The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “joy” or “happiness” is translated in the HausaCommon Language Bible idiomatically as farin ciki or “white stomach.” In some cases, such as in Genesis 29:11, it is also added for emphatic purposes.
Other languages that use the same expression include Southern Birifor (pʋpɛl), Dera (popolok awo), Reshe (ɾipo ɾipuhã). (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
The interconfessional Chichewa translation (publ. 1999) uses the ideophone bata to describe complete quietness. (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 105)
Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 11:20:
Kupsabiny: “Then he took the commanders, the guards of the house of the king, the other guards and all the common/lay people and made them escort the king. They left the House of God and passed by the gate of the guards up to the home of the king. Then Joash sat down on his chair of rulership. He had/was at that time seven years (of age). So, all the people of Judah were happy and then peace came to the city of Jerusalem because Athaliah had been killed.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “The people of the whole land rejoiced and there was peace again in Jerusalem because Athaliah had been killed at the palace.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The people rejoiced, and the city was- now -peaceful after Atalia had-been-killed in the palace.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “All the people of Judah rejoiced. And because Athaliah had been killed, the city was quiet/calm.” (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.”
So: The common Hebrew conjunction here may be taken as either logical (so Revised Standard Version) or temporal (for example, “Then”). Possibly the temporal understanding is better in this context. But a number of modern versions drop the transition word altogether (so Good News Translation).
All the people of the land: See the comments at verse 14.
The Hebrew verb rendered rejoiced is translated in certain versions in such a way as to mean that this was something internal without any outward manifestation. In addition to Good News Translation, certain other modern translations seem to take it in this way; for example, New Jerusalem Bible has “were delighted” and New Century Version says “were very happy.” Such renderings are acceptable, but it is quite possible to understand the verb as referring to a vocal and visible celebration. Possible models for this meaning are “shouted for joy” and “celebrated” (Contemporary English Version).
And the city was quiet: If the rejoicing was in fact an open demonstration of the people’s happiness, then the calmness of the city must have followed the rejoicing rather than happening at the same time. So the transition word between the two clauses is important. Translators may consider saying “after that, the city was quiet.” The city here means “Jerusalem” and in some languages it may be beneficial to the reader to make this quite clear by using the proper name.
After Athaliah had been slain with the sword at the king’s house is literally “and Athaliah they killed with the sword at the king’s house.” Some interpreters have thought that the author used two different sources in this chapter, each of which told about the death of Athaliah (verses 16 and 20). According to this understanding, verse 20 is a second statement, taken from a different source, about the death of Athaliah. But these words should be understood as a summary of the preceding events and not as a further development in the story. Since this is a summary statement, Revised Standard Version uses the pluperfect (past perfect) verb “had been slain.”
The relationships between the different clauses in this verse may be understood in a variety of ways. According to some interpreters, all the people of the land refers to the general population of Judah, who were loyal to the worship of Israel’s God. These people rejoiced because of the destruction of the temple of Baal, but the people in the capital city of Jerusalem had fallen under the influence of Baal worship and were not rejoicing. This interpretation is reflected in the New Jerusalem Bible translation, where there is a contrast between what the people of the country did and what the city did: “All the people of the country were delighted; the city, however, made no move.”
If, however, there is no intended contrast between two groups, then the sense may be that the city was quiet even though Athaliah had been killed. Or more likely, it seems logical that the rejoicing of the people and the subsequent calm in the city were both the result of Queen Athaliah’s execution. So a possible model for the whole verse is the following:
• Then all the people of the land celebrated; and after that Jerusalem was calm because the soldiers had killed Athaliah [with the sword] at the royal palace.
Compare also the following translation in New Living Translation:
• So all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was peaceful because Athaliah had been killed at the king’s palace.
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 .
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