5If you remain, then return to Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon appointed governor of the towns of Judah, and stay with him among the people, or go wherever you think it right to go.” So the captain of the guard gave him an allowance of food and a present and let him go.
“Son of x, son of y” must be rendered as “son of x or grandson of y” in Tibetan or else it will sound like two different people. (Source: David Clark in Clark / Desnitsky 2009 , p. 21).
Note: The same translation solution is chosen in many contemporary English Bibles that emphasize easy readability, such as the Contemporary English Version, Common English Bible, Good News Translation, God’s Word, or New Living Translation.
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “son of” in English is translated in all Icelandic Bible versions of the Icelandic Bible Society (latest edition 2007) in parallel with the Icelandic naming system . This means that for instance in Matthew 16:17 the name that is transliterated and translated in English as “Simon son of Jonah” becomes “Simon Jónasson” or in Isaiah 8:2 “Zechariah son of Jeberechiah” becomes “Sakaría Jeberekíason” where in both cases the “-son” means “son of.”
In cases where “son of” does not refer to a literal father or perhaps stepfather but to lineage, however, this system is not used. So in Matthew 1:1 “Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham” is translated as “Jesú Krists, sonar Davíðs, sonar Abrahams.”
The referenced verses all have at least one instance where the Icelandic patronymic or matronymic naming system is used. (Source: Halldór Elías Guðmundsson)
The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 40:5:
Kupsabiny: “As I turned my back to (him), Nebuzaradan said again to me, ‘Return to Gedaliah son of Ahikam who is son of Shaphan. The king of Babylon has appointed him to rule over the cities that are in Judah. Go and stay with the people there, or go to where you think/decide to do.’ After that, Nebuzaradan gave me things to sustain/assist me and (something) that he gave me as a gift and accepted for me to go on my way.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “If you really want to stay, go back to Gedalia the child of Ahikam and grandchild of Shafan. The king of Babilonia made him a ruler over the towns of Juda. Stay with him and with his people, or whatever- you -want wherever you would-go/walk.’ Then Nebuzaradan gave him food and a gift and let — him -go/[Lit. had/caused-(him)-to-walk/go.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “He said, ‘If you decide to stay here, go to Gedaliah. The King of Babylon appointed him to be the governor of Judah. You will be allowed to stay here with the people that he is governing. But you can do whatever you want to.’ Then Nebuzaradan gave me some food and some money, and he allowed me to go.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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.”
If you remain: The Hebrew is literally “and he was not yet going back.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project interprets this as an explanatory remark, followed by a command: “—and since he had in fact not yet gone back—go back!” This seems to be represented by New American Bible: “4 … ‘go wherever you think good and proper’; 5 and then, before he left—‘or go to Gedaliah….’ ” The solution in Good News Translation presupposes an original text that had “He [Jeremiah] had not yet returned [an answer] when Nebuzaradan went on [speaking].” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch begins verse 5 “Since Jeremiah could not immediately decide, Nebuzaradan said to him.” This is a good way to handle the difficulty, but New International Version “However, before Jeremiah turned to go, Nebuzaradan added” is also acceptable, as is New Jerusalem Bible “And before Jeremiah retired, he added.” Revised English Bible is the simplest: “Before Jeremiah could answer, Nebuzaradan went on.”
Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: Ahikam is probably the same person who had saved Jeremiah’s life earlier (26.24). For Gedaliah see 39.14.
Whom the king of Babylon appointed governor: This is often rendered as a separate sentence to make the passage more readable; for example, “The king of Babylon had appointed him governor.”
Or go wherever you think it right to go: Good News Translation has “or you may go anywhere you think you should.”
An allowance of food and a present: Good News Translation reverses the order to “a present and some food.” For the last sentence of this verse, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch renders “Nebuzaradan gave Jeremiah a gift and food for his journey.”
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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