13as the duty of each day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses for the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the three annual festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Booths.
Nkumbi / Mbangala / Songo: “bread that has gone no yeast” — “this is an application of a common construction in Angolan Bantu languages for speaking about the ingredients in some foods: ‘there is salt in the soup’ is rendered literally, ‘the soup has gone salt.’ (Source: Riikka Halme-Berneking in The Bible Translator 2014, p. 353ff. )
The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “Sabbath” in English is rendered as “day we rest” in Tzotzil, in Mairasi as “Jew’s Rest Day,” in Quiotepec Chinantec as “day when people of Israel rested,” in Shilluk as “day of God,” in Obolo as Usen Mbuban or “Holy Day,” and in Mandarin Chinese as ānxírì (安息日) or “rest day” (literally: “peace – rest – day”). (Sources: Tzotzil: Marion Cowan in Notes on Translation with Drill, p. 169ff; Mairasi: Enggavoter 2004; Quiotepec Chinantec: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.; Shilluk: Nida 1964, p. 237; Obolo: Enene Enene; Chinese: Jost Zetzsche)
In Matumbi it is translated as Sabato ya Ayahudi or “Sabbath of the Jews,” to distinguish it from the Islamic Sabbath (which is Friday) or the Christian Sabbath (which is Sunday). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
In the old Khmer version as well as in the first new translation this term was rendered as “day of rest” (Thngai Chhup Somrak / ថ្ងៃឈប់សំរាក). Considered inadequate to convey its religious meaning (not only about cessation of work, but also in honor of Yahweh as the Creator), the committee for the Today’s Khmer Version (publ. 2005) decided to keep the Hebrew word and use its transliterated form Thgnai Sabath (ថ្ងៃសប្ប័ទ). “The Buddhist word Thngai Seil ‘day of merits’ used by some Catholics was once under consideration but was rejected because it did not receive unanimous support.” (Source: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 233ff. )
In Spanish, the translation is either día de reposo (“day of rest”) or sábado (usually: “Saturday,” derived from the Greek and Hebrew original). Nida (1947, p. 239f.) explains that problem for Spanish and other languages in its sphere of influence: “In translation ‘Sabbath’ into various aboriginal languages of Latin America, a considerable number of translators have used the Spanish sábado, ‘Saturday,’ because it is derived from the Hebrew sabbath and seems to correspond to English usage as well. The difficulty is that sábado means only ‘Saturday’ for most people. There is no religious significance about this word as the is with ‘Sabbath’ in English. Accordingly the [readers] cannot understand the significance of the persecution of Jesus because he worked on ‘Saturday.’ It has been found quite advantageous to use the translation ‘day of rest,’ for this accurately translated the Hebrew meaning of the term and resolves the problem in connection with the prohibitions placed upon some types of activities.”
In the Nueva traducción viviente translation (2010) it día de descanso al mantenerlo santo (“day of rest to keep it holy”). (Source: Lénart de Regt in The Bible Translator 2017, p. 131ff. )
In French Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts closing of the blinds of a store:
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Chronicles 8:13:
Kupsabiny: “He made those sacrifices as they were required to be made during each day. He followed how the law of Moses said about the sacrifices for the day of Sabbath, when the month/moon began and when the three yearly feasts were celebrated. Those feasts were the Festival of bread that are not risen/leavened, the Festival of Harvest and the Festival of Shelters.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “According to the command of Moses, on Sabbath, the new moon, and at the three prescribed festivals in the year — the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Harvest Festival, and the Festival of Booths, he performed the offering of sacrifices.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “He fulfilled the command of Moises to sacrifice according to what is-needed to sacrifice each day and on the Days of Resting, on the Feast of the Beginning of the Moon, and during these three feasts that are-being-celebrated every year: the Feast of Bread that Has-None Which-Causes-to-Expand-(ingredients), Feast of Harvest, and Feast of Erecting/[lit. Causing-to-Stand] Shelters/Huts.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “He did that to obey the rules about what sacrifices Moses had declared should be made. These included sacrifices for every day and for the Sabbath days and to celebrate each day on which there was a new moon and for the three other festivals that were celebrated each year. Those festivals were the Festival of Eating Unleavened Bread, the Harvest Festival, and the Festival of Living in Temporary Shelters.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
American Sign Language also uses the sign depicting the horns but also has a number of alternative signs (see here ).
