1At that time King Merodach-baladan son of Baladan of Babylon sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered.
The Hebrew that is translated as “offering” in English is translated in Venda as nduvho. J. A. van Rooy (in The Bible Translator 1974, p. 439ff. ) explains: “It is derived from the verb u luvha (‘to pay homage to; to acknowledge the superiority of; at the same time usually asking for a favour’). It is sometimes used as a synonym for ‘asking something from a chief. The noun nduvho means ‘a gift of allegiance,’ which corresponds closely with minchah (מִנְחָה) as ‘offering of allegiance.’ This term nduvho has in it the elements of subjugation, of reciprocity (asking for a favor), of being taken up into the same community as the chief in allegiance to him. Only the element of expiation is missing.”
In Northern Emberá, it is translated as “given to God freely.” (Source: Loewen 1980, p. 108)
The Hebrew, Greek, and Latin that is transliterated as “Hezekiah” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the signs for “king” and “facing the wall” referring to Isaiah 38:2. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
In Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) it is translated with a sign that signifies a model, a parameter for his life, referring to “he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, just as his ancestor David had done” of 2 Kings 18:3. (Source: Missão Kophós )
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.”
At that time refers to the time of Hezekiah’s recovery. However, we do not know specifically how much time elapsed between his recovery and the arrival of the delegation from Babylonia.
Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon: It is important to make it clear that Merodach-baladan was king of Babylon at that time, and not Baladan his father. Good News Translation expresses this clearly. Merodach-baladan ruled Babylonia 722-710 B.C. and again for a short time during 704-703 B.C. The Hebrew noun rendered Babylon is used to refer to the capital city Babylon and to the country Babylonia (see the comments on 13.19). Unlike English, in some modern languages there is no distinction in form between the name of the city and the name of the country. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version correctly say “Babylonia” here.
Sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah: Revised Standard Version says that Merodach-baladan sent envoys to Hezekiah. However, the Hebrew text states only that he sent letters and a present. Obviously, someone would have to carry these items, so envoys is a reasonable addition. The Akkadian word shapiru can mean “envoy” and since this is close in spelling to the Hebrew word for letters (separim), some scholars prefer to read “envoys” instead of letters. Revised English Bible reflects this by saying “sent envoys with a gift to Hezekiah.” However, since the Hebrew text clearly includes letters, translators should not omit it. Instead of the plural word letters, Good News Translation and Bible en français courant use the singular. Since it is plural in Hebrew, it should be rendered as plural.
For he heard that he had been sick and had recovered: For renders the common Hebrew conjunction, not the particle ki that occurs in the parallel text of 2 Kgs 20.12. It functions as a logical connector here since it introduces the reason why Merodach-baladan sent envoys with letters and a gift to Hezekiah. It is unlikely that he sent them simply for a friendly visit. 2 Chr 32.31 indicates that they also came to hear more about the sun’s shadow moving back ten steps. Nevertheless, they most likely came to encourage Hezekiah to join a rebellion against Assyria (see the introductory comments on this section [39.1-8]). The two occurrences of the pronoun he in this clause refer to different persons; the first one refers to Merodach-baladan and the second one to Hezekiah. It may be necessary in some translations to identify by name at least one of these people. Good News Translation places this clause earlier in the verse for naturalness in English, which other languages may find helpful (see also the examples below).
For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:
• King Merodach-baladan of Babylonia, son of Baladan, heard that Hezekiah had been sick and had recovered, so he sent him letters and a gift.
• When the king of Babylonia, Merodach-baladan, son of Baladan, heard that Hezekiah had recovered from his illness, he sent him letters and a gift.
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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