complete verse (1 Kings 3:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 3:19:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then when the night came, this woman’s child died because she lay/slept on it.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “‘In the night while she was sleeping, because this woman’s body pressed him he suffocated and her child died.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “One night, she happened-to-lay on her child and it died.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘But one night this woman’s baby died because she accidentally rolled on top of her baby while sleeping and smothered it.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 3:19

In the night: The Hebrew does not state clearly whether the woman lay on her son and killed him the same night that he was born (so Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie) or whether this happened some days later. But this detail is not important to the story. For this reason Good News Translation, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje, and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente say “one night.”

She lay on it: Neither does the Hebrew indicate whether the woman deliberately lay on her son and smothered him or whether it was an accident. Good News Translation probably expresses the intended sense, that the woman “accidentally rolled over on her baby” (also Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje; similarly New Living Translation).

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 .

1Kings 3.:20

At midnight: The word midnight translates two Hebrew words meaning “the middle of the night” (so New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). For this reason some modern versions say “midnight” (Moffatt). But the Hebrew word meaning “the middle of” does not always have that precise meaning but sometimes means only “in” or “during.” For this reason other versions say only “during the night” (Good News Translation), “in the night” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), or “Later that night” (New American Bible).

The woman who is speaking refers to herself in the third person as your maidservant. While this is a common Old Testament way of showing respect to the person she is speaking to, it may not convey the same meaning in other languages. For this reason it will be better translated by the first person singular pronoun “I.” But if there are other means that may be used to convey the idea of respect, they may be used here. For example, the woman may repeat the word for “sir” or “your Majesty.” Or, as in Revised English Bible, one may translate “I, your servant.”

Bosom renders a Hebrew noun that often refers to the lap or to the part of the body where one holds close a loved one. It is quite possible to translate my bosom as “near me,” “in the bed with me,” or “next to me” (Contemporary English Version).

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 .