Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezra 4:22:
Kupsabiny: “Therefore, be careful so as not to delay to do like that. For why should this evil continue until it destroys us?” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Do not delay in doing this task. The work of the kings should not be harmed.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “You (plur.) do this right-away so-that my kingdom will- not -be-harmed.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Do this immediately , because I do not want those people to do anything to harm the things/area about which I am concerned.’” (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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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.”
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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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
Take care not to be slack in this matter: The king makes the provincial officials responsible to carry out the order. He orders them to “Be careful” (New International Version) not to be negligent in it. This may be translated “Absolutely do not fail to do this” or “Look to yourselves that you do not leave this undone!” Some languages have sentence final particles that give emphasis to commands and other strong statements that could be used here by translators.
Why should damage grow to the hurt of the king?: The king ends his letter with this rhetorical question in which he seems to agree with the thoughts expressed in the letter to him (see verse 13). By asking the question, he is making a strong statement that “harm” should not be done to his “interests” (Good News Translation). To the hurt means “to cause loss.” The king is plural in Aramaic, so some versions render it “the kings” (Nouvelle version Segond révisée, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Chouraqui), “the monarchy” (New English Bible), “the royal house” (Revised English Bible), or “the royal interests” (New International Version). The people to whom the king is writing the letter are not to allow the income from taxes and his honor to suffer by what happens in Jerusalem.
Contemporary English Version restructures the verse to state it in the form of an affirmative imperative: “Do this right now, so that no harm will come to the kingdom.”
Some languages may want to indicate that the letter ends here.
Quoted with permission from Noss, Philip A. and Thomas, Kenneth J. A Handbook on Ezra. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2005. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Beware (plur.) not to ignore to do this. -or-
This is a warning! Do not fail to do what I have ordered you to do.
4:22b Why allow this threat to increase and the royal interests to suffer?
Why should this injury to the king/chief grow so that he suffers great loss?” -or-
We must not allow these people to do anything that brings harm/injury to the/my kingdom.
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