The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “messenger” in English is translated in Noongar as moort yana-waangki or “person walk-talk” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
self-referencing pronoun for king or queen
In Malay, the pronoun beta for the royal “I” (or “my” or “me”) that is used by royals when speaking to people of lower rank, subordinates or commoners to refer to themselves in these verses. This reflects the “language of the court because the monarchy and sultanate in Malaysia are still alive and well. All oral and printed literature (including newspapers and magazines) preserve and glorify the language of the court. Considering that the language of the court is part of the Malaysian language, court language is used sparingly where appropriate, specifically with texts relating to palace life.” (Source: Daud Soesilo in The Bible Translator 2025, p. 263ff.)
complete verse (2 Kings 9:18)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 9:18:
- Kupsabiny: “Then, that man who was riding on a horse went and he asked Jehu, ‘The king has asked, ‘Do you (plur.) come in peace?’ Jehu replied, ‘Peace of what? If you (sing.) want peace, follow my words.’ The soldier turned his horse and joined Jehu. Then the guard said to the king, ‘That man who was sent met with those many people but he is not returning.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
- Newari: “The horseback rider reached Jehu’s place, and said to him, "The king says like this: ‘Do you come in peace?’"
Jehu said, "What do you know about peace? You come, following me."
The guard standing on the tower of Jezreel said, "The horseback rider has reached them, but he is not coming back."” (Source: Newari Back Translation) - Hiligaynon: “So a horseman went to meet them, and he said, ‘The king wants to know if your (plur.) purpose in-coming here is good.’ Jehu replied, ‘What is your (sing.) concern? [You (sing.)] follow me!’
The guard shouted to the king, ‘The horseman that you (sing.) sent has- already -arrived to them, but he has- not -come-back.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation) - English: “So a man rode out to meet Jehu and said to him, ‘The king wants to know if you are coming to be friendly to us.’
Jehu replied, ‘This is not the time for you to be concerned about acting friendly! Turn around and come behind me!’
So the guard in the watchtower reported that the messenger had reached the group that was approaching, but that he was not returning alone.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
king
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).
2nd person pronoun with low register (Japanese)
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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 second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.
In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.
Honorary "rare" construct denoting God ("asking")
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 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, tazuneteo-rare-ru (尋ねておられる) or “asking” is used.
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Translation commentary on 2 Kings 9:18
So: While Good News Translation omits the conjunction at this point, many languages will require some kind of logical connector similar to what is found in Revised Standard Version.
A man on horseback went: The verb went is modified by the words on horseback, so in some languages this may be rendered “a messenger rode out on a horse” (similarly Good News Translation). But see the comments on the word horseman in verse 17.
To meet him: It will be important in some languages to replace the pronoun him with the proper name “Jehu” since this is the meaning.
Thus says the king, “Is it peace?”: The quotation within another quotation here will almost certainly be rendered indirectly in many languages; for example, Contemporary English Version translates “King Joram wants to know if this is a friendly visit.” This wording also lets the reader know which king is involved. For the question Is it peace? see the previous verse.
What have you to do with peace?: This rather awkward-sounding question is really a way of telling the messenger that matters of peace and war are not his concern. In some languages a question may be used to fulfill this function; for example, New Living Translation says “What do you know about peace?” But in other cases a more direct statement like that of Good News Translation will convey the meaning. Other possibilities avoiding the question format are “Peace is not your concern” and “It is not for you to worry about peace!”
Turn round and ride behind me: Jehu orders the messenger to fall into line as if he were one of his own soldiers. Some translations use military terminology, saying “Fall in behind me” (Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible). The text leaves implicit the fact that the messenger obeyed this command. But the context makes it clear that this was the case. If the receptor language requires it, this implied information may be made explicit in translation.
The watchman reported: The sentinel who had been looking from the watchtower sees that the messenger has fallen into line with Jehu’s troops and reports this to King Joram. If the receptor language requires a clear statement as to whom the report was given, it will be legitimate to say “the watchman reported to the king.” Contemporary English Version makes it clear that the message is directed to the king by beginning it with the direct address, “Your Majesty.”
The messenger reached them, but he is not coming back: Once again, the direct quotation of the text may be more naturally rendered indirectly in certain languages. In those cases the following models may be helpful: “the lookout reported to King Joram that the messenger had met Jehu and his troops but that he was not returning” and “the sentinel told King Joram that the messenger was staying with Jehu’s soldiers after having met them.”
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 9:18
9:18a So a horseman rode off to meet Jehu and said,
The horse rider rode to meet Jehu. He said to him,
-or-
So a man on a horse went to meet Jehu. ⌊When he reached him,⌋ he said ⌊to Jehu⌋ ,
9:18b “This is what the king asks: ‘Have you come in peace?’”
“This is what the king says, ‘Is there peace ⌊between us (incl.) ⌋ ?’”
-or-
“The king wants to know if you are coming as friends or enemies.”
9:18c “What do you know about peace?” Jehu replied.
Jehu said ⌊to him⌋ , “What does that matter to you?
-or-
Jehu answered, “That is none of your (sing.) business.
9:18d “Fall in behind me.”
Just follow (sing.) me.”
-or-
What you must do is join my men.”
9:18e And the watchman reported,
The watchman reported ⌊to the king⌋ ,
-or-
The soldier watching said ⌊to the king⌋ ,
9:18f “The messenger reached them,
“⌊Your (sing.) /Our (incl.) ⌋ messenger has met them,
-or-
“The man/rider whom you sent has gone/got to them,
9:18g but he is not coming back.”
but he is not returning ⌊to us (incl.) ⌋ .”
-or-
but he has not started to come back.”
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