Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 22:10:
Kupsabiny: “And again, Hilkiah has given me a book.’ Then, Shaphan read that book to the king.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Then Shaphan, the secretary also spoke to the King like this, "The High Priest, Hilkiah has given me a book." So Shaphan, reading it before the king, caused him to hear it.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “He also said to the king, ‘Hilkia the priest has-given me a book.’ And he read it before/[lit. in front of] the king.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Then Shaphan said to the king, ‘I have brought to you a scroll that Hilkiah gave to me.’ And Shaphan started to read it to the king.” (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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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.”
Shaphan the secretary told the king: Told is literally “told … saying.” In view of the ongoing conversation, Bible en français courant translates this clause as “he added.”
Once again, it may be unnatural to repeat the words the secretary and the priest here since this information has already been given to the readers previously.
Regarding the change in spelling from “Hilkiyahu” to Hilkiah in Hebrew in this verse, see the comments on verse 4.
A book: As in verse 8, New Living Translation calls this “a scroll.” Shaphan does not use the definite article here since the young King Josiah was presumably not familiar with “the book of the law” as the older Israelites would have been.
Shaphan read it before the king: According to the parallel passage in 2 Chr 34.18, Shaphan apparently did not read the book in its entirety. Rather, he “read from it” (2 Chr 34.18 in New International Version). Compare verse 8. Readers should also be made to understand that Shaphan was not reading quietly to himself, but reading aloud for the king and others to hear. A number of translations make this explicit by adding the word “aloud” (so Good News Translation, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible).
If it is necessary to convert the direct quotation of this verse to an indirect statement, the following model may be considered:
• Then Shaphan told the king that Hilkiah had given him a book. So Shaphan read it [aloud] in the presence of the king.
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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