34Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom away from him but will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of my servant David whom I chose and who did keep my commandments and my statutes,
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 11:34:
Kupsabiny: “Though it is like that, do not think I will remove the whole kingship, but I will let him rule forever in his life for the sake of my servant David whom I chose and he observed my laws and my will.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “‘’But I will not snatch the whole kingdom from his hand at this time. For the sake of David, my chosen servant who obeyed my precepts and commands, I will keep Solomon as ruler as long as he lives.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “But I will- not -take-away the whole kingdom from Solomon. He will-reign for his whole life because of my servant David whom I have-chosen, who had-obeyed my commands and regulations.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “‘But I will not take the entire kingdom away from him. I will enable him to rule Judah all during the years that he is alive. I will do that because of what I promised to do for David, whom I chose to be the king, and who served me well, and who always obeyed my commandments and laws.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
This verse in Hebrew begins with the common conjunction. Since some contrast seems intended between what God says in verse 33 and what he actually decides to do in this verse, Revised Standard Version correctly renders the conjunction Nevertheless (also New Revised Standard Version and Revised English Bible). Contemporary English Version and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible do not translate the conjunction at all. But most modern versions mark the contrast, for example, “Yet” (New American Bible), “But” (New Jerusalem Bible, New Century Version), and “However” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Translators will need to decide how best to express this contrast in the receptor language.
I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: The figurative expression take … out of his hand means “remove from his power and authority.” In many cases this will be best translated simply as “take away from him,” but others may say “withdraw from his power” or “revoke his authority.”
The wording at the beginning of this verse has puzzled interpreters. Since God does not take away any of the kingdom during Solomon’s lifetime, why does the text say he will not take away the whole kingdom from him? This seems to imply that God will take part of it from Solomon. Some interpreters think the word whole should be deleted as not a part of the original text. Note that New Jerusalem Bible omits the word whole, and New American Bible says “I will not take any of the kingdom from Solomon himself.”
But I will make him ruler all the days of his life: The Hebrew connector translated but marks contrast with the previous clause. If the previous clause begins with the same connector in the receptor language, then it may be awkward to repeat it here. Other possible renderings are “on the contrary” and “rather.” Or it may be necessary to omit the connector. The Hebrew noun rendered ruler comes from a root meaning “to lift.” In some contexts it refers to persons who have been chosen or elected, that is, “lifted up.” But here, as in other places in the Old Testament, it simply refers to someone who is a leader or ruler. This term occurs frequently in Ezekiel in reference to the kings of Judah.
For the sake of David my servant: See verses 12-13.
For commandments and statutes, see the comments on 1 Kgs 2.3.
In some languages it will be necessary to reverse the order of information in this verse in order to express the cause before the result. Parole de Vie provides a good model:
• My servant David whom I chose has obeyed my commandments and my laws. Because of him, I will not take away the kingdom from the hands of Solomon, but I will leave him the power until the end of his life.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.