9All the people were disputing throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies and saved us from the hand of the Philistines, and now he has fled out of the land because of Absalom.
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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, nigeteo-rare-ru (逃げておられる) or “fleeing” is used.
Also, benefactive constructions are used. Here, sukuidashite (救い出して) or “save/rescue” and tasukedashite (助け出して) or “save/help” are used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”
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:
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.”
The expression all the people is one that is sometimes used for an army (see, for example, 1 Sam 13.22; 23.8; 2 Sam 12.29), but in this case it apparently refers more broadly to people in general. If translators have been following the interpretation of these chapters in which Israel refers to the northern tribes only, then they should say here “the northern tribes” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). The distinction made in verse 11 between the tribe of Judah and the tribes of Israel makes it almost certain that the tribes of Israel here must refer to “the northern tribes of Israel.”
Were at strife: the verb so translated is used in a wide variety of ways in the Old Testament, but in this context it seems clear enough that the idea is “arguing” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New International Version, and New American Bible), “discussing” (Revised English Bible), or “disputing” (New Revised Standard Version). Some other ways this has been expressed in English versions are “all was dissension” and “began to argue” (New Century Version).
Saying: in many cases it will be necessary to indicate to whom this was said. The most obvious solution is to add something like “to each other,” since this is in the context of a debate or quarrel between different individuals and groups of people.
As in previous passages the hand of our enemies and the hand of the Philistines refers to the power of those who opposed Israel. It will be better in most languages not to translate this literally. The Hebrew word rendered hand is not the usual word for hand, but is rather the word for the palm of the hand. Here, however, it is used as a synonym for the more common word for hand. A more dynamic rendering of the whole expression may be a word like “oppression” or “persecution.”
The two Hebrew verbs translated delivered and saved in Revised Standard Version are translated saved and rescued in Good News Translation. The two verbs are synonyms here, and it is difficult to find any intended distinction in meaning. Revised English Bible says “saved” and “freed,” while New Jerusalem Bible says “freed” and “saved.”
The land refers to the territory of Israel. In some languages it will be necessary to say “our country” or more specifically “the land of Israel.”
From Absalom: Absalom, of course, is now dead, and this may need to be stated in translation. Compare Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, which combines verses 10 and 11, “David had to flee from his royal palace because of Absalom whom we made king, but now Absalom is dead.”
Contemporary English Version restructures verses 9 and 10 so that there are elements from verse 10 that come before certain parts of verse 9. If such restructuring is found necessary in the receptor language, the verse numbers will have to be combined. The two verses actually give a brief history of the troubles in Israel in the form of a direct quotation. The Contemporary English Version restructuring of 8b-10 is as follows:
• After Israel’s soldiers had all gone back home, everyone in Israel started arguing. They were saying to each other, “King David rescued us from the Philistines and from our other enemies. But then we chose Absalom to be our new leader, and David had to leave the country to get away. Absalom died in battle, so why hasn’t something been done to bring David back?”
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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