22Because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace was so overheated, the raging flames killed the men who lifted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Daniel 3:22:
Kupsabiny: “But because of the king’s harsh order, the fire was made very hot. The flames of that fire burned/destroyed the soldiers who brought Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego there.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Because the king had commanded that the fire of the kiln be made to burn hotter and hotter, the soldiers who threw Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego into the kiln were reduced to ashes by the flaring fire.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Because the furnace was-heated more according to the command of the king, the soldiers who had-thrown- them -in were-killed because of the flame of the fire.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Because the fire had been made very hot because the king had very strongly ordered them to do that, the flames leaped out and killed the soldiers as they were throwing the men into the fire!” (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.”
Strict: the same word is translated “severe” in 2.15. In this context it indicates that the king’s order was firm and uncompromising. Many versions (New International Version, New American Bible, New Revised Standard Version, and New Jerusalem Bible) translate the word “urgent.” In some languages it may be necessary to say “the king’s command was strong.” Another possibility is “the king was very angry when he have his command” (New Century Version).
The flame of the fire: such an expression as this will be seen as redundant in some languages and should be translated simply as “flames” or “fire,” but not both.
Slew: in some cases a more general word such as “kill” will be preferred, but in others the context will require “burned up” or some other expression related to death by fire.
Since this verse begins with a kind of explanation of why the guards were burned up in the fire, it may be more natural to change the order of clauses in some languages. Another way of wording this may be something like “The guards who took the young men to the furnace were burned to death because the king had given very strict orders that the furnace be made extremely hot.” Or it may be advisable to divide the verse into two sentences, as follows: “Following the strict orders of the king, the furnace had been made as hot as possible. Therefore even the soldiers who had been ordered to throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the fire were burned up.”
Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René & Ellington, John. A Handbook on Daniel. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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