king

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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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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).

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (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 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).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 13:18 - 3:19

Translators who are following the structure of Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (see the introductory comments on verses 15-27) will put a heading before verse 18, possibly “The LORD speaks to [or, warns] King Jehoiachin.”

These two verses contain a message of warning to King Jehoiachin and his mother. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch identifies the king by name in its section heading, while Traduction œcuménique de la Bible provides a footnote that indicates both the name of the king and the function of the queen mother. Jehoiachin was the son and successor of Jehoiakim who died in 598 B.C. during the first siege of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army. Jehoiachin, who was only eighteen years old at the time, reigned only for three months before surrendering to the Babylonians. The queen mother may have exercised a great deal of influence over her son, but she also probably had an official position. For example, King Solomon’s mother sat on a throne to the right of the king (1Kgs 2.19), which probably showed that she had official status.

Take a lowly seat (Revised English Bible “Take a humble seat”) may have the more precise meaning of “come down from your throne” (see Good News Translation, New American Bible). Of course, many translators will say simply “sit in a humble place.”

Your beautiful crown has come down may be rendered “… has fallen off.” If crown is not known, translators can use an expression such as “royal headpiece” or “hat you wear as king.”

From your head in Revised Standard Version is based upon the Septuagint and other ancient translations, and is the preference of most modern translations. The Hebrew text has “your pillows” or “your headrests,” which may be interpreted as symbols of royal dignity (Hebrew Old Testament Text Project). However, this makes no sense in the context. Since the king and queen mother each has a crown and head, Good News Translation has used the plural form instead of the singular form of the text.

The Negeb (see also 17.26; 32.44; 33.13) was “southern Judah” (Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Many translators do not state where it is, using just an expression like “the Negeb region.”

Shut up has the meaning of “under siege” (Good News Translation) here. Translators can also say “surrounded by enemies.”

None to open them indicates the impossibility of passing through enemy lines into the besieged cities; Good News Translation translates “no one can get through to them.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch translates the first half of verse 19 as “The cities in southern Judah are lost as far as you are concerned, and no one can give them back to you.”

All Judah is taken into exile, wholly taken into exile: The repetition of the Hebrew text may be done away with, as in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (“All Judah is taken away into exile!”) or Good News Translation (“All the people of Judah have been taken away into exile”). In languages that require an active sentence with an agent, translators can say “Enemies have taken all the people of Judah into exile.” For exile see the comments on “captivity” in 1.3.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .