וַיֹּ֤אמֶר הָאִישׁ֙ אֶל־יוֹאָ֔ב ולא אָנֹכִ֜י שֹׁקֵ֤ל עַל־כַּפַּי֙ אֶ֣לֶף כֶּ֔סֶף לֹֽא־אֶשְׁלַ֥ח יָדִ֖י אֶל־בֶּן־הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ כִּ֣י בְאָזְנֵ֜ינוּ צִוָּ֣ה הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ אֹ֠תְךָ וְאֶת־אֲבִישַׁ֤י וְאֶת־אִתַּי֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר שִׁמְרוּ־מִ֕י בַּנַּ֖עַר בְּאַבְשָׁלֽוֹם׃
12But the man said to Joab, “Even if I felt in my hand the weight of a thousand pieces of silver, I would not raise my hand against the king’s son, for in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, ‘For my sake protect the young man Absalom!’
Hand colored stencil print on momigami by Sadao Watanabe (1972).
Image taken with permission from the SadaoHanga Catalogue where you can find many more images and information about Sadao Watanabe.
For other images of Sadao Watanabe art works in TIPs, see here.
See also Absalom.
The Hebrew that is transliterated as “Absalom” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the signs depicting “hair + caught” referring to 2 Samuel 18:9. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
“Absalom” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España
For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .
See also Absalom (image).
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Absalom .
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the exclusive pronoun, excluding Joab.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 18:12:
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 (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, the Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “command” or “commandment” in English is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as o-meiji (お命じ), combining “command” (meiji) with the respectful prefix o-.
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
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 (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God or a person or persons to be greatly honored, the honorific prefix go- (御 or ご) can be used, as in go-shisoku (ご子息), a combination of “object of worship” (shisoku) and the honorific prefix go-. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
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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).
But: the conjunction here marks a definite contrast between what may have been expected and what the soldier actually responded. He would have no part of any reward of any size for doing something contrary to the will of David, his commander in chief.
If I felt in my hand the weight …: this is a rather graphic way of saying “Even if you had already given me…” or “Even if I already had in my possession….” The plural Hebrew word rendered hand often refers specifically to the palm of the hand.
A thousand pieces of silver: the relationship between this amount and the ten pieces of silver mentioned in the previous verse is more important to the story than the precise amounts. The soldier affirms that he would refuse even a hundred times more than the amount previously offered if he had to disobey the orders of his king. In some languages the most natural rendering may actually be “a hundred times more than that….”
Put forth my hand against the king’s son: that is, “take action against the king’s son…” or “use my power to kill the king’s son.”
For …: the transition word here indicates that what follows is the reason why the soldier would refuse to take action against Absalom.
In our hearing the king commanded: in many languages it will be more normal to say “we were there when the king ordered…” or “we heard it when the king said….” The Hebrew construction is literally “the king commanded … saying.”
For my sake protect the young man: this translation is based on the ancient versions and a few Hebrew manuscripts, and nearly all modern translations follow this reading. Most Hebrew manuscripts read “watch out for whoever is against the young man” or “watch out whoever you may be for the young man.” The Hebrew text is not the same here as in verse 5, and there is some debate about which is the original text in this case. There is no verb in verse 5, and the verb here in verse 12 usually means “protect” or “look out [for].” The Hebrew word following the verb here in verse 12 means “who” or “whoever.” This word differs from the word translated “for me” in verse 5 by only one letter. Finally, the Hebrew preposition before the words the young man is also different from the one in verse 5. All this makes for a very difficult expression to interpret.
Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament recommends that the Masoretic Text be followed and gives a {B} rating to the text, but not even New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh or New International Version, which usually follow the MT, do so here. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible (“Watch out that no one harms the young Absalom”) is one of the few modern translations that follows the MT (so also Bible de Jérusalem, 1998). Revised English Bible lacks the words For my sake and seems also to follow the MT, “to take care of the young man Absalom.”
The Masoretic Text certainly makes sense here, and the meaning is nearly the same as that in the ancient versions. Whether David said “For my sake protect the young man” or “Watch out that no one harms the young man,” the meaning is nearly the same. Translators should follow the MT here.
The direct quotation of David’s words about Absalom to the three commanders within the larger quotation will be awkward in certain languages and will be better rendered indirectly. New American Bible translates “charged you … in our hearing to protect the youth Absalom for his sake.”
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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