12Then he brought out the king’s son, put the crown on him, and gave him the covenant; they proclaimed him king and anointed him; they clapped their hands and shouted, “Long live the king!”
The Hebrew and Aramaic that is translated in English as “long live” or “live forever” and the Greek that is translated as “Hail” in English is translated in Mandarin Chinese as wànsuì (万岁 / 萬歲) or “(may you live) 10,000 years” which was used to hail Chinese emperors and, more recently, the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong (Máo Zhǔxí Wànsuì [毛主席万岁] or “May Chairman Mao live for ten thousand years!”).
Likewise it is also used in these verses in other East Asian languages, including Japanese with ban zai (ばんざい / 万歳), Korean with man se (만세), Vietnamese with vạn tuế or muôn tuổi, or Mongolian with mandtugai (мандтугай). (Note that Mongolian does not use that term for the New Testament renderings.) (Source: Zetzsche)
For more information on this phrase, see 10,000 years .
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “covenant” or similar in English, is translated in Kim as maktub wak-tuli or “sweet-mouth book” when it refers to the book of the covenant. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
The different Hebrew and Greek terms that are translated as “(olive) oil” and “(animal) fat” in English are translated in Kwere with only one term: mavuta. (Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
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.”
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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 to do this is through the usage of appropriate suffix title referred to as keishō (敬称) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017 by using –sama. Here, ō-sama (王様) “king” is a combination of the nominal title ō “king” and the suffix title –sama.
He brought out the king’s son: If there is any doubt about the participants in this event, the pronoun he may be replaced by the proper name “Jehoiada” (Good News Translation, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) or the phrase “the priest” (La Bible Pléiade). The king’s son should probably be replaced by “Joash,” or possibly the name “Joash” might be added before or after the king’s son.
Put the crown upon him: The use of the definite article with crown may suggest that this was the same crown used to symbolize the sovereignty of previous rulers of Judah, but it does not necessarily imply that this was a particular crown. In languages that have a special verb for the coronation of a king, it is appropriate to use it here.
Gave him the testimony: The meaning of the Hebrew noun rendered testimony is debated in this context. Some interpreters argue that in this context, the noun does not mean “testimony,” but rather comes from a Semitic root that means “to ornament.” Based on this interpretation, American Bible renders put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony as “placed the diadem and the jewels upon him.” Other interpreters note that 2 Sam 1.10 refers to a crown and a bracelet worn by King Saul. Based on this passage in 2 Samuel, some interpreters add one consonant to the beginning of the Hebrew noun for testimony to create the word “bracelet.” While this meaning is adopted by Jerusalem Bible, it does not appear in New Jerusalem Bible and it is found in only a few other modern versions (La Bible Pléiade, Maredsous).
The parallel passage in 2 Chr 23.11 has the testimony, and this is probably what should be translated here. This term refers to the set of rules and regulations under which the kings of Judah operated, understood as a covenant between God and the king. In some versions it is called “a copy of the agreement” (New Century Version) or “a copy of the covenant” (New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible). This document may have included regulations like those outlined in Deut 17.14-20. Contemporary English Version speaks of “a copy of instructions for ruling the nation.”
They proclaimed him king: The pronoun they may refer to the priest and the guards or it may refer to the people in general.
Anointed him: For the verb anointed, see the comments on 1 Kgs 1.34. The verb is plural in Hebrew, but most likely the actual anointing was done by the priest, while the people signaled their approval. Compare 1 Kgs 1.39, where the priest Zadok anointed Solomon and the people said “Long live King Solomon!”
They clapped their hands: In the Old Testament, clapping is often associated with joy and approval (Psa 47.1; 98.8), but it sometimes has other meanings (Lam 2.15). Here the gesture clearly shows the pleasure and approval of those participating. In languages where the clapping of hands conveys a different meaning, translators may consider a more generic rendering of the meaning, such as “they showed their approval” or “they demonstrated their consent.” The implied subject of the verb clapped is probably “all the people present.”
Long live the king!: See 1 Kgs 1.25, 34, and 39, where the name of the king is specifically given. Here the name is only implied. Compare also 1 Sam 10.24 and 2 Sam 16.16.
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 .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.