Ixcatlán Mazatec: “with your best/biggest thinking” (source: Robert Bascom)
Noongar: dwangka-boola, lit. “ear much” (source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018 — see also remember)
Kwere “to know how to live well” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Dobel: “their ear holes are long-lasting” (in Acts 6:3) (source: Jock Hughes)
Gbaya: iŋa-mgbara-mɔ or “knowing-about-things” (note that in comparison to that, “knowledge” is translated as iŋa-mɔ or “knowing things”) (source: Philip Noss in The Bible Translator 2001, p. 114ff. )
Chichewa: nzeru, meaning both “knowledge” and “wisdom” (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Highland Popoluca: “understand what God wants” (Source for this and five above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a hand gesture referring to God to indicate a human quality to communicate that wisdom does not originate from man but is linked to and connected with the fear of God (source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group):
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Chronicles 9:22:
Kupsabiny: “So, the wealth of king Solomon was greater than that of the kings of the whole world and he was wiser than them.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “King Solomon had more wealth and wisdom than any of the other kings in the world.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “There was no any king in the world who could-match/equal/[lit. level] the wisdom and wealth of King Solomon.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “King Solomon became richer and wiser than any other king on the earth.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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.”
Verses 22-24 form a summary statement regarding Solomon’s great wealth and wisdom. With these words the writer shows that God’s promise in 2 Chr 1.12 has been fulfilled. Because of the nature of these verses, it may be advisable to translate the common Hebrew conjunction at the beginning of this verse in such a way as to show that the writer is beginning a summary statement. Several versions follow Revised Standard Version in using Thus (New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible). Knox has the connector “So.”
King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom: Since Solomon himself was a king, it may be helpful to render all the kings as “all the other kings” (similarly Good News Translation). Instead of directly comparing Solomon with all the other kings in the world, some languages may prefer to follow Contemporary English Version by using the superlative as follows: “Solomon was the richest and wisest king in the world.” In other languages it may be necessary to restructure the verse by saying:
• So the riches of Solomon and the wisdom of Solomon exceeded the riches and wisdom of any other ruler in the whole world.
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 .
9:22 So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
King Solomon was richer and had more wisdom than any other king in all the world. -or-
King Solomon was very rich and wiser than any king of the earth.
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