Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Chronicles 5:3:
Kupsabiny: “Then all those people gathered in front of Solomon when it was the days of the Festival of Shelters in the seventh month.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “All the Israelite men gathered before the king at the time of the festival of Shelters which is celebrated in the seventh month.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “They all went to King Solomon at the time of the Feast of the Putting-up/[lit. Causing-to-Stand] of the shelters/huts, on the seventh month.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “So all the leaders of Israel gathered together along with the king, during the Festival of Living in Temporary Shelters, in October.” (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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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.”
And, which renders the common Hebrew conjunction, introduces the next event. The Israelite leaders came in response to Solomon’s summons, so New Living Translation renders it “So,” and Bible en français courant has “Then.” Like Good News Translation, most modern English versions omit it. Some, including New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, begin a new paragraph here.
All the men of Israel assembled before the king: Revised Standard Version gives a literal translation of the Hebrew here, but such a rendering may incorrectly suggest to the reader that all the men of Israel is an additional group beyond the groups mentioned in the previous verse. On the contrary, this verse simply tells when the leaders of Israel came together in Jerusalem. Therefore some versions substitute the pronoun “They” (referring to the leaders mentioned in verse 2) for all the men of Israel (so Good News Translation, New Living Translation). However, Bible en français courant indicates that all the men of Israel is in fact a different group from those listed in verse 2. Bible en français courant renders this whole verse as “Then all the Israelites gathered also for the feast of the seventh month.” This translation seems to indicate that the people as a whole gathered because of the festival, while the leaders gathered because Solomon had called them together.
Did Solomon call together men only? New Revised Standard Version and New Century Version say “all the Israelites” in order to avoid excluding women. However, Revised English Bible, which uses inclusive language when the translators believe that both sexes were intended by the biblical writers, says “All the men of Israel.” In this context Revised English Bible may be justified in keeping the word “men” in the translation since the Law required all Israelite males to go to Jerusalem for the Festival of Shelters (see Deut 16.16). Yet Deut 16 also indicates that the men will celebrate with both their sons and daughters and both their male and female slaves (Deut 16.11, 14). So either interpretation of this expression is possible.
Good News Translation omits the phrase before the king, but this detail should be kept in translation.
At the feast which is in the seventh month: The feast is the Festival of Shelters. See Lev 23.34-43 for the instructions regarding the observance of this festival. This festival was held at the time of the autumn harvest. In remembrance of the years long ago when their ancestors wandered through the wilderness, the Israelites constructed rough shelters in which to live during the eight-day celebration. The Jewish name for this festival is Sukkoth (the Hebrew word for “shelters”). It will be helpful to give the name of this festival in translation since it would have been known to the original readers. In modern versions it is sometimes called “the Festival of Shelters” (Good News Translation, New Living Translation, La Bible du Semeur), but it is also known as “the Festival of Booths” (God’s Word) and “the Festival of Tabernacles” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). The specific rendering in the receptor language here will depend on the way in which this festival is translated in other contexts. In English feast is better rendered “festival” (New Revised Standard Version). Since the Israelites living outside of Jerusalem were required by the Law of Moses to go to Jerusalem each year for this festival as well as for the Festival of Unleavened Bread and the Festival of Weeks (Deut 16.16), Revised English Bible calls it a “pilgrim-feast.”
Which is in the seventh month (mid-September to mid-October) qualifies the feast. Good News Translation omits this clause since it identifies the festival by name. However, it seems better to keep the clause (so God’s Word, La Bible du Semeur, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). New Living Translation has a somewhat more vague temporal reference, indicating that the festival was held “in early autumn.” The seventh month is called by its Canaanite name “Ethanim” in the parallel text of 1 Kgs 8.2. Its Hebrew name is Tishri.
While not agreeing in all details with the Contemporary English Version translation of verses 2-3, we recommend its restructuring of these two verses as a helpful model for other languages. For these two verses Contemporary English Version reads:
• The sacred chest had been kept on Mount Zion, also known as the city of David. But Solomon decided to have the chest moved to the temple while everyone was in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Shelters during the seventh month.
Solomon called together all the important leaders of Israel.
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 .
5:3a So all the men of Israel came together to the king
All the men of Israel met together with the king. -or-
So all the men of Israel gathered to meet with the king.
5:3b at the feast in the seventh month.
It was the time of the festival that is held in the seventh month of the year. -or-
That was at the time of the Feast ⌊of Booths⌋. It is celebrated in the seventh month every year.
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