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 Samuel 11:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 11:6:

  • Kupsabiny: “When David heard like that, he sent mouth/message to tell Joab to tell Uriah that, ‘The king wants you to go where he is.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “So David gave an order to Joab saying, "Send Uriah the Hittite to my place." So Joab sent him to David’s place.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Therefore David sent a message to Joab to cause-to-come to him Uria the Hittite. So Joab caused- Uria -to-go to David.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Then David sent a message to Joab. He said, ‘Send Uriah, from the Heth people-group, to me.’ So Joab did that. He sent Uriah to David.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 11:6

The text does not state why David sent for Uriah, but the reason becomes clear. In order to protect both himself and Bathsheba, David wants Uriah to sleep with Bathsheba so that people will think that Uriah is the father of the child.

So: once again this represents the common Hebrew conjunction, but in this case it introduces a further progression in the story and is best rendered as in Revised Standard Version or by the adverb “Then” (Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible), “So” (New International Version), or “Therefore” (New American Bible). While the New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh rendering, “Thereupon,” can hardly be considered common language, it does confirm the fact that something more than “and” is required in this context.

Sent word: if the statement that follows is translated as a direct quotation, these words may be rendered “sent this message….” But it is quite possible to make the following quotation indirect, and in many languages this will be more natural. If this is the case, the following model may be helpful for this part of the verse: “So David sent word to Joab that he should send Uriah the Hittite back to Jerusalem to appear at the palace” or “Therefore King David notified the general of his army that he wanted to see Uriah the Hittite.”

The verse concludes by saying that Joab obeyed his commander in chief. While this is again introduced by the common Hebrew conjunction, discourse considerations in most languages will require a different kind of transition word such as “So,” “Then,” or “Therefore.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .