with all heart

The Greek and Hebrew that is usually translated with “with all (one’s) heart” in English is translated in Newari as “from (one’s) inmost heart” (source: Newari Back Translation)

complete verse (1 Kings 14:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 14:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “I destroyed the kingship of the house of David and gave to you. But you have not behaved like my servant David. That one observed my decrees and listened to/obeyed my words with the whole of his stomach/heart doing only good things before me.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “I ripped the kingdom from the hand of the dynasty of David and gave it to you. But you have not been like my servant David. David obeyed my commands and followed me from his inmost heart to do work that was pleasing to me.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “I took-away the kingdom from the descendants of David and gave to you. But you are not like David my servant, who obeyed my commands and followed me with all his hearts, and did right in my sight.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “I took most of the kingdom of Israel away from David’s descendants and gave it to you. But you have not been like David, who served me very well. He obeyed all my commandments very sincerely, doing only things that I considered to be right.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

David

The name that is transliterated as “David” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign signifying king and a sling (referring to 1 Samuel 17:49 and 2 Samuel 5:4). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Elizabeth” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

In German Sign Language it is only the sling. (See here ).


“David” in German Sign Language (source )

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

The (Protestant) Mandarin Chinese transliteration of “David” is 大卫 (衛) / Dàwèi which carries an additional meaning of “Great Protector.”

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about David (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: David .

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

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.

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

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 14:8

Tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you: God first told Jeroboam in 1 Kgs 11.31 that he was going to do this. New Revised Standard Version changes the words and gave it to you into a purpose clause as follows: “[in order] to give it to you.” But the force of the Hebrew is better expressed by Revised Standard Version, which makes this the fourth thing that God has done for Jeroboam: “I exalted you … I made you leader … I tore away the kingdom … I gave it to you.” The house of David refers, of course, to the royal family that descended from David. See the comments at 1 Kgs 12.19.

Followed me with all his heart: This means that David served God with complete devotion. The heart in Hebrew, when used figuratively, refers to one’s inner self, that is, to the seat of feelings, thoughts, and impulses (see the comments on 1 Kgs 8.23). Some other ways of conveying this meaning are “he imitated me in every way” and “He always obeyed me” (Contemporary English Version).

Doing only that which was right in my eyes: This final expression of the verse clarifies further the previous clause. It may be rendered “He did only the things I said were right” (International Children’s Bible) or “doing only what pleased me” (New American Bible). See the comments on 1 Kgs 11.33, 38.

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 .