poetry in 2 Kings 19:21b-24

The Hebrew poetry in 2 Kings 19:21-24 is translated by the German Gute Nachricht Bibel (last rev. 2018) in poetic form:

Die unbesiegte Zionsstadt
nur Spott und Verachtung für dich hat!
Die Jungfrau Zion lacht dich aus,
die Zunge streckt sie dir heraus.
Mit wem hast du dich eingelassen,
gegen wen, du Narr, dich aufgeblasen?
Mich, den heiligen Gott Israels, kennst du nicht,
und doch schmähst du und höhnst du mir ins Gesicht!
Wahrhaftig, du warst schlecht beraten,
als du so prahltest mit deinen Taten.
Durch Boten ließest du überall sagen:
Ich bin der Herr! Ich bestieg meinen Wagen,
hoch auf den Libanon fuhr ich im Trab,
die Tannen und Zedern dort holzte ich ab,
all seine Schlupfwinkel spürte ich auf
und nie kam ins Stocken mein Siegeslauf!
Ich grub mir Brunnen mit eigener Hand,
so schafft’ ich mir Wasser im Feindesland.
Ich trockne sie aus, die ägyptischen Flüsse,
sie müssen versiegen vom Tritt meiner Füße!

Literal translation:
“The undefeated city of Zion
has only ridicule and contempt for you!
The Virgin Zion laughs at you,
she sticks her tongue out at you.
Who did you get involved with
against whom, you fool, have you puffed yourself up?
You do not know me, the holy God of Israel,
and yet you revile and mock me in my face!
Truly, you were ill-advised,
when you boasted about your deeds.
Through messengers you sent word everywhere:
I am the Lord! I got into my chariot,
I rode up to Lebanon at a trot,
I cut down the firs and cedars there,
I tracked down all the hiding places
and my victorious run never faltered!
I dug wells with my own hands,
This is how I create water for myself in enemy territory.
I’ll dry them up, the Egyptian rivers,
they must cease from the tread of my feet!”

While the syllable count of the lines varies, the rhyming pattern is AA-BB-AA-BB.

Source: Zetzsche

drink

In Telugu different verbs for humans drinking (tāgu / తాగు) and animals drinking (cēḍu / చేడు) are required.

complete verse (2 Kings 19:24)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 19:24:

  • Kupsabiny: “I dug holes/wells in other countries
    and drank the water from there.
    I stamped with my feet
    on the rivers of Egypt to dry them up.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “I have dug wells of foreign countries
    and drunk the water.
    And with the sole of my foot I have dried up all the rivers of Egypt.’” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “I had- wells -dug in other places, and drank from these wells.
    As I passed-by, the streams of Egipto dried-up.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “We have dug wells in other countries and drank water from them.
    And by marching through the streams of Egypt,
    we dried them all up !’ ’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 2 Kings 19:24

Good News Translation continues the embedded quotation as indirect rather than direct, but clearly shows that the boast of the Assyrian king continues. The pronouns are therefore second person singular rather than first person singular.

I dug wells: This expression is considered to be metaphorical by many interpreters, but it is usually translated literally in modern versions.

Foreign waters: In the parallel text in Isa 37.25, the adjective foreign does not appear, but it should be included here. The drinking of water in foreign places is yet another symbol of Sennacherib’s domination of the known world.

I dried up with the sole of my foot …: This is thought to be an allusion to the large number of soldiers under Sennacherib’s command. La Bible du Semeur, for example, says “I have dried up under the steps of my troops….” The soldiers are depicted as being so numerous that their feet dried up the rivers through which they marched. This is clearly an exaggeration, but in most languages such overstatement is characteristic of boasts.

All the streams of Egypt: The Hebrew word translated streams is elsewhere rendered as “rivers” (Psa 78.44) and sometimes even as “the Nile” (Exo 8.3) since it is actually the Egyptian name for the Nile River. The use of the plural form here, however, is generally thought to refer to the various branches of water in the Nile Delta. Knox, therefore, speaks here of “the banked channels of the Nile.” Others may consider translating “the Nile Delta” (La Bible du Semeur), “all the branches of the Nile” (Nouvelle Bible Segond), or “the entire lower Nile River.” The Hebrew word translated Egypt is not the usual word for Egypt, although it is similar in spelling. Some take this as a poetic form of the name, while others think this word means “fortress,” from a root meaning “to fortify.” Probably the Hebrew word should be correctly rendered “Egypt” as in nearly all translations.

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 19:24

19:24a I have dug wells and drunk foreign waters.

I have dug wells in other peoples’ lands and I drank the water that was there.

-or-

⌊You say/boast that⌋ in foreign lands you dug wells and drank the water,

19:24b With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”

With my marching I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.’

-or-

and that the feet of your soldiers have trampled to nothing all the rivers of Egypt.

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