The Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated into English as “chariot” is translated into Anuak as “canoe pulled by horse.” “Canoe” is the general term for “vehicle” (source: Loren Bliese). Similarly it is translated in Lokạạ as ukwaa wạ nyanyang ntuuli or “canoe that is driven by horses.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
Other translations include:
Chichicapan Zapotec: “ox cart” (in Acts 8) (ox carts are common vehicles for travel) (source: Loren Bliese)
Chichimeca-Jonaz, it is translated as “little house with two feet pulled by two horses” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
HausaCommon Language Bible as keken-doki or “cart of donkey” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 9:28:
Kupsabiny: “Then, his servants brought the body of that man in the chariot to Jerusalem and they went to bury him where his forefathers were buried in the City of David.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “His servants put his corpse in a chariot and took it to Jerusalem. He was buried in a grave with his ancestors near the city of David.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “His servants took his corpse and loaded (it) on the chariot going to Jerusalem. He was-buried in the burial-place of his ancestors in the Town of David.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “His officials took his corpse back to Jerusalem and buried it in the tombs in the part of Jerusalem called ‘The City of David’, where his ancestors had been buried.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
His servants carried him in a chariot: The pronoun him will probably be better translated “his body” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) or “the dead king” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) since Ahaziah was already dead at this point.
To Jerusalem should probably be rendered “back to Jerusalem” since this was Ahaziah’s capital and was the place where he normally resided.
His tomb refers, in all probability, to one of the royal tombs in Jerusalem that had already been designated for Ahaziah.
With his fathers; that is, “with his forefathers” (Revised English Bible), “beside his ancestors” (Contemporary English Version), or “with his ancestors” (New Revised Standard Version). This is comparable to “slept with his fathers” although the verb “sleep” does not occur here. For buried … with his fathers, see the comments on 1 Kgs 14.31. The Septuagint, which is followed here by New Jerusalem Bible, does not have the words with his fathers, but they should be kept.
The city of David: See the comments at 1 Kgs 2.10.
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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