complete verse (1 Samuel 4:16)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 4:16:

  • Kupsabiny: “That man told Eli that, ‘I am fleeing from the war zone.’ Eli asked him that, ‘My boy, what has happened?’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “That man said, "I have come running from the war. Today I have also come to your place." Eli asked, "hey what happened, my son?"” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “and said, ‘Just very recently I came-from the battle. I was-able-to-flee.’ Eli asked, ‘What happened, toto/(address to a young man)?’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The messenger said to Eli, ‘I have just come from where the armies were fighting. I left there earlier today.’ Eli asked, ‘What happened?’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Samuel 4:16

Because Eli was blind, the messenger had to identify himself verbally.

He who has come from the battle: the Septuagint says “he who has come from the camp,” and this is followed by New Jerusalem Bible and Osty-Trinquet. While the difference in meaning between these two readings is minimal, there is no good reason to abandon the Hebrew text at this point. Translators should therefore translate from the battle.

It may be wise to use the name “Eli” rather than the pronoun he in the last sentence of this verse, if the antecedent in unlikely to be clear in the receptor language. Eli addresses the messenger in terms of endearment as my son (compare 3.6, 16).

The direct quotations of this verse may be rendered as indirect discourse if it is more natural to do so in the receptor language. A possible model for this is as follows:

• The man told Eli that he had just come from the scene of the battle and that he had run all the way that day. So Eli asked him what had happened at the battle scene.

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 .