5David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him; as a result, Saul set him over the army. And all the people, even the servants of Saul, approved.
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Saul” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign that depicts “sword in chest” (referring to 1 Samuel 31:4 and 1 Chronicles 10:4) and also “self-centered.” (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
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 Samuel 18:5:
Kupsabiny: “It was when Saul sent David to do any work that David did all that work perfectly. That made Saul to elevate David to a high ranking person in the army. That thing pleased Saul’s leaders and also all the people.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Whatever work Saul sent [him] to do, David was very successful. So Saul chose to put him in position as his commanding general. In this way, his honor and post raised and all people and Saul’s masters were also happy.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “David (was) victorious in what Saul had- him -do, so Saul gave him a high rank among his soldiers. This pleased all the people including also the officials of Saul.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “David went wherever Saul sent him. And whatever Saul told him to do, David did it very successfully. As a result, Saul appointed David to be a commander in the army. All the officers and other men in the army approved of/were very pleased with that.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
That David went out and was successful must be understood in the context as referring to military exploits. Bible en français courant is a good model: “Every time that Saul sent him on a military expedition, David had success.” See also New Century Version, “Saul sent David to fight in different battles. And David was very successful.” See also comments on verse 14.
So that translates the common Hebrew conjunction, which here relates David’s success and his appointment over other soldiers. It is therefore not incorrect to translate as in New Revised Standard Version, “as a result….”
The people and … Saul’s servants: the people refers to the lower-ranking “troops,” while the servants were higher-ranking officers. On the latter see the comments on 8.14.
The structure of the last part of this verse may have to be radically altered in some languages to make the military officers and foot soldiers the subject of the sentence: “the troops and even all the officers were very happy about this.”
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 .
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