may be rendered “threatened” (see next paragraph).
Why should I kill you? This elliptical expression may need to be expanded in translation. Implicit in the question is the threat that David will kill Michal if she tries to prevent him from escaping. The words Let me go do not mean that Michal was holding David back with ropes or chains, or restraining him in some other physical way. Compare Revised English Bible (“He said to me, ‘Help me to escape or I shall kill you.’ ”) and New American Bible (“He threatened me, ‘Let me go or I will kill you’ ”). The implied threat should be translated in such a way as to indicate that this is what Michal said in response to Saul. But it does not necessarily mean that what she said is what actually happened.
The quote within a quote found in Revised Standard Version accurately reflects the form of the Hebrew but may be quite unnatural in other languages. Good News Translation provides a good model for making the embedded quotation into indirect discourse. Contemporary English Version and New Century Version handle the problem in a similar way.
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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