The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “brother” in English is translated in Kwere as sekulu, in Elhomwe as mbalaawo´, and in Mandarin Chinese as gēgē (哥哥), all “older brother.”
Note that Kwere also uses lumbu — “older sibling” in some cases. (Source for Kwere and Elhomwe: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext; Chinese: Jost Zetzsche)
In Lama it is translated as “older or younger brother.” (Source: Neal Brinneman)
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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 to do this is through the usage of appropriate suffix title referred to as keishō (敬称) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017 by either using -san or –sama with the latter being the more formal title.
In these verses, the Hebrew that is translated as “brother” in English is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as nī-san (兄さん), combining the word for “older brother” (nī) and the suffix title –san. Job 1:18 uses a smilar term with the additional honorific prefix o: o-nī-san (お兄さん). (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 13:7:
Kupsabiny: “Then David, sent mouth/message to tell Tamar to go and make for Amnon food in his house/room.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “So, David sent a message to Tamar in the palace like this, "Go to the house of your brother, Amnon, and prepare food for him."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “So David caused-to-send-someone to tell Tamar at the palace to come to her brother Amnon and prepare food for him.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “So David sent a message to Tamar in the palace, saying ‘Amnon is sick and he wants you to go to his house and prepare some food for him.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Then: the common Hebrew conjunction indicates the next step in a sequence of events.
Sent home: since David’s home was the royal palace, Tamar was “in the palace” as Good News Translation indicates. He sent the message to her there and ordered that she do as Amnon had requested. Some translators may prefer to say “sent a messenger to tell Tamar….”
Amnon’s house: only here does the reader find out for sure that Amnon is in a different house and not in another part of the royal palace. This may affect the translation of the expression “comes to see you” and “came to see him” in verses 5 and 6. The Hebrew contains the particle of entreaty, which is not translated in Revised Standard Version or Good News Translation. Compare New American Bible, “Please go to the house of your brother.” Translators should use an expression that a king would use when asking his daughter to do something.
Prepare food: here the more general terminology is used as in verse 5. There is no mention of the specific kind of food that Amnon speaks of in verse 6.
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 .
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