25and muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot; then we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.” He heeded their voice and did so.
The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated into English as “chariot” is translated into Anuak as “canoe pulled by horse.” “Canoe” is the general term for “vehicle” (source: Loren Bliese). Similarly it is translated in Lokạạ as ukwaa wạ nyanyang ntuuli or “canoe that is driven by horses.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
Other translations include:
Chichicapan Zapotec: “ox cart” (in Acts 8) (ox carts are common vehicles for travel) (source: Loren Bliese)
Chichimeca-Jonaz, it is translated as “little house with two feet pulled by two horses” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
HausaCommon Language Bible as keken-doki or “cart of donkey” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, both the Jarai translation and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation use the inclusive pronoun (including Ahab and his army).
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin that is translated as “army” in English is translated in Chichewa as “group of warriors.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 20:25:
Kupsabiny: “After that, prepare soldiers as many as those you lost having horses and chariots like those before. Then, we shall go and fight those people there in the plain. Surely, we shall defeat those people.’ Then Ben-hadad listened to his people.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “After that get an army just as large as the one that was defeated before, horse for horse, chariot for chariot, and with them we will do battle in the plains. Then we will win." Ben-hadad heeded their advice and followed it.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Then you gather some soldiers, horses, and chariots like as-many of-those who were-lost. Then we (incl.) will-fight against the Israelinhon in the plains/valley, and surely we (incl.) will-defeat them.’ Ben Hadad agreed, and he did it.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Then gather an army like the army that was defeated. Gather an army that has as many horses and chariots as the first army had. Then we will fight the Israelis in the plains/lowlands, and we will surely defeat them.’ Ben-Hadad agreed with them, and he did what they suggested.” (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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
Here, hojyūshite (補充して) or “replenish” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Muster an army: Muster is literally “you muster for yourself.” The Hebrew verb for muster is not the same term that is used in verses 15 and 26-27. This verb comes from a root meaning “to count.” The sense is “count out for yourself an army.” The Hebrew text has a second person singular pronoun before the verb. The presence of the pronoun is emphatic, and the sense may be that Benhadad himself should now muster an army and not rely on the thirty-two kings to organize an army for him. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “muster for yourself an army.” Traduction œcuménique de la Bible expresses the sense of the Hebrew with “you yourself, recruit an army.”
Like the army that you have lost is defined in greater detail by the words horse for horse, and chariot for chariot. This is taken to mean that the number of horses and chariots in the new army should be identical with those in the previous one so that it would be just as strong as it had been before.
The Hebrew participle translated lost is literally “fallen” and is used in the plural in Jer 39.9 to refer to “deserters.” In this context the participle is correctly translated “deserted” (so Good News Translation, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Anchor Bible).
For chariot see the comments on 1 Kgs 1.5-6.
Surely we shall be stronger than they: See verse 23. New Living Translation says “There’s not a shadow of a doubt that we will beat them.”
In some languages the words he hearkened to their voice, and did so may be translated “he agreed with them and did what they said.” Some translations replace the pronoun he with the name “Ben-Hadad” (Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie) or “King Benhadad” (Good News Translation). Translators will need to decide which form is better in their own language.
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 .
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