Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 19:7:
Kupsabiny: “I shall make that king to hear words that will make him return to his country and later he shall be killed.’ ’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Listen carefully! I will change his mind, because of which, upon hearing some news, he will go back to his own land. There I will cause him to be killed by a sword.’"” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Listen! I will-cause- the king of Asiria -to-wander. He will-hear a report/news that will-cause- him -to-return to his nation. And there I will-cause- him -to-be-killed with a sword.’ ’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Listen to this: I will cause Sennacherib to hear a rumor that will worry him, that a foreign army is about to attack his country. So he will return to his own country, and there I will cause him to be assassinated by men using swords.’’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
Behold: The Hebrew focusing particle rendered here is omitted by most modern English versions, but New Jerusalem Bible translates it as “Look,” and both New International Version and New Century Version begin this verse with “Listen!” In this context the focusing particle suggests that the action will take place soon. In other languages there may be a similar particle drawing attention to what is about to be said that fits quite naturally in this context. See the comments at 1 Kgs 1.18 and 2 Kgs 2.11. See also the discussion on Hebrew focusing particles in “Translating 1–2 Kings,” pages 13-14.
I will put a spirit in him: Revised English Bible translates “I shall sap his morale,” which gives a very different impression to the reader. The spirit that Yahweh promises to put in the Assyrian king is one that would cause him to be upset. In some languages it may be necessary to say something like “I will influence his thinking” or “I will cause thoughts to enter his head.”
He shall hear a rumor and return to his own land: The Hebrew word translated rumor is elsewhere rendered as “report” (1 Kgs 10.7), “tidings” (1 Sam 4.19), and “news” (1 Kgs 2.28). The word for rumor comes from the Hebrew verb rendered hear, so it is quite possible to translate this part of the verse as “he will hear something that will make him go back home.” Compare “the king will receive a report from Assyria telling him that he is needed at home” (New Living Translation). It should be made clear that the thing heard results in the return of the king to his own country. The text does not say what this rumor might be, but it may have been a report that the Egyptian (see verse 9) or Babylonian armies were preparing to attack Assyria.
I will cause him to fall by the sword: Another way of saying this would be “I will cause him to die in battle” since the verb fall is a way of speaking of dying and the sword stands for warfare in general. Contemporary English Version translates “I will make him die a violent death.”
The repetition of in his own land may sound quite unnatural in certain languages. So the second occurrence may be replaced by an adverb of place, such as “there” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version).
There is a very slight difference in the Revised Standard Version wording between this verse and the parallel account in Isa 37.7. But this does not reflect a real difference in the Hebrew and should be ignored.
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 .
19:7a Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land,
Look!/Listen! The Assyrian king will hear a rumor. I will make him respond by returning to his own country.
-or-
⌊But⌋ just watch/wait! The king of Assyria will hear some news and I will cause him to react by going back to his own land.
19:7b where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”
The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “where” is literally “in his own land.” Consider if such a repetition is natural in your language.
And/Then I will have him killed with the sword in his own land.’”
-or-
⌊When he gets/arrives⌋ there, I will cause him to meet a violent end/death.”
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