chariot

The Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated into English as “chariot” is translated into Anuak as “canoe pulled by horse.” “Canoe” is the general term for “vehicle” (source: Loren Bliese). Similarly it is translated in Lokạạ as ukwaa wạ nyanyang ntuuli or “canoe that is driven by horses.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
Other translations include:

  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “cart pulled by horses” (source: Larson 1998, p. 98)
  • Chichicapan Zapotec: “ox cart” (in Acts 8) (ox carts are common vehicles for travel) (source: Loren Bliese)
  • Chichimeca-Jonaz, it is translated as “little house with two feet pulled by two horses” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Hausa Common Language Bible as keken-doki or “cart of donkey” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • Mairasi: “going-thing [vehicle]” (source: Enggavoter 2004)

It is illustrated for use in Bible translations in East Africa by Pioneer Bible Translators like this:

Image owned by PBT and Jonathan McDaniel and licensed with the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

See also cart.

complete verse (2 Kings 10:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 10:2:

  • Kupsabiny: “You (plur.) are ruling the sons of Ahab, aren’t you? You have chariots, horses and weapons, haven’t you? Don’t you also have a city which a guarded wall surrounds? When you receive this letter,” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The King’s sons are with you. You have chariots, horses, weapons and cities that are surrounded by walls. So, as soon as this letter arrives, ” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘You (plur.) are- the ones -entrusted with the descendants of King Ahab, and chariots, horses, a stone-wall city, and weapons.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “This is what he wrote: ‘You are the ones who are taking care of the king’s descendants. You have chariots and horses and weapons, and you live in cities that have walls around them. So as soon as you receive this letter,” (Source: Translation for Translators)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on 2 Kings 10:2

The introductory Hebrew word translated Now then may seem out of place here. It is ignored by a number of modern versions. A salutation would be normal in writing such a letter, but since it is not pertinent to the story, it is not included by the writer of 2 Kings. Compare the letter written to the king of Israel by the Syrian king in 2 Kgs 5.6.

It will be noted that the structure of this verse is radically changed in Good News Translation. The words as soon as this letter comes to you are placed at the end of the verse rather than at the beginning. The stage must be set and background information given before moving to the action required on receipt of the letter. This restructuring may be a good model for other languages to follow.

Seeing your master’s sons are with you is literally “and with you the sons of your master.” The word seeing is an addition of Revised Standard Version. But the common Hebrew conjunction that joins this clause with what goes before it may be translated “Since” (New Revised Standard Version) if a more complex sentence is used. On the other hand, it may be better in some languages to make this clause and the rest of the verse a separate sentence. Nevertheless, the relationship between the clauses in verses 2-3 should be made quite clear. It is because the persons receiving the letter are in charge of the descendants of Ahab and have all the means necessary at their disposal that they are asked to fulfill the order given in verse 3. This will probably require the conjunction “Therefore” or something similar at the beginning of the second sentence with the command (so Good News Translation).

Fortified cities: The traditional Hebrew text has the singular, “a fortified city,” and this is recommended by Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament with a {C} rating. The singular is followed by a number of modern versions (New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Peregrino, em>Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, La Bible Pléiade, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament suggests that “a fortified city” refers to the city-state of Samaria (also the notes in La Bible Pléiade and Osty-Trinquet). The singular, however, may be understood as a collective noun, which may be translated as a plural as in all the ancient versions in spite of the textual preference for the Masoretic Text.

Weapons is rendered “you are armed” by Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente.

A possible model restructuring this verse and using two separate sentences might be as follows:

• You have King Ahab’s descendants with you and you also have chariots, horses, weapons, and your fortified city. Therefore, as soon as you receive this letter….

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 2 Kings 10:2

10:2a “When this letter arrives,

“As soon as you receive this letter,

-or-

“When you have read this letter,

10:2b since your master’s sons are with you

since you (plur.) leaders ⌊of Israel/Samaria⌋ are there with the sons/children of your lord/⌊king⌋ ,

-or-

because your master’s sons/descendants are there with you,

10:2c and you have chariots and horses,

and you (plur.) have chariots and horses,

-or-

you also have the chariots and horses ⌊you need⌋ ⌊for battle/fighting⌋ ,

10:2d a fortified city and weaponry,

and you (plur.) live in a strong city, and you have weapons,

-or-

and you are well armed and you live in a walled city,

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