10when the one who told me, ‘See, Saul is dead,’ thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag—this was the reward I gave him for his news.
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Saul” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign that depicts “sword in chest” (referring to 1 Samuel 31:4 and 1 Chronicles 10:4) and also “self-centered.” (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
In Malay, the pronoun beta for the royal “I” (or “my” or “me”) that is used by royals when speaking to people of lower rank, subordinates or commoners to refer to themselves in these verses. This reflects the “language of the court because the monarchy and sultanate in Malaysia are still alive and well. All oral and printed literature (including newspapers and magazines) preserve and glorify the language of the court. Considering that the language of the court is part of the Malaysian language, court language is used sparingly where appropriate, specifically with texts relating to palace life.” (Source: Daud Soesilo in The Bible Translator 2025, p. 263ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 4:10:
Kupsabiny: “At that time when Saul died, somebody came up to Ziklag and told me that Saul had died. That person thought that he was bringing me good news. I told my person/man to kill (him). I did to him like that because of his news that he brought.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “[I] took the man who came to give me the news that Saul had died, thinking that [it would be] good [news], and I killed him at Ziglag. I punished him there for news that he brought.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Before then there-was a man who came to me at Ziklag and said that Saul is already dead. He thought that he brought a good news to me. Instead, I have- him -captured and have- him -killed. That was my prize to him, for his news.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “When a messenger came to Ziklag and told me ‘Saul is dead!’ and he thought that the news that he was bringing to me was good news, I seized him and commanded one of my soldiers to kill him. That was the reward I gave to him for his news!” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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 choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, goran (ご覧) or “see/behold/look” (itself a combination of “behold/see” [ran] and the honorific prefix go- — see behold / look / see (Japanese honorifics)) is 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).”
One: this refers to the Amalekite messenger who came to David at Ziklag with the news of the death of Saul and Jonathan (see 1.2). Note that Good News Translation shifts the geographical reference to Ziklag forward in the verse. Note also that the direct quotation within the larger discourse of David may be better rendered as indirect speech in many languages. Good News Translation has “told me of Saul’s death.”
Behold: see verse 8 and 1.2.
Thought: literally “he was in his own eyes.”
Good news: the messenger was under the false impression that the news he brought would make David happy.
Slew: the Hebrew verb means “to kill, slay.” The meaning in some contexts seems to be “to cause to kill.” Here Revised Standard Version says I … slew him. But since 1.15 says that David had one of the young men kill the Amalekite, the translation in Good News Translation (also Bible en français courant) is better: “I had him put to death.”
Reward: the word on which this translation is based is a very general term having to do with something “given.” In English the word “reward” is usually thought of as something positive—something good given in return for a good deed. But it is used ironically by Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation translators in this context. It may be better translated in other languages as “punishment” or “recompense.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh captures the idea by rendering the last part of this verse as “But instead of rewarding him for the news, I seized him and killed him.”
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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