Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezra 4:5:
Kupsabiny: “Those people gave some/other leaders money to bribe them so that they could oppose the plan of building. Those things happened/took place (starting) from the rulership of Cyrus of Persia to that of Darius.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “They fed bribes to the Persian government officials to get them to work in opposition to the Jews. They continued to do like that during the entire lifetime of King Cyrus and up to the time of king Darius of Persia.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “They hired the officials of the government of Persia in-order to oppose the plans of the people of Juda. They continued to do this from the time of Cyrus the king of Persia until the time that Darius was now the king of Persia.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “They bribed government officials to oppose what the Israelis were doing and prevent them from continuing to work on the temple. They did that all during the time that Cyrus was King of Persia. They continued to do it when Darius became the King of Persia.” (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.”
Hired counselors against them: The counselors referred to are Persian government officers who are literally hired to break up the Jewish plan. New English Bible calls them “officials at court,” while New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “ministers.” “To hire” is to pay money to someone for their services. Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New Jerusalem Bible and other versions interpret this as bribery; that is, they paid the government officials to do something that was not right for them to do (see Neh 6.12).
The second of the two ideas expressed in the Hebrew here is conveyed in Revised Standard Version as to frustrate their purpose and in Good News Translation as “to work against them.” The concept of working against or in opposition to the Jews is explicit in the text, as is the effort to prevent their plan from succeeding. No examples are given of how these tactics were carried out to make their plan fail. There is a play on words in the Hebrew because the word for counselors is formed from the same root as the word translated as purpose. In the Hebrew they bribed “counselors” to make the “counsel” of the Jews fail (so Chouraqui), but most translators will not be able to imitate the pun. Osty-Trinquet expresses both ideas as follows: “they hired against them counselors to make their plan fail.”
All the days of Cyrus king of Persia; that is, “the days of the rule of Cyrus over Persia” or “the time of the kingdom of….” This can also be restructured “during all the time that King Cyrus ruled over Persia.”
Even until the reign of Darius king of Persia: The length of time spoken of here extended not only until the time when Darius became king, but as Good News Translation makes clear, it went “into” his reign. King Darius of Persia ruled from 521 to 486 B.C. following the reigns of Cyrus and Cambyses.
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 .
They hired/paid ⌊government⌋ officials to oppose them -or-
These enemies bribed some important/influential ⌊Persian⌋ administrators to act against them.
4:5b to frustrate their plans throughout the reign of Cyrus king of Persia
by hindering the/their building plans during all the time that Cyrus was king/chief of Persia. -or-
⌊They did this⌋ to prevent them from continuing the work ⌊on the house of God⌋. ⌊This went on⌋ for the remaining time that King Cyrus ruled Persia.
4:5c and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.
This continued to the time when Darius was king/chief of Persia. ⌊⌋ -or-
This situation/problem continued even until King Darius ruled Persia.
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