complete verse (2 Kings 4:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 4:12:

  • Kupsabiny: “Elisha said to his servant who was called Gehazi, ‘Please say for me to the lady of this home to come here.’ The lady of the home came and stood there in front.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “He said to his servant Gehazi, "Call that Shunammite woman." He called her. That woman stood before Elisha.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “He commanded his servant Gehazi to call the woman. So Gehazi called the woman, and when the woman arrived,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “He said to his servant Gehazi, ‘Tell the woman that I want to speak to her.’ So the servant went and told her. When she came to the doorway of Elisha’s room,” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 2 Kings 4:12

Gehazi his servant: Since this is the first mention by name of Elisha’s male servant, he may need to be introduced in a somewhat more elaborate fashion in certain languages. For example, it may be appropriate to say “his servant whose name was Gehazi” or something similar. For the Hebrew word for servant, see the comments on 1 Kgs 14.3, where the same Hebrew word is rendered “child.”

Good News Translation transforms the direct quotation of Elisha into indirect discourse. This may be a helpful model for some other languages as well.

Call this Shunammite: The word this points to the specific woman from Shunem mentioned earlier in verse 8. For Shunammite see 1.3. In many languages this clause will be more naturally translated “Call that woman who is from the town of Shunem.”

She stood before him: The text may be understood to mean that the woman stood before Elisha or before Gehazi. In view of the way the conversation continues in the following verse, the intended meaning seems to be that she stood before Gehazi. Some scholars have suggested that the woman had such respect for the prophet that she was afraid to appear directly before him—especially as he was reclining in the privacy of his own room. Nevertheless, New American Bible says quite clearly “she stood before Elisha,” and Revised English Bible states that “she appeared before the prophet.” This, however, makes the following verses all the stranger since Elisha does not speak directly to the woman, and in verse 15 he calls for her to appear before him. Only in verse 15 does the text say the woman appeared at the doorway of Elisha’s room, after Elisha told his servant to call her again. It is somewhat confusing for Elisha to call the woman twice in the same scene. Does she ever leave, so she can be called back? New American Bible and New Living Translation imply this by beginning verse 14 with the word “Later.” More likely, the intended sense is that here in verse 12 the woman appears before Gehazi only, and then appears before Elisha for the first time in verse 15.

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 2 Kings 4:12

4:12a And he said to Gehazi his servant,

He said to his servant ⌊whose name was⌋ Gehazi,

-or-

⌊After a while⌋ he told his servant Gehazi

4:12b “Call the Shunammite woman.”

“Call the woman who is from/of this town.”

-or-

to call the woman who lived there.

4:12c And when he had called her,

So Gehazi went and called the Shunammite woman.

-or-

So the servant asked the woman to come and talk to him,

4:12d she stood before him,

She came and stood before him/Gehazi.

-or-

and she came.

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