complete verse (2 Samuel 11:15)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 11:15:

  • Kupsabiny: “David told Joab in that letter that, ‘Put Uriah to go to the front where the battle is tough and you pull back some of the soldiers so that the enemies can kill him.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “In the letter David wrote like this, "Where the battle is most intense, having sent Uriah to the front, you withdraw [lit.: you stay behind] and let him wounded and die [lit.: he must die]."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “This is what he wrote: ‘Put Uria in the front-line, where the fighting is very severe, then you (plur.) leave him so-that he will-die.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “In the letter, he wrote, ‘Put Uriah in the front line, where the fighting is the worst/most severe. Then command the soldiers to pull back from him, in order that he will be killed by our enemies.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (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 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).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 11:15

He wrote: the verb tense may be a problem, since it has already been said that the letter was sent by the hand of Uriah. It may be necessary to say something like “he had written…” or possibly “these are the words that were recorded….”

The forefront of the hardest fighting: literally “in front facing the fierce battle.” The meaning is quite clear. David wanted Uriah to be placed in the most dangerous place possible in order to ensure that he would not survive.

Then draw back from him: another way to say this may be “leave him there as you and the other soldiers withdraw.” New Century Version says simply “leave him there alone.”

That he may be struck down, and die: in order to make absolutely sure that Joab understood his intent, David says clearly that he wants Uriah to be hit by the enemy and that he should die.

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 .