10Let us make a small roof chamber with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that he can stay there whenever he comes to us.”
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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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, ko-rare-ru (来られる) or “come” is used.
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “bed” or similar in English is translated in Noongar as maya-ngwoorndiny or “bark sleeping” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the inclusive pronoun, including everyone.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 4:10:
Kupsabiny: “Please you allow us to partition off for (him) a small private room upstairs. After that, we shall be putting for him there a bed, a table, a chair and a lamp so that when he visits us he can rest there.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Let’s build a small room on the roof and put a bed, a table, a chair and a lamp there. When he comes to our house, he can stay there."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Let- us (incl.) -make him a small room on the rooftop, and we (incl.) will-put- a bed, table, chair, and lamp -(there), so-that when he comes here to us (incl.) he can stay there.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “I think we should make a small room for him on our flat roof, and put a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp in it. If we do that, whenever he comes here, he will have a place to stay.’ So they did that.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
Here, tsukatte (使って) or “use” is used in combination with itadaku (いただく), a humble form of the benefactive morau (もらう). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Let us make: The woman thus makes a suggestion to her husband. In this polite request the Hebrew contains the particle of entreaty, which is translated “I pray thee” in King James Version (see the comments on 1 Kgs 1.12). It is omitted in most other versions, but in those languages that have a similar particle, it should be used here. Even in English it could be legitimately translated by beginning the sentence “Please….”
A small roof chamber with walls: This expression makes it clear that the proposed guest room would not be very large and that it would be located on the flat roof of the house. But the Hebrew word translated with walls is the subject of considerable debate among scholars. Possibly what is intended is that the existing walls of one corner of the house be extended upward and that two other walls and a roof be added to make the guest room. In this case it would be true that the room would be located “… on the roof” (Jewish Publication Version) and “… by the wall” (American Bible). Some interpreters change the middle consonant of the word translated with walls to read “cool,” so that the whole phrase is “a small cool upper chamber” (so Montgomery).
Put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp: The woman’s suggestion included furnishing the prophet’s room with the basic essentials: a bed on which he could pass the night comfortably, a table, a chair, and a lamp, which would provide the necessary light for any activities in the evening before retiring to bed.
The lamp would have been a bowl-shaped object made of pottery containing olive oil with a narrow open-neck spout for the wick.
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 .
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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 third person singular and plural pronoun (“he,” “she,” “it” and their various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. While it’s not uncommon to avoid pronouns altogether in Japanese, there are is a range of third person pronouns that can be used. In these verses a number of them are used that pay particularly much respect to the referred person (or, in fact, God, as in Exodus 15:2), including kono kata (この方), sono kata (その方), and ano kata (あの方), meaning “this person,” “that person,” and “that person over there.”
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