The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “survive,” “escape,” “save,” or similar in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) in these verses with pulumuka, describing someone whose life was in danger but who has freed himself or herself. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
complete verse (Isaiah 37:11)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 37:11:
- Kupsabiny: “You have heard what the kings of Assyria did in every country where they were fighting, haven’t you? They killed every person they met. So, do you really think that you will escape?” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
- Newari: “You have certainly heard that the kings of Assyria have completely destroyed the lands of all the other kings. What! Do you hope that you will be spared?” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
- Hiligaynon: “Listen! You (sing.) yourselves have-heard what the kings of Asiria had-done to almost all the nations. They destroyed them completely. And you (sing.), are- you (sing.) -thinking that you (sing.) can-escape/[lit. will-be-safe]?” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- English: “You have certainly heard what the armies of the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries; our armies have destroyed them completely. So, do you think that you will escape?/do not think that your god will save you!” (Source: Translation for Translators)
king
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:
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- Piro: “a great one”
- Highland Totonac: “the big boss”
- Huichol: “the one who commanded” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
- Ekari: “the one who holds the country” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
- Una: weik sienyi: “big headman” (source: Kroneman 2004, p. 407)
- Pass Valley Yali: “Big Man” (source: Daud Soesilo)
- 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.”
(Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )
See also king (Japanese honorifics).
2nd person pronoun with low register (Japanese)
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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 second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.
In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.
Translation commentary on Isaiah 37:11
Behold calls Hezekiah’s attention to the following comment about Assyrian kings. Good News Translation omits this focusing particle, but it would be helpful to express it in some way. New International Version has “Surely,” while Revised English Bible begins with “You yourself must have heard…” (similarly New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Revised English Bible‘s rendering also expresses well the emphatic second person pronoun for you in Hebrew.
You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, destroying them utterly: Assyria’s reputation as a ruthless war machine was common knowledge (see also 10.5-11). So Sennacherib notes that he and his predecessors have defeated and destroyed all the surrounding nations. His boasting implies that Assyria has become the world power of the day. You have heard may be rendered “you know.” Since Sennacherib was the Assyrian king at that time, it may be better to translate the kings of Assyria as “we kings of Assyria” or “I and the previous kings of Assyria.” Good News Translation says “an Assyrian emperor,” which is a singular with a collective meaning. Sennacherib is exaggerating by referring to all lands. Lands may be rendered “countries” (New International Version) or “nations” (Contemporary English Version). Destroying them utterly describes more fully what the Assyrian kings did to other nations. In the Old Testament the Hebrew verb rendered destroying … utterly often refers to completely destroying something as an act of devotion to God (see the comments on this verb at 34.2, where it is rendered “has doomed”), so New Jerusalem Bible says “putting them under the curse of destruction.” Sennacherib uses this strong verb to continue his exaggeration. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh expresses it well here with “annihilated,” and so does New International Version with “destroying … completely.” Good News Translation loses some of the exaggeration in the first half of this verse by omitting the word all and simply saying “destroy.”
And shall you be delivered?: This rhetorical question is based on the reputation of the Assyrian army. It implies that Judah cannot escape the fate of the other nations. If the passive verb be delivered requires an active form in some languages, this question may be rendered “Can your god save you?” or simply “Can you escape?” This rhetorical question may also be rendered as a strong statement (see the second example below).
For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:
• Look, you know what Assyrian kings have done to every other nation. They have destroyed them completely. Do you think your god can save you?
• Look, you have heard how Assyrian kings have utterly destroyed every other nation. You won’t escape!
• You yourself have heard what we kings of Assyria have done, destroying every other nation completely. Can your god save you?
Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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