19Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city; follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria.
The name that is transliterated as “Elisha” in English means “God the Savior,” “to whom God is salvation,” “God of salvation,” “God is Savior.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying “help + prophet.” (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Samaria” in English means “a watch mountain,” “a place of watching,” “guardianship.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 6:19:
Kupsabiny: “Then, Elisha said to them, ‘But you are lost. This is not the way, and this is also not that city. Follow (plur.) me and I shall show you the man you are looking for.’ Elisha led those people to the city of Samaria.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Elisha said to the Aramean soldiers, "This is not the way, this is also not the city. Come, follow after me, I will take you to the man you are seeking." Then he took them along to Samaria.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Elisha then said to them, ‘This is- not the road/way and this is not the town/city of Dotan. You (plur.) follow me for I will-bring you (plur.) to the man you (plur.) are-looking-for.’ And Elisha brought them to Samaria.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Then Elisha went to them and said, ‘You are not on the right road; this is not the city that you are searching for. I will take you to the man whom you are searching for.’ But he led them to Samaria, the capital of Israel!” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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 choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
And: The common Hebrew conjunction here may be better translated as a temporal connector (so Good News Translation). Or, in some cases, it may be better left untranslated in this context.
Elisha said to them: The Hebrew text leaves implicit the fact that Elisha left the confines of his city and went out to the place where the Syrian soldiers were located in order to speak with them. In some languages it will be helpful to make this more explicit as Good News Translation has done. It may also be wise to replace the pronoun them with a noun phrase referring more clearly to “the soldiers” (Bible en français courant) or “the Syrian soldiers.”
This is not the way, and this is not the city: The words not the way and not the city may have to be made more explicit in certain languages. Also, it will probably be inadvisable to join the two clauses with the conjunction and as if they refer to two totally different matters. The essence of what Elisha was saying to the Syrians is that they had been mistaken: this is not the correct road to lead you to the person you are seeking; this is not the city you are looking for. One possible model would be “You have found the wrong city because you have taken the wrong road.” Another possibility might be “You will not find the person you are looking for because you went the wrong way. This is not the city you are seeking.”
In some languages it will not be possible to say follow me as if the Syrians could see where Elisha was leading them. Rather, it will be essential to translate “follow the sound of my voice.”
He led them to Samaria: For Samaria see the introductory comments on 1 Kgs 16.21-28. The irony of leading an enemy army directly to Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, would not have been lost on the original readers and hearers of this story. But today’s readers may not recall the importance of this city. It would certainly be legitimate to add a footnote on Samaria, but in some cases it might even be possible to translate “the capital Samaria” or something similar.
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 .
6:19a And Elisha told them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city.
Elisha said to them, “You (plur.) are going the wrong way. This is the wrong city.
-or-
Then Elisha addressed the ⌊Aramean⌋ soldiers and said, “This is not the right road. This is not the town ⌊you want to go to⌋ .
-or-
So Elisha ⌊went to the soldiers and⌋ told them that the road ⌊that they were on⌋ did not go to the right place. ⌊He also told them that⌋ the city ⌊where they were⌋ was not the city ⌊they were seeking⌋ .
6:19b Follow me, and I will take you to the man you are seeking.”
Come with me. Let me lead you (plur.) to the man you are searching for.”
-or-
Come with me and I will take you to the man you have come to arrest.”
-or-
⌊He also told them that⌋ he could/would lead them to the man whom they had come to capture.
6:19c And he led them to Samaria.
But Elisha led them into ⌊the city of⌋ Samaria.
-or-
And so Elisha took them to ⌊the city of⌋ Samaria ⌊instead⌋ .
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