11See, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the Lord; and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the governor of the house of Judah, in all the king’s matters; and the Levites will serve you as officers. Deal courageously, and may the Lord be with the good!”
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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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, tomo ni ite (ともにいて) or “be with” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, 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.”
And behold …: The Hebrew particle translated behold focuses the attention of the listeners on the final statement about the hierarchy involved in the decision-making process and the final exhortation at the end of the verse.
Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the governor of the house of Judah, in all the king’s matters: In the Hebrew text the longer forms of the names Amariah and Zebadiah are used here, which are “Amaryahu” and “Zebadyahu” (so La Bible Pléiade, Osty-Trinquet), but nearly all versions use the shorter forms.
The Hebrew phrase rendered the chief priest (literally “the head priest”) occurs several other times in 2 Chronicles (24.11; 26.20; 31.10). This priest was the leader of the other priests. Good News Translation says “the High Priest,” and New Century Version has “the leading priest.” In 2 Chr 34.9 the Hebrew expression translated “the high priest” is literally “the great priest,” but the meaning is the same as the chief priest here.
Is over you may be rendered “is your supervisor,” “has the final say” (similarly Contemporary English Version), or “is ultimately responsible.” This expression is also implied in the next clause that speaks of Zebadiah. If necessary, it may be repeated explicitly.
All matters of the LORD refers to religious matters, while all the king’s matters refers to civil matters (so Good News Translation, Moffatt, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). This distinction is found also in 1 Chr 26.30, 32 and Ezra 7.26. These two expressions may be rendered “all the affairs concerning God” and “all the affairs concerning the king.”
The governor of the house of Judah may be translated “the leader of the tribe of Judah” (New International Version, God’s Word; similarly New Living Translation, New Century Version, La Bible du Semeur) or simply “the leader of Judah.” The word house means “tribe” in this context.
And the Levites will serve you as officers is literally “and as officers the Levites before you.” The Hebrew noun translated officers may originally have meant “scribe” or “record keeper” (see the comments on 1 Chr 23.4). Therefore some versions say the Levites were “secretaries” (Nouvelle Bible Segond) or “scribes” (La Bible Pléiade). But the Hebrew noun is often used with no description of the duties involved, so a more general expression is recommended, such as “officials” (New American Bible), “officers of the court” (New Jerusalem Bible), or “administrators.”
Deal courageously (literally “Be strong and act”) is an exhortation to the newly appointed judges. This command is more accurately translated “Be strong and resolute” (Revised English Bible, Dillard) or “Act firmly” (New American Bible).
And may the LORD be with the upright!: Jehoshaphat concludes by expressing his deep desire that Yahweh would be present in the lives of righteous people. The upright is literally “the good” (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, Dillard), that is, “those who do well” (New International Version) or “those who do what is right” (New Living Translation, New Century Version).
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
19:11a Note that Amariah, the chief priest, will be over you in all that pertains to the LORD,
The high priest Amariah will supervise you(plur) in all matters concerning Yahweh. -or-
Amariah is the leader of the sacrificers. He will tell you what to do in all problems that deal with Yahweh’s law.
19:11b and Zebadiah son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah,
The leader of the clan of Judah, Zebadiah son of Ishmael, -or-
Zebadiah the son of Ishmael is the leader of the clan of Judah.
19:11c in all that pertains to the king.
will supervise you in all matters concerning the king. -or-
He will tell you what to do in anything that concerns the king.
19:11d And the Levites will serve as officers before you.
The Levites will be near you to serve as officers. -or-
The Levites will be your assistants.
19:11e Act resolutely;
Be(plur) brave, -or-
Be courageous as you do your work.
19:11f may the LORD be with the upright!”
and may Yahweh be with those who do what is right.” -or-
I pray that Yahweh will be with people who do the right thing.”
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