The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “concubine” in English is translated in Kutu as “slave made to be his woman” or “female slave he married” and similarly in Makonde, “a slave who is/was a wife.”
In Kwere it is translated as “small wife.” This is the term for subsequent wives when polygamy is practiced among the Kwere. While they enjoy most of the same rights and privileges as the first wife, their status is not necessarily the same. In Kalanga it is likewise translated with balongwana or “small wife.” (Source for all: project-specific notes in Paratext)
In Newari it is translated as “illegitimate wife” (source: Newari Back Translation).
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 5:13:
Kupsabiny: “When David had left Hebron to go and stay in Jerusalem, he married other women and picked concubines. Those women and those concubines produced/bore to David children who were many.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “When [he] came from Hebron to live in Jerusalem, David took more wives and concubines. Then from them [he] had many sons and daughters.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “When David moved to Jerusalem from Hebron, he married- many more -wives; some of them were his servants, and his children increased- still even -more.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “After David moved from Hebron to Jerusalem, he took more slave women to be his second-class wives, and he also married other women. All of those women gave birth to more sons and daughters.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some versions add a section heading at this point to describe the content of verses 13-16. Contemporary English Version, for example, has “David’s Sons Born in Jerusalem,” and Jerusalem Bible has “The sons born to David in Jerusalem.” Verses 13-16 correspond to 3.2-5, which names David’s sons who were born in Hebron.
The structure may be changed as in Good News Translation by shifting the part about moving to Jerusalem to the beginning of the sentence. This allows for putting the parts about wives and children together, which will be more natural in a number of languages.
Concubines: see the comments on 3.7. In this case some translators may prefer to combine the meaning of concubines and wives by translating “married many women” as in Contemporary English Version. Note, however, that Contemporary English Version is forced to include a footnote explaining that “some of these women were second-class wives.”
From Jerusalem: or “in Jerusalem” (so Fox). After David had moved to Jerusalem, it was there that he took additional wives and concubines.
The passive expression were born to David may be rendered actively as “David’s wives bore him more sons and daughters,” or simply “David fathered more children.”
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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