medium

The Hebrew that is translated as “medium” in English is translated in Basa as “the people of the grave” (source: Rob Koops) and in Newari as “a person who knowingly becomes possessed” (source: Newari Back-Translation).

spiritualist

The Hebrew that is translated as “spiritualist” (or: spiritist”) or similar in English is translated in Newari as “one who does the work of a Jhākri ” (source: Newari Back-Translation).

Saul

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)


“Saul” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about King Saul (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Saul .

complete verse (1 Samuel 28:9)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 28:9:

  • Kupsabiny: “When that woman was told like that, she replied that, ‘Do you know that king Saul chased away all the sorcerers and wizards out of Israel. Why are you deceiving me to be killed?’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “But the woman said to him, ‘What, you (sing.) want me to-die/to-be-killed? Surely you (sing.) know what Saul has-done. He has-expelled/driven-out from Israel all the spiritists who talk-together with the ghost/spirit of the dead. So no-longer place my life in jeopardy.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “But the woman replied, ‘You surely know what Saul has done. He expelled from this land all the people who talk to spirits of dead people and all fortune-tellers. I think that you are trying to trap me, in order that I will be executed for doing something that is not permitted.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

know (Japanese honorifics)

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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God or a person or persons to be greatly honored, the honorific prefix go- (御 or ご) can be used, as in go-zonji (ご存じ), a combination of “know” (zonji) and the honorific prefix go-.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on 1 Samuel 28:9

In some languages it will be appropriate to introduce the quotation with a contrasting conjunction, since the woman’s response shows reluctance to do what had been requested of her. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, An American Translation, and New American Bible, for example, begin the verse with “But.”

The woman’s statement that Saul has driven the mediums and the wizards out of Israel was anticipated in verse 3. She is afraid that if she does as her disguised visitor requests, she will be killed, since the king had forbidden people to consult the spirits of the dead. The verb cut off is the same as that in 2.33. As noted there, it is sometimes difficult to know whether this verb means “to kill” or “to separate or expel from the community.” Good News Translation (also Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) has chosen the meaning “to expel” in this context. Similar are New American Bible (“in driving the mediums and fortune-tellers out of the land”) and New Jerusalem Bible (“has outlawed … from the country”). Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente similarly says “he has prohibited the practice … in all the country.” The meaning “to kill” is not probable here.

The mediums and the wizards: see the comments on verse 3 above.

The land: here, as in verse 3, the land refers to the land of Israel.

Laying a snare for my life to bring about my death: this wording may prove difficult to render literally in some cases. The woman is asking why her visitor wants to catch her in an activity which she is convinced will bring about her death. In some languages the question format may also have to be transformed to a more categorical statement: “You are trying to trap me and get me killed” (New Century Version).

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 .