The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 14:20:
Kupsabiny: “Then, his body was brought back on horses to come to Jerusalem and he was buried where his forefathers were buried in the City of David.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “After that they put him on a horse and brought his corpse to Jerusalem. He was buried in the royal tombs in the city of David.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “His corpse was-loaded on a horse and was-brought back to Jerusalem and was-buried in the burial-place of his ancestors in the Town of David.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “They took his corpse back to Jerusalem and buried it where his ancestors had been buried, in the part of Jerusalem called ‘The City of David’.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
At this point in the story the pronouns him and he refer to the dead body of Amaziah. And in many languages it will be better to use the word for “corpse,” “remains,” or “body.”
Several horses were involved in the movement of the group that brought the body of the dead king back to Jerusalem, but only one horse would have carried the body. For this reason the singular “horse” is found in Good News Translation and New Jerusalem Bible.
Was buried in Jerusalem with his fathers: The wording here is slightly different from similar passages having to do with the burial of a king (see the comments on 1 Kgs 14.31). The usual phrase “slept with his fathers” is lacking. But the death was already described in the previous verse.
The city of David: See the comments at 1 Kgs 2.10.
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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