Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Daniel 5:6:
Kupsabiny: “When (he) saw that hand, he became very frightened and his face turned pale. He became terrified till his knees trembled/shook.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Then his face became pale. Because he was so afraid both his knees trembled.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Because of that, the king was-shaken and turned-pale because in fear.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “He became very frightened, and his face became pale/white. His knees started shaking, and his legs became very weak, with the result that he could not stand up.” (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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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.”
If a time clause is used at the end of verse 5, this verse will be a continuation of the sentence started there: “When the king saw … he turned pale….” The appearance of the hand caused four simultaneous reactions in the king. Two were visible: (a) paleness and (d) trembling; and the other two were internal: (b) dread and (c) exhaustion or loss of strength. In each case the structure of the phrase may be awkward in some languages, since the subject of the verb is a part of the king (his color, thoughts, limbs, or knees) but not the king himself. The structure will have to be changed if this is the case.
The king’s color changed: the word for color is actually plural in form in the original. As an equivalent for this expression, translators should look for the most natural way of describing the change in physical appearance that comes over a person when he is paralyzed with fear. It is interesting to note that, while many English translations speak of Belshazzar’s face turning pale, New Jerusalem Bible renders the same expression “the king’s face darkened.”
His thoughts alarmed him: the meaning is simply “he became very frightened.”
His limbs gave way: literally “the joints of his loins/hips were loosened” (compare King James Version). But the word for loins or hips may, in fact, refer to the entire midsection of the body, which was the source of physical strength, according to ancient thinking. Sudden and extreme anxiety can cause the loss of physical force. So the meaning of this expression is something like “his hips gave way” or “he became extremely weak all over.” But in some languages it will be possible to stay close to the form of the original.
His knees knocked together: this refers to an observable trembling in the legs. It may or may not be natural in a given language to speak of the knees actually coming together as a result of this shaking.
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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