2So all the people of Israel withdrew from David and followed Sheba son of Bichri, but the people of Judah followed their king steadfastly from the Jordan to Jerusalem.
The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)
The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 20:2:
Kupsabiny: “So, everyone in Israel abandoned David and followed Sheba son of Bicri. But the people of Judah persevered from the river Jordan until the city of Jerusalem and remained with their king David.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “So the men of Israel abandoned David and went following Sheba son of Bichri. But the men of Judah, however, went with David and they went following David from the Jordan up to Jerusalem.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “So those of/from-Israel left David and followed Sheba the child of Bicri. But those of/from-Juda stayed with their king, and they went-along-with him from the River Jordan to Jerusalem.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “So all the men from the other Israeli tribes deserted David and went with Sheba, but the men of Judah stayed with David. They wanted him to be their king, and went with him from near the Jordan River up to Jerusalem.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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.”
So: as a result of Sheba’s appeal, the people of the ten northern tribes, here called men of Israel, did as they were encouraged to do. The common conjunction at the beginning of the verse is a kind of logical marker showing this transition. As in the previous verse, translators may wish to follow the model of Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente and translate men of Israel as “the men from the north” or “the men from the northern tribes of Israel.”
Withdrew from David: the verb here may be translated “abandoned,” “deserted” (New International Version), or “stopped following” (Contemporary English Version).
But: the conjunction here marks the contrast between the reaction of the men of Israel and the men of Judah.
Followed their king steadfastly: in some languages it may be better to clarify the fact that their king refers to David. Also, the adverb steadfastly does not translate a separate word in Hebrew but is a part of the verb that is elsewhere rendered “clung to” (Ruth 1.14), “keep close to” (Ruth 2.8), and “followed hard after” (1 Sam 14.22). The modern English idiom “to stick with” is not far from the meaning of the verb here.
From the Jordan to Jerusalem: the wording of this part of the verse makes it clear that the desertion of the Israelites took place while David was near the Jordan River, still on his way back to Jerusalem. Sheba’s rebellion therefore began just as the one led by Absalom was coming to an end.
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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