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 20:26:
Kupsabiny: “Saul did not say anything on that day, because he thought that, ‘Maybe something has happened which has made David to become unclean as stated by our laws which has prevented him from attending this celebration.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “But that day Saul did not say anything. He thought, "Surely, being ritually unclean he has not come, surely he must have become unclean."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Saul said nothing about/concerning David that day for he thought that maybe David had-done (something) to make- himself -unclean/[lit. to-make- himself -dirty], so he (is) not worthy to-participate in the feast.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “On that day, Saul did not say anything about David, because he was thinking, ‘Something must have happened that caused David to become unacceptable to worship God.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Yet: the common Hebrew conjunction here marks contrast, since it is somewhat unexpected that Saul would not say anything publicly about David’s absence.
He thought: literally “he said” (see the comments on 18.11). But the meaning here is certainly that this was something that Saul said to himself, since the first part of the verse says plainly that Saul did not say anything.
Something has befallen him: the thought is that whatever has happened to David must be something that was unplanned by David. New American Bible says “He must have become unclean by accident.”
He is not clean: the New Moon Festival was a regular part of the religious celebrations for the Israelites (see verse 5), and the Law of Moses required that those who participated be ritually clean or undefiled (Lev 7.20-21). One could become unclean for various reasons, including contact with a dead body or by having a wet dream during the night (Deut 23.10; laws concerning uncleanness are in Lev 11–15). Since many readers will not know about the law found in Lev 7.20-21, it may be helpful to follow the model of Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, “some inconvenience must have happened to David, and he must not be in a state of purity as required [by the Law]; certainly he is absent for that reason.”
Saul’s thoughts may be better rendered as indirect discourse in certain languages. In cases where this would be more appropriate, translators may consider the following model:
• Saul did not say anything that day because he was thinking that something had happened to David to make him ritually unfit to eat the sacred meal.
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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