In French Sign Language, a similar sign is used, but it is interpreted as “radiance” (see below) and it culminates in a sign for “10,” signifying the 10 commandments:
The horns that are visible in Michelangelo’s statue are based on a passage in the Latin Vulgate translation (and many Catholic Bible translations that were translated through the 1950ies with that version as the source text). Jerome, the translator, had worked from a Hebrew text without the niqquds, the diacritical marks that signify the vowels in Hebrew and had interpreted the term קרו (k-r-n) in Exodus 34:29 as קֶ֫רֶן — keren “horned,” rather than קָרַו — karan “radiance” (describing the radiance of Moses’ head as he descends from Mount Sinai).
In Swiss-German Sign Language (and Hungarian Sign Language) it is translated with a sign depicting holding a staff. This refers to a number of times where Moses’s staff is used in the context of miracles, including the parting of the sea (see Exodus 14:16), striking of the rock for water (see Exodus 17:5 and following), or the battle with Amalek (see Exodus 17:9 and following).
In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the eye make up he would have worn as the adopted son of an Egyptian princess. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)
“Moses” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL
In Korean Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the arms held up by Moses to assure the Israelites victory over the Amalekites (see Exodus 17:11).
Verses 12 and 13 are a single long sentence in the Hebrew text, which Revised Standard Version reflects. However, Good News Translation makes a separate sentence of verse 13. A number of modern versions do something similar in order to break up the long sentence in the original text (so Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, Parole de Vie).
As the duty of each day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses: Solomon followed the Law of Moses when he offered sacrifices on the Temple altar. He did what Moses required for each holy day. As the duty of each day required is repeated in the next verse. The beginning of this verse may be rendered “He offered sacrifices in a manner that followed the rules in the Law of Moses for each holy day.”
The sabbaths: See the comments on 1 Chr 9.32. Instructions for offering sacrifices on the Sabbath are found in Num 28.9-10.
The new moons: See the comments on 1 Chr 23.31. Instructions for offering sacrifices on the New Moon Festival are given in Num 28.11-15.
The three annual feasts: See Exo 23.14-17; 34.22-23; Deut 16.16. Using more common language, Good News Translation says “the three annual festivals.” These three festivals are specifically named in the text that follows.
The feast of unleavened bread was held in the Hebrew month called Nisan, from the fifteenth day until the twenty-second day, which is roughly equivalent to early April in the modern Western calendar. This festival took place immediately after Passover, also in commemoration of the deliverance of the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt. Its name came from the practice of not using leaven (yeast) in making bread during that week. Instructions for offering sacrifices during this festival are given in Lev 23.6-14 and Num 28.16-25.
The feast of weeks was celebrated fifty days after Passover, at the end of the wheat harvest. It is mentioned by this name only in Exo 34.22; Num 28.26; and Deut 16.10, 16. It is referred to as “the feast of harvest” in Exo 23.16. Good News Translation translates it here and throughout the Old Testament as “the Harvest Festival.” The Jewish name for this festival is Shavuoth (the Feast of Weeks). Later it became known as Pentecost (2 Maccabees 12.32), and this is the name that was eventually adopted by Christians (Acts 2.1). Instructions for offering sacrifices during this festival are given in Lev 23.15-22 and Num 28.26-31.
The feast of tabernacles: See the comments on 2 Chr 5.3.
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 .
8:13a He observed the daily requirement for offerings according to the commandment of Moses
He did so according to the rule that Moses made about daily offerings. -or-
Moses told the Israelites about the offerings they must give to Yahweh every day.
8:13b for Sabbaths, New Moons, and the three annual appointed feasts—
There were also offerings on the Sabbath dayds, at the new moons, and on the three annual feasts. -or-
There were other offerings on the days of rest, offerings on the days of a new moon, and offerings at the three festivals the Israelites celebrated every year.
8:13c the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles.
These were the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Temporary Shelters. -or-
These festivals were the Festival of Bread with No Yeast, the Festival of Harvest, and the Festival for Living in Huts.
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