house for my name

The Hebrew in 1 Kings 8:19 that is translated as “house for my name” or similar in English is translated in Kutu as “house for the sake of my name.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (1 Kings 8:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 8:19:

  • Kupsabiny: “Though it is like that, it is not you to build for me that house, but your son shall be the one to build (it).’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “But you will never get to build it. Your own son will build a temple for my name.’” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “But you will- not -be-the-one-to-build it instead your child himself. He will-be-the-(one)-to-build the temple for my honor.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “However, you are not the one who I want to build it. It is one of your sons, who I want to build a temple for me.’” (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 8:19

It is stated in 2 Sam 7.12-13 and 1 Chr 17.11-12 that David’s son, and not David himself, would build the Temple.

Nevertheless renders a common Hebrew adverb that expresses exception. It should be translated with a strong adversative, such as “however” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New American Bible), “and yet” (New Jerusalem Bible), “nevertheless” (Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version), or “but” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version).

In Hebrew some of the pronouns in this verse give a slightly stronger contrast than is reflected in Revised Standard Version. The force of the Hebrew is more accurately expressed as “nevertheless as for you, you shall not … but your son who shall be born to you, it is he who….” In languages that have emphatic pronouns, it will be appropriate to use them here.

Who shall be born to you is literally “the one coming from your loins.” Compare New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh: “the issue of your loins.” The word “loins” refers to that part of the body between the ribs and the hipbones. These words in Hebrew serve to emphasize that it is David’s very own son (compare Good News Translation). For the last half of the verse, Contemporary English Version says simply “Your son will build a temple to honor me,” but this rendering fails to capture the force of the Hebrew. Better is Bible en français courant, which renders the whole verse as follows: “It is not you who will build it, but your son. Yes, it’s your own son who will build this temple for me!”

For my name: Good News Translation does not translate these words, but they should be translated. Compare New American Bible: “to my honor.”

In verses 18-19 if the direct quotation of what the LORD said to David within the words of Solomon is problematic in some languages, the following model may be considered:

• The LORD told David that his desire to build a house where people would worship God was a good thing. But he went on to say that it was not he [David], but his very own son [Solomon] who would one day build the house where people would worship God.

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 .