In Malay, the pronoun beta for the royal “I” (or “my” or “me”) that is used by royals when speaking to people of lower rank, subordinates or commoners to refer to themselves in these verses. This reflects the “language of the court because the monarchy and sultanate in Malaysia are still alive and well. All oral and printed literature (including newspapers and magazines) preserve and glorify the language of the court. Considering that the language of the court is part of the Malaysian language, court language is used sparingly where appropriate, specifically with texts relating to palace life.” (Source: Daud Soesilo in The Bible Translator 2025, p. 263ff.)
complete verse (2 Chronicles 28:23)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Chronicles 28:23:
- Kupsabiny: “That king made sacrifices to the gods/idols of Damascus who had defeated him. Ahaz thought at that time saying, ‘Those gods helped the kings of Syria. So, I shall also make sacrifices to those gods so they can help me.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
- Newari: “He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus who defeated him, because he thought like this, "The gods of the kings of Aram helped them. So may they also help me! I will also offer sacrifices to them." But this was the reason for their ruin and [the ruin] of all Israel.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
- Hiligaynon: “He offered offerings to the gods of Damascus who defeated him. For he said, ‘The kings of Aram were-helped by their gods. So I will- also -offer to this gods so-that they will- also -help me.’ But this were the cause-of- his -downfall and the entire Israel.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- English: “He offered sacrifices to the gods that were worshiped in Damascus, whose army had defeated his army. He thought, ‘The gods that are worshiped by the kings of Syria have helped them, so I will offer sacrifices to those gods in order that they will help me.’ But worshiping those gods caused Ahaz and all of Israel to be ruined.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
king
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:
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- Piro: “a great one”
- Highland Totonac: “the big boss”
- Huichol: “the one who commanded” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
- Ekari: “the one who holds the country” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
- Una: weik sienyi: “big headman” (source: Kroneman 2004, p. 407)
- Pass Valley Yali: “Big Man” (source: Daud Soesilo)
- 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.”
(Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )
See also king (Japanese honorifics).
Translation commentary on 2 Chronicles 28:23
This verse begins with the common Hebrew conjunction. Although it is often translated “And,” Revised Standard Version renders it as For here. This makes good sense, because verse 23 explains how Ahaz became more unfaithful to God.
He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him: This sentence credits the Syrian defeat of Judah to the Syrian gods (see verse 5). Damascus was the capital of Syria and thus represents the whole country, so Good News Translation translates the gods of Damascus as “the gods of the Syrians.” Another possible model is “the gods worshiped by the Syrians.”
And said: The verb said may be understood to mean either “he said to some other people” or “he said to himself” (Contemporary English Version, La Bible du Semeur, La Bible Pléiade). The latter interpretation is more likely and may be expressed as “he thought” (New International Version, New Century Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy).
Because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them that they may help me: This direct quotation may be transformed into indirect discourse by saying “He reasoned within his own mind that since the Syrian gods helped the kings of Syria, he should also sacrifice to those gods so that they might help him also.”
But they were the ruin of him, and of all Israel is literally “And they were to him to cause him to stumble, and to all Israel.” This sentence may be expressed as “But they only made things worse for him and for all Israel” or “But in fact they caused his downfall and that of all Israel” (Revised English Bible). For Israel, which Contemporary English Version and New Living Translation render as “Judah,” see the comments on verse 19.
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 .
SIL Translator’s Notes on 2 Chronicles 28:23
28:23a Since Damascus had defeated him, he sacrificed to their gods
He made sacrifices to the gods of Damascus who had defeated him in battle.
-or-
He made sacrifices to the idols that the people of Damascus worshiped, thinking they had defeated him.
28:23b and said, “Because the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them,
He said to himself, “The kings of Aram are helped by their gods.
-or-
He thought it was the idols of Aram who had helped their kings ⌊to win the battle⌋.
28:23c I will sacrifice to them that they may help me.”
I will offer sacrifices to those gods so that they will help me.”
-or-
He thought that if he made sacrifices to them then they would help him.
28:23d But these gods were the downfall of Ahaz and of all Israel.
But worshiping those gods caused the ruin of Ahaz and of all the people of Judah.
-or-
But it was these very idols that caused his downfall and that of all his people.
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