Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 25:28:
Kupsabiny: “That king stayed with Jehoiakin in a good way. He raised him up above the other prisoners he was with in Babylon.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Speaking nicely with him, he treated him well. And he was put in a place of much greater honor than the other kings who lived as prisoners in Babylon.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “He was good/kind to Jehoyakin and he honored him more than the other kings who were- also -captured there in Babilonia.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “He always spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and honored him more than the other kings who had been taken/exiled to Babylon.” (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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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.”
If the pronoun references in this verse are unclear, it is recommended that one or more of the pronouns be translated by nouns. The subject is Evilmerodach, and he is speaking to Jehoiachin.
Spoke kindly to him is literally “spoke to him good things.” This expression implies more than mere talk. The words were followed up by benevolent actions. For this reason Revised English Bible, like Good News Translation, translates “treated him kindly.” As noted at 1 Kgs 12.7, the words “speak good words” are found in the language of ancient Near Eastern treaties. Some interpreters suggest that such a technical usage is intended here. If so, the sense will be that Evilmerodach entered into some form of legal agreement or treaty with Jehoiachin, perhaps granting him status as a vassal-king. None of the versions consulted, however, makes this interpretation explicit in translation. Instead, all use a general expression, such as spoke kindly to him (Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).
Gave him a seat above the seats of the kings: The plural word kings almost certainly refers to other exiled rulers who, like Jehoiachin, were now subject to the Babylonian monarch. This is why Good News Translation speaks of “other kings.” These other kings were not, however, other Jewish kings. Administrative documents discovered in Babylon also list prisoners of war from Tyre, Sidon, Gaza, Ashdod, and several other nations. For this reason Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “foreign kings.”
A seat above the seats of these other kings does not refer to actual physical elevation. Rather, the reference is to a position of greater respect. Contemporary English Version translates “honored him more than any of the other kings.”
Who were with him in Babylon: Here Babylon probably refers to the entire kingdom rather than exclusively to the capital. So translators are advised to render this “Babylonia” if the receptor language uses different nouns for the two names. Good News Translation makes explicit that these kings “were exiles with him in Babylonia.”
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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