self-referencing pronoun for king or queen

In Malay, the pronoun beta for the royal “I” (or “my” or “me”) that is used by royals when speaking to people of lower rank, subordinates or commoners to refer to themselves in these verses. This reflects the “language of the court because the monarchy and sultanate in Malaysia are still alive and well. All oral and printed literature (including newspapers and magazines) preserve and glorify the language of the court. Considering that the language of the court is part of the Malaysian language, court language is used sparingly where appropriate, specifically with texts relating to palace life.” (Source: Daud Soesilo in The Bible Translator 2025, p. 263ff.)

complete verse (1 Samuel 11:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 11:2:

  • Kupsabiny: “Nahash said that, ‘For me to accept to be in peace with you, let me first remove the right eye for each one of you so that all the country of Israel is shamed.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “But Nahash answered them, "I will make a treaty with you on only one condition, [that] I will be allowed to remove the right eye of all of you people. And by doing this all Israelites will be disgraced."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “But Nahash answered, ‘I will- just -make an agreement/(treaty) with you (plur.) on one condition, that I will-pluck-out the right eye of every/each one of you (plur.) so-that the whole-of Israel will-be-ashamed.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Nahash replied, ‘I will do that if you do one thing. Allow us to gouge out all the right eyes of your people. By doing that we will cause the people in other countries to despise all you Israeli people.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

2nd person pronoun with low register (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 second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.

In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.

Translation commentary on 1 Samuel 11:2

It will sound redundant in many languages to repeat the Ammonite so soon after this information is given (verse 1).

In the context of this conversation, the verb said may be more naturally rendered “responded” (Bible en français courant) or something similar.

On this condition: literally “For this.” In some languages it may be difficult to express the idea of a conditional agreement. Another way of saying this is “I will agree with you if you will accept this one thing.”

I will make a treaty with you: see the comments on verse 1. The Hebrew is elliptical in verse 2, omitting the noun “covenant” and saying only “I will cut with you” (the same elliptical expression occurs again in 22.8). The meaning may be expressed here by saying simply “I will agree with you.”

No reason is given for wanting to gouge out the right eyes. Since most soldiers held their shield in their left hand, blocking the view of the left eye, they would not be able to see the enemy well in a fight if their right eye was blinded.

Thus translates the common Hebrew conjunction. Here it shows the relationship between blinding the right eyes of the Israelite population and the disgrace that followed. In some languages the order of the two main elements may be reversed by saying something like “bring disgrace on all the people of Israel by putting out the right eye of every person.”

The Hebrew noun translated disgrace comes from a root that means “to taunt,” “to mock,” “to shame.” As a result of Nahash’s actions, people of other nations will have contempt for the people of Israel. New Jerusalem Bible says “I will make it a taunt to the whole of Israel.” Some African languages will render this by a causative verb form meaning “I will cause all the people of Israel to see shame.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .