complete verse (1 Samuel 30:20)

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

  • Kupsabiny: “David’s soldiers gathered all the sheep/goats and cattle and made those animals go in front. Those people were saying that, ‘We shall give these animals to David.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “David brought back the flocks of sheep and goats, cows and oxen, and his people drove the flocks of cattle along easily, saying, "This is the plunder that David has brought back."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “including all the sheep and cattle. While the men of David were-driving-off all the animals/livestock ahead of them, they were-saying, ‘This belongs-to David [linker]/as a reward/prize.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “They took with them the sheep and cattle that had been captured, and his men caused those animals to go in front of them, saying, ‘These are animals that we captured in the battle; they belong to David!’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

David

The name that is transliterated as “David” in English means “beloved.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying king and a sling (referring to 1 Samuel 17:49 and 2 Samuel 5:4). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


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

In German Sign Language it is only the sling. (See here ).


“David” in German Sign Language (source )

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

The (Protestant) Mandarin Chinese transliteration of “David” is 大卫 (衛) / Dàwèi which carries an additional meaning of “Great Protector.”

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

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: David .

Translation commentary on 1 Samuel 30:20

The verb translated captured (literally “took”) by Revised Standard Version is taken to mean “recovered” by Good News Translation (also Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Nueva Biblia Española), giving the impression that this was a matter of taking back livestock that had previously belonged to David and his men. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy says “all his sheep and cows.” Others, however, take this to refer to animals that had belonged to the Amalekites. Bible en français courant, for example, says quite clearly “he also took the herds of sheep and cattle of the Amalekites.” It seems logical that the Amalekites had taken spoils from places other than Ziklag during their raids, so this probably refers to animals in addition to those that had previously belonged to David and his men. So David’s personal reward for the successful campaign would have been all those other animals. See the comments on the New Revised Standard Version translation below on this verse.

Flocks and herds: the two Hebrew words refer to small animals (including sheep and goats) and to larger animals (such oxen and cattle). New Century Version says “all the sheep and cattle.” Other languages have general terms for small and large livestock that will be appropriate here. See also 2 Sam 12.2.

The people: as in verses 4 and 6 above, the word people refers specifically to the men who traveled with him.

As the footnotes in both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation indicate, the Hebrew text is unclear in the middle of this verse. It says “And they drove before that cattle.” Revised Standard Version (so also Revised English Bible, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, and Osty-Trinquet), following the Septuagint, makes one small change in the Hebrew to read that his men drove the cattle in front of David. Good News Translation corrects the text to say that the men drove the animals in front of themselves. It is possible, however, to make sense of the Hebrew without changing the text. New Revised Standard Version probably expresses correctly the intended meaning: “David also captured all the flocks and herds, which were driven ahead of the other cattle.”

This is David’s spoil: New Century Version says “They are David’s prize.”

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 .