Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 38:24:
Kupsabiny: “Zedekiah said to me, ‘Do not let any person know what we have talked about because then (he/they) will kill you.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Then Zedekia said to Jeremias, ‘Never tell anyone of our conversation so that you will- not -die.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Then Zedekiah said to me, ‘Do not tell anyone what you told me; if you tell anyone, my officials may kill you.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Let no one know of these words should be taken as an imperative, as in Good News Translation “Don’t let anyone know about this conversation” and New International Version “Do not let anyone know about this conversation.”
Bible en français courant very effectively changes the order of the two clauses at the end of this verse:
• If you wish to keep on living, no one must know a thing about our conversation.
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 .
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