mourn

The Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that is translated as “mourn” or similar in English is translated in Newari as “have one’s heart broken” or “have a bursting heart” (source: Newari Back Translation).

complete verse (2 Samuel 19:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 19:2:

  • Kupsabiny: “But, instead of the soldiers of David becoming happy, they became afraid/sorrowful because, those soldiers were told that the king was mourning for his son Absalom.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Then, instead of a day of joy at winning, all the soldiers had to be in mourning. For they heard that the king was lamenting [the death of] his own son.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “When the soldiers also heard this, their rejoicing because-of- their -victory stopped, and they also mourned.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “All of David’s soldiers became sad. Instead of rejoicing about defeating the soldiers who had fought with Absalom, they were sad because they heard that the king was mourning because Absalom was dead.” (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 19:2

So: the common Hebrew conjunction here introduces the result of David’s mourning for his son. While some versions leave the conjunction untranslated or use the word “And” (King James Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, and New International Version), the context seems to call for something more like the Revised Standard Version transition word So. Note also that Anderson has “thus….”

Victory: in some languages this noun will be better translated as a verbal expression. New Century Version, for example, says “David’s army had won the battle….” Revised Standard Version translates this same Hebrew noun “deliverance” in 1 Sam 11.9.

Turned into mourning for all the people: the wording of this expression will need to be turned around in many languages so that all the people becomes the subject. Some may say “all the people became sad instead of rejoicing….” Note also that all the people actually refers to the army, or “troops,” as in New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, and several other versions.

Once again the direct quotation, The king is grieving for his son, may be more naturally rendered indirectly in a number of languages.

Possible models for the verse as a whole are:

• So when the army of David learned that he was crying because his son had died, their victory in battle became a matter of sadness instead of joy.

Or:

• That day the army of David had won the battle, but it became a day of sadness for them because they learned that the king was mourning over the death of his son.

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 .