complete verse (2 Samuel 13:31)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 13:31:

  • Kupsabiny: “When the king heard like that, he tore his clothes when in pain and fell down. The servants who were together with the king also tore their clothes.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Feeling very grieved at heart, David got up suddenly, tore his clothes and went to lie prostrate on the ground. Then his servants who were with him also tore their clothes.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Then David stood and tore his garments to show his mourning, and lay-down on the ground. His servants also tore their garments and they just stood there.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The king stood up, tore his clothes because he was extremely sad, and then he threw himself down on the ground. All the servants who were there also tore their clothes.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

king

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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).

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 13:31

Then: the transition word here seems to indicate that King David’s next action is a direct result of what he had just learned. Although Good News Translation leaves it untranslated, it is possible to render it “At this…” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “At that…” (Knox). Other languages may even use something like “Therefore” or “So” at this point.

Rent his garments … their garments: see the comments on the similar expression at verse 19.

Lay on the earth: the impulsive nature of this action, which the context seems to suggest, is more clearly brought out by the renderings of Good News Translation and Revised English Bible (“threw himself on the ground”). David almost certainly did not calmly lie down on the ground but rather threw himself to the ground. However, compare also 12.16, where David spent all night lying on the ground.

Following the last two phrases New Century Version provides an explanation of the meaning of these actions by adding “to show his sadness.” Something like this may be helpful in other languages as well.

The servants mentioned in this verse may have been officials, that is, “officers” (New Jerusalem Bible, Nueva Biblia Española, La Bible du Semeur: “ministers”), or subordinate household servants (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New International Version, Revised English Bible). The context is ambiguous and translators must simply choose between the two possible senses.

Who were standing by: this is taken by most interpreters to mean “who were present” at the time that David heard the news and reacted to it by showing his sadness. Others, however, take it to mean that the servants “remained standing” (Contemporary English Version, similarly Revised English Bible), in contrast with David, who had thrown himself to the ground. In this context the latter sense seems to fit better.

Rent their garments: in Hebrew the participle rent is passive in form, and the subject of the participle is the word garments. This Hebrew construction focuses more on the result of the process of tearing than on the action itself. For this reason Revised English Bible more accurately captures the sense of the Hebrew, with “all his servants were standing round him with their clothes torn.” The Hebrew leaves implicit that the servants had torn their garments. But for reasons of translation it may be necessary to state that they tore their clothes and not merely say that their clothes were torn.

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 .