complete verse (1 Kings 21:29)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 21:29:

  • Kupsabiny: “‘Have you not seen how king Ahab has repented before me? Because he has done like that, I shall not do anything to his home/family when he is still alive, but I shall destroy that home when his son is ruling.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “What! Have you seen that Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not punish his family as long as he lives. I will punish the family of Ahab in the time of his son.’ ” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘Have- you -seen how Ahab has-humbled himself before me? Because he has-humbled (himself), I will- not -send the destruction in his time, but- rather I will-send it to the household of his child when he reigns.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘I have seen that Ahab is now very sorry for all the evil things that he has done. So the things that I promised to do to his family will not happen while he is still alive. I will cause them to happen after his son becomes king. Then those things will happen to his family.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

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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 21:29

Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me?: In other contexts the Hebrew verb rendered has humbled himself refers to being subdued politically to superior military might, but here (and in 2 Kgs 22.19) it involves spiritual submission. In some languages this is translated “has lowered himself” or “has caused himself to be low.”

Before me may be translated “in my presence” or “in my sight.” However, this should not be understood to mean that Ahab humbled himself only when God was looking. Rather, the meaning is “do you see how sorry Ahab is for what he did?” (Contemporary English Version).

Because he has humbled himself before me: Instead of placing the word Because at the beginning of the second sentence, it will be more natural in some languages to state simply that “Ahab has truly humbled himself before me” and then in a new sentence begin with the connecting word “Therefore” or the phrase “For this reason” followed by the promise of the delayed punishment.

In his days … in his son’s days: This literal rendering refers to the period during which Ahab was alive and when his son lived.

His house again refers to Ahab’s family.

The fulfillment of this promise to punish Ahab’s family is found in 2 Kgs 9.26 and 10.6-10.

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 .