11Then he brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, and gave him the covenant; they proclaimed him king, and Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and they shouted, “Long live the king!”
The Hebrew and Aramaic that is translated in English as “long live” or “live forever” and the Greek that is translated as “Hail” in English is translated in Mandarin Chinese as wànsuì (万岁 / 萬歲) or “(may you live) 10,000 years” which was used to hail Chinese emperors and, more recently, the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong (Máo Zhǔxí Wànsuì [毛主席万岁] or “May Chairman Mao live for ten thousand years!”).
Likewise it is also used in these verses in other East Asian languages, including Japanese with ban zai (ばんざい / 万歳), Korean with man se (만세), Vietnamese with vạn tuế or muôn tuổi, or Mongolian with mandtugai (мандтугай). (Note that Mongolian does not use that term for the New Testament renderings.) (Source: Zetzsche)
For more information on this phrase, see 10,000 years .
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “covenant” or similar in English, is translated in Kim as maktub wak-tuli or “sweet-mouth book” when it refers to the book of the covenant. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
The different Hebrew and Greek terms that are translated as “(olive) oil” and “(animal) fat” in English are translated in Kwere with only one term: mavuta. (Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Chronicles 23:11:
Kupsabiny: “Then the son of the king was led out from the House of God and was dressed in a hat of rulership. Then, he was given the laws of God. Then he was anointed with olive oil. All the people praised (him) saying, ‘Long live the king!’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Jehoiada and his sons brought out the king’s son and put a crown [on him]. Then, giving him the testimony tablet, they made him king. Then Jehoiada and his sons anointed him. Then, seeing this, all the people cried out in a loud voice, "May the king live forever."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Then Jehoyada and his children brought-out Joash the child of the king and crowned (him). He gave him a copy of the laws/[lit. what-is-to-be-followed] concerning the ruling/reigning of the king, and he proclaimed him king. He rubbed with him oil to show that he is the king, and then the people shouted, ‘Long-live the king!’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Then Jehoiada and his sons brought Joash out. They put a crown on his head and gave him a scroll on which were written the rules that the kings needed to obey, and proclaimed that he was now the king. They anointed him with olive oil and shouted, ‘We hope that the king will live for many years!’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, 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.”
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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 to do this is through the usage of appropriate suffix title referred to as keishō (敬称) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017 by using –sama. Here, ō-sama (王様) “king” is a combination of the nominal title ō “king” and the suffix title –sama.
Then he brought out the king’s son: Then correctly renders the common Hebrew conjunction as a temporal connector, but some versions leave it untranslated (so Contemporary English Version, New International Version). Instead of the singular pronoun he, the Hebrew text has the plural pronoun “they” (God’s Word, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The use of the singular pronoun in the parallel text of 2 Kgs 11.12 may explain why some versions have the it here (so Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version), but this is not recommended. Since the end of the verse refers to Jehoiada and his sons, some versions believe the plural pronoun refers to “Jehoiada and his sons” (Contemporary English Version, New International Version), but others take it as indefinite. The king’s son refers to King Ahaziah’s son Joash (see verse 3), so some languages may prefer to say “the king’s son Joash” or simply “Joash” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation) for clarity.
And put the crown upon him: The use of the definite article with crown may suggest that this was the same crown used to symbolize the sovereignty of previous rulers of Judah, but it does not necessarily imply that this was a particular crown. In languages that have a special verb for the coronation of a king, it is appropriate to use it here.
And gave him the testimony: In this context the Hebrew word translated testimony apparently refers to the set of rules and regulations under which the kings of Judah operated, understood as a covenant between God and the king (see 1 Chr 29.19). In some versions it is called “a copy of the covenant” (New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible), “the document of the covenant” (Bible en français courant), or simply “the covenant” (New Revised Standard Version). This document may have included regulations like those outlined in Deut 17.14-20, so Good News Translation says “a copy of the laws governing kingship,” and Contemporary English Version is similar with “a copy of the instructions for ruling the nation.” Other interpreters note that 2 Sam 1.10 refers to a crown and a bracelet worn by King Saul. Based on this passage in 2 Samuel, some interpreters add one consonant to the beginning of the Hebrew noun for testimony to create the word meaning “bracelets” (La Bible Pléiade, La Sainte Bible: La version Etablie par les moines de Maredsous; similarly An American Translation, Moffatt). We do not recommend making this change to the text.
And they proclaimed him king: The pronoun they may refer to Jehoiada and his sons or to the people in general.
And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him: For anointed see the comments on 1 Chr 11.3. Anointed him may be rendered “poured [olive] oil on his head” (Bible en français courant; similarly New Century Version).
And they said: The parallel text of 2 Kgs 11.12 adds “and they clapped their hands” before this clause, but this is not a part of the Chronicler’s report and should not be added. The pronoun they probably refers to all the people, so Good News Translation says “everyone,” and Contemporary English Version has “the crowd.”
Long live the king is literally “Let the king live.” The people expressed their loyalty to King Joash by saying this. If the direct quotation is a problem, the meaning may be expressed by saying “they gave a great shout wishing long life to the king” or “they proclaimed their loyalty to the king.”
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 .
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