17Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their youths with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or young woman, the aged or the feeble; he gave them all into his hand.
The name that is transliterated as “Chaldean” in English is translated in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) with the sign that combines “Mesopotamia” (see here) and “spreading out,” since the Chaldeans originated in southern Mesopotamia and spread out from there. (Source: Missão Kophós )
The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is translated as “sanctuary” in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) with opatulika or “separated place.” This is understood in a religious setup as a place designated for worship. (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 2 Chronicles 36:17:
Kupsabiny: “So, God sent the king of Babylon to fight against them. The soldiers of that king killed the young warriors of Judah in the Home of God. Those people had no mercy for any young man or woman. They killed them all whether an old man or a young boy. God gave all those people into the hands of the king of Babylon.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “That being the case, the LORD brought the king of Babylon to attack them. That king killed the young men of Judah inside the temple. He spared no one [lit.: left no remainder] — young men, old men women, not even the feeble ones. God gave them all into his hand.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “He had- those of/from-Babilonia -attack them. Those of/from-Babilonia killed their young men even in the temple. They do- not -have-compassion even to any anyone, man or woman, young or old, sickly or not. God handed-over his people to Nebuchadnezzar.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “He incited the king of Babylonia to attack Judah with his army. They killed the young men with their swords, even in the temple. They did not spare/pity anyone, young men or young women or old people. God enabled the army of Nebuchadnezzar to kill all of them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, watas-are-ru (渡される) or “hand over” is used.
Therefore renders the common Hebrew conjunction as a logical connector, which is appropriate in this context. Other versions use the similar connector “So” (Good News Translation, New Living Translation, New Century Version, God’s Word). But New International Version and Revised English Bible omit the conjunction here.
He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans: The pronoun he refers to the LORD, which Good News Translation and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente make explicit. Brought up against them may be rendered “caused … to attack them” or “made … to fight against them.” The Chaldeans lived in southern Babylonia on the Persian Gulf. Under the rule of Nabopolassar