complete verse (2 Samuel 2:32)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 2:32:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then Joab and his people caught/carried the body of Asahel and went and buried in a certain tomb/cave in Bethlehem where the people of their house/family were buried. Then, they caught/started the journey the whole night arriving in Hebron the next morning.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “They carried Asahel off and buried him in his father’s tomb in Bethlehem. After that Joab and his men walked all night and arrived at Hebron in the morning when the darkness became bright.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Joab and company took the corpse/dead-body of Asahel and buried in the grave of his father at Betlehem. Then all night long they marched[lit. walked], and they arrived at Hebron at daybreak.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Some of Joab’s soldiers took Asahel’s body and buried it in the tomb where his father had been buried, in Bethlehem. Then they marched all during the night, and at dawn they arrived back home at Hebron.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 2:32

They: the pronoun here refers to Joab and his soldiers. It may be wise to make this clear in translation as Good News Translation has done.

The tomb of his father: in many languages the word tomb presents difficulties for translators. In this context it is possible to say simply “the place where his father was buried.”

Bethlehem: See 1 Sam 16.4 (also Ruth 1.1and elsewhere.)

Marched: literally “walked.” The English word marched is a technical military term referring to the rhythmic step of foot soldiers moving together. But this word is also used more loosely to refer to the movement of troops on foot without any notion of walking in rhythmic step or in step to drums or other kinds of music. Many English translations say “marched” (Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation). If such a technical term exists in other languages, it may be used here.

Day broke upon them: this idiom indicates that the sun rose when they got to Hebron (see verse 3). In some cases it will be more natural to say something like “when they got back to Hebron the sun was rising.”

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 .