17He said to him, “Do not be afraid, for the hand of my father Saul shall not find you; you shall be king over Israel, and I shall be second to you; my father Saul also knows that this is so.”
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 23:17:
Kupsabiny: “Don’t be scared! My father will never find you. You are the one going to be king of Israel and I will be the one to follow you (next in rank). My father also knows like that.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “He spoke like this, "Do not be afraid, my father Saul is not able to do you any harm. My father Saul also knows that you will be king of Israel and that, as for me, I will be under you."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Jonatan said, ‘[You (sing.)] do- not -be-afraid for my father can- not -touch you (sing.). My father himself knows that you (sing.) will-become king of Israel, and I will- only -be second to you (sing.).’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Jonathan told him, ‘Do not be afraid, because my father will not be able to harm you. Some day you will be the king of Israel, and I will be the second most important man in Israel. My father Saul also knows that.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
Depending on the pronoun reference system of the receptor language, it may be advisable to substitute a name for one of the pronouns at the beginning of this verse. New Century Version, for example, begins with “Jonathan told him.”
The hand of Saul … shall not find you: that is, Saul will not find David and will not be able to harm him. It will be quite unnatural in some languages to make the noun hand the subject of the verb find. La Bible du Semeur attempts to retain something of the metaphor by translating “My father will not succeed in putting a hand on you.”
Next to you: literally “second to you.” Revised English Bible says “I shall rank after you.” Fox translates “I will be your second-in-command.”
Good News Translation restructures the last half of this verse by moving the final clause (Saul my father also knows this) to a position before the explanation of what he knew. This may also be more natural in some other languages.
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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