complete verse (1 Samuel 31:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 31:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “The next day, the Philistines went and removed the weapons and all the clothes of the dead bodies that they could use. Then, they found the corpse of Saul and those of his three sons in the hill of Gilboa.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The day after the battle the Philistines came to take the things that were on the corpses and they found that Saul and his three sons had died on Mount Gilboa.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The next day after the fighting/battle, the Filistinhon went to the Mountain/Hill of Gilboa to-take the weapons-of-war of the dead. They saw/found there the corpse/dead-body of Saul and his three children/(sons).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The next day, when the Philistines came to take away the weapons of the dead Israeli soldiers, they found the bodies of Saul and his three sons on Gilboa Mountain.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Samuel 31:8

On the morrow: in the preceding verse the action is interrupted to state that the Philistine soldiers occupied various Israelite towns. The time indicated by the noun morrow is the day after the battle described in verses 1-6.

To strip the slain: the slain is literally “the pierced” (see verse 1). Some languages will have specific words for dead bodies, such as “corpses” (see also verses 10 and 12). New Century Version may be a helpful model: “to take all the valuable things from the dead soldiers.”

Instead of fallen it may be clearer in certain languages to say “lying dead” (Contemporary English Version). Good News Translation and Bible en français courant speak of the dead “bodies” of Saul and his sons.

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 .