6So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. Now there was no water in the cistern but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.
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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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.”
Took Jeremiah and cast him: Cast should not be translated as “threw,” because the text goes on to say letting Jeremiah down by ropes. Translators can either combine the two expressions as in Good News Translation, or make a whole sentence such as “put him into a cistern by letting him down with ropes.”
The cistern of Malchiah: For the possible identification of this cistern with “the dungeon cells” (37.16), see the introductory comments to this chapter. It is not certain whether this Malchiah is the same one mentioned in 21.1; 38.1. In the eastern Mediterranean region, both in ancient times and modern, water was always in short supply and cisterns were dug where it might be stored. Where cisterns are not known, translators can use an expression such as “pit for storing water.” The rendering “well” (Contemporary English Version, Good News Translation, Jerusalem Bible) can be misleading, since it may suggest that the hole in the ground has its own source of water; translators should think carefully about the terms available to them before choosing an equivalent for cistern here (see 2.13).
Malchiah, the king’s son is rendered “Prince Malchiah” by Good News Translation. Some translators will use a separate sentence for this information, as in “Malchiah was the king’s son.” But others will restructure the verse slightly to “the cistern that was owned by the king’s son Malchiah.”
The court of the guard; that is, “the palace courtyard” (Good News Translation) or “the court of the guardhouse.” See 32.2.
Letting Jeremiah down by ropes may have to be expanded, as in “They put ropes around Jeremiah and lowered him [into the cistern].” If it is necessary to indicate how the ropes were used to lower Jeremiah into the cistern, the best approach would be to follow the information of verse 12, where the picture given is that a rope was placed around Jeremiah and under his arms.
Only mire: Evidently all the water except that which had mingled with the dirt at the bottom to make mud had been taken from the cistern. It was into this mire (or, “mud”) that Jeremiah was let down with ropes.
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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