19Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer; go up before me to the shrine, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind.
The Hebrew that is translated as “seer” in English is translated in Newari as “one who will say what will happen in the future” (source: Newari Back Translation).
In Mandarin Chinese it is translated as “one who sees first” (xiānjiàn / 先见) compared to “prophet” as “one who knows first” (xiānzhī / 先知). (Source: Zetzsche)
In Wolof in these verses as boroom peeñu or “possessor of visions.” In contrast, “prophet” is translated with the established term Yonent (app. “Send one”). (Source: Marilyn Escher)
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, Latin, and Greek that is transliterated as “Samuel” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “listen” referring to 1 Samuel 3:10. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 9:19:
Kupsabiny: “Samuel replied to him that, ‘I am the one. You go ahead to where sacrifices are made. I will eat with you there today. And tomorrow, before I release you, I will reply to all your words.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Samuel replied, "I am the one who is able to say what will happen in the future [lit.: later] Go before me to the place of worship. Today you two will go with me to eat a feast. Tomorrow morning early, I will tell you what is on your mind, then I will go bid you farewell.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Samuel replied, ‘I (am) the seer/fortune-teller. [You (plur.)] go-ahead of me to the place-of-worship at the high place, for this day you (plur.) will-eat with me. And tomorrow morning, I will-tell to you (sing.), Saul, what you (sing.) are-thinking, and then I will-let- you (plur.) -go.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Samuel replied, ‘I am that man. Go ahead of me with your servant to the place where the people make sacrifices. Both of you will eat with me today. Tomorrow morning I will tell you what you are wanting to know, and then I will send you home.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
Samuel answered: literally “Samuel answered and said.”
High place: see the comments on verse 12.
The verb you shall eat is plural, which Good News Translation indicates with the addition of the word “both.” The second person pronouns you and your, which follow this verb, are singular, as is the verb go up. These presumably keep the focus on Saul, but, at least in the case of the verb go up, do not exclude his servant from the command. If the servant was invited to eat with the other two men, he would certainly have to go to the place where the meal would take place.
I will let you go: literally, “I send you [singular].” In some languages the meaning will be best expressed using a verb more like the literal Hebrew rather than speaking of allowing Saul to leave.
Mind: literally “heart.” See the comments on 1.8. The whole expression all that is on your mind may possibly be misunderstood as meaning that Samuel (having supernatural powers) is offering to read Saul’s mind. This, of course, is not the case. Rather he offers to “tell you about everything that is on your mind” (Anchor Bible). That is, he knows that Saul came to him because of some kind of question or problem with which he needed help. This, then, is an offer to give Saul the help he was seeking, but only after having a meal together.
In some languages it will be important to reverse the order of the last two elements in this verse to make them more logical. The chronological order of course is to let the two men go after having first told them what they wanted to know. New Century Version therefore translates “tomorrow morning I will answer all your questions and send you home.”
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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