king

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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:

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  • Piro: “a great one”
  • Highland Totonac: “the big boss”
  • Huichol: “the one who commanded” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Ekari: “the one who holds the country” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Una: weik sienyi: “big headman” (source: Kroneman 2004, p. 407)
  • Pass Valley Yali: “Big Man” (source: Daud Soesilo)
  • 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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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.”

(Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )

See also king (Japanese honorifics).

Translation commentary on 2 Kings 25:11

The rest of the people refers to those who had been left after the earlier deportation of the wealthiest and most influential citizens (2 Kgs 24.14). Since the Hebrew noun translated people is used often to refer more specifically to the “army,” these words may also be rendered “the rest of the army.”

Who were left in the city: This passive expression may be made active by saying “who remained in the city” or “who had not departed from the city.”

The deserters who had deserted to the King of Babylon is literally “the fallen who had fallen away to the King of Babylon.” This probably refers to people who had given themselves up willingly to the Babylonians while the siege of Jerusalem was still taking place. They did not resist to the end. Yet they too were eventually deported. The rendering of New Century Version (“those who had surrendered to the king of Babylon”) is probably inaccurate and should not be followed. Desertion involves more than mere surrender (see the comments on “go over” at 2 Kgs 7.4) since it takes place before defeat is certain. In certain languages this expression may have to be translated something like “the people of Judah who had given themselves up to the king of Babylonia while the battle continued.”

The rest of the multitude: Part of the Septuagint tradition speaks rather of “the rest of the artisans,” which is the basis of the Good News Translation rendering as well as the translation of Revised English Bible (“any remaining artisans”). Other versions following this reading are New American Bible, Moffatt, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje, Bible en français courant, La Bible Pléiade, and Osty-Trinquet. The Hebrew words for multitude and “artisans” are very similar in spelling. The corrected text with “artisans,” which is based on the parallel passage in Jer 52.15, is probably not justified. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} degree of certainty to the reading followed by Revised Standard Version.

In some languages it may be considered unnecessarily redundant to repeat the fact that Nebuzaradan was the captain of the guard since this information is given in verses 8 and 10.

Good News Translation restructures this verse by placing the subject (“Nebuzaradan”) and the verb (“took away”) at the beginning of the sentence. Translators may have to do the same in other languages.

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 .