The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)
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 Ezra 4:6:
Kupsabiny: “When the rulership of Ahasuerus began, the enemies of the Jews wrote a letter of complaint concerning the people of Judah and Jerusalem.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “At the beginning of King Ahasuerus’ reign, their enemies wrote a letter of accusation in opposition to the people who were living in Judah and Jerusalem.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “At the beginning of Ahasuerus’ reign, the enemies of the residents of Juda and Jerusalem wrote some accusations against them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “During the first year that Darius’ son Xerxes was king, the enemies of the Jews wrote a note to the king saying that the Jews were planning to rebel against the government.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Later other enemies wrote letters to their kings to stop the work of the Jews
4:6a At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes,
The Hebrew text gives the Hebrew transliteration of this king’s Persian name. This comes into English as Ahasuerus (see New Revised Standard Version, NET Bible, etc.). Some English versions (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Translation, etc.) instead use the Greek transliteration of this king’s name, Xerxes. Either name is acceptable to use in your translation, so we have used Ahasuerus in the first meaning line and Xerxes in the second.
¶ In the first year that Ahasuerus⌊⌋ was king/chief, -or-
¶ ⌊Later⌋ Xerxes became the king/ruler ⌊of Persia⌋. At the start of his rule/reign,
4:6b an accusation was lodged against the people of Judah and Jerusalem.
⌊the enemies of the Jews⌋ wrote a letter against the Jews who lived in Judah and Jerusalem. -or-
⌊some of the nearby/neighboring people⌋ wrote a letter ⌊to him⌋. In it, ⌊these non Jews⌋ accused the Jews who lived in ⌊the territory/province of⌋ Judah and ⌊the city of⌋ Jerusalem ⌊of doing wrong⌋.
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