You son of a rebellious woman

The Hebrew in 1 Samuel 20:30 that is translated often very carefully in English as “You son of a rebellious woman” or the like is translated is some common language translations from around the world much more directly. Indonesian Bahasa Indonesia Masa Kini: Anak haram jadah! or “You bastard!”, German Gute Nachricht Bibel: Du Bastard! or “You bastard!”, or Mandarin Chinese Today’s Chinese Version: Nǐ zhè chùshēng (你這畜生!) or “You beast!” (this is also used in Yue Chinese (Cantonese)). (See also Translation commentary on 1 Samuel 20:30)

anger

Click here to view graphically

The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated as “anger” or similar in English in this verse is translated with a variety of solutions (Bratcher / Nida says: “Since anger has so many manifestations and seems to affect so many aspects of personality, it is not strange that expressions used to describe this emotional response are so varied”).

  • Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “be warm inside”
  • Mende: “have a cut heart”
  • Mískito: “have a split heart”
  • Tzotzil: “have a hot heart”
  • Mossi: “a swollen heart”
  • Western Kanjobal: “fire of the viscera”
  • San Blas Kuna: “pain in the heart”
  • Chimborazo Highland Quichua: “not with good eye”
  • Chichewa: “have a burning heart” (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation) (see also anger burned in him)
  • Citak: two different terms, one meaning “angry” and one meaning “offended,” both are actually descriptions of facial expressions. The former can be represented by an angry stretching of the eyes or by an angry frown. The latter is similarly expressed by an offended type of frown with one’s head lowered. (Source: Graham Ogden)

In Akan, a number of metaphors are used, most importantly abufuo, lit. “weedy chest” (the chest is seen as a container that contains the heart but can also metaphorically be filled with other fluids etc.), but also abufuhyeε lit. “hot/burning weedy chest” and anibereε, lit. “reddened eyes.” (Source: Gladys Nyarko Ansah in Kövecses / Benczes / Szelid 2024, p. 21ff.)

See also God’s anger and angry.

self-referencing pronoun for king or queen

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.)

complete verse (1 Samuel 20:30)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 20:30:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then Saul was angry with Jonathan and told him that, ‘You son of a bad woman who bypasses issues, I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse. When you are doing like that, you are shaming yourself and also shaming your mother.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Hearing this Saul flew into a rage with Jonathan and said, "Idiot, you are the son of a useless woman. I know that you have been taking sides with Jesse’s son. In this way you have dishonored yourself and the mother who gave you birth.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Saul (was) very angry at Jonatan. He said, ‘You (sing.) (are) a stupid and perverse child! I know that you (sing.) (are) have-sided-with David. You (sing.) just put- yourself and your (sing.) mother -to-shame.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Saul was furious/very angry with Jonathan. He yelled at him, ‘You stupid bastard ! I know that you are being loyal to that son of Jesse. By doing that, you will bring shame to yourself and to your mother.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

2nd person pronoun with low register (Japanese)

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 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. )

See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.

Translation commentary on 1 Samuel 20:30

Saul’s anger was kindled: on this expression to describe personal rage, see the comments at 17.28.

You son of a perverse, rebellious woman: this is a difficult expression in Hebrew. Perverse: the Hebrew verb in this form means “agitated” or “disturbed.” Rebellious is literally “rebellion.” New Jerusalem Bible clearly captures the negative connotations: “Son of a rebellious slut!” See also Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente “[You] Bastard!” While these versions take this rebuke as a reflection on Jonathan’s mother, Contemporary English Version focuses on Jonathan himself and translates “You’re no son of mine, you traitor!” The Dead Sea Scrolls and one ancient version have “you’re just like a runaway slave girl.”

The question do I not know…? is a rhetorical question. It is a strong statement that Saul knows quite well that Jonathan is in league with David. So this question will be more naturally translated in many languages as a statement (so Good News Translation, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

Have chosen: the Septuagint says “are a partner [or, companion] of.” Revised English Bible, following the Septuagint, says “you have made a friend of the son of Jesse.” Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {C} rating to the Masoretic Text, but the difference in sense between “to have chosen David” and “to have become a friend of David” is negligible for translation purposes.

The son of Jesse: see the comments on verse 27.

The shame of your mother’s nakedness: Revised English Bible says “to bring dishonour on your mother.” Contemporary English Version translates “your own mother should be ashamed that you were ever born.”

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 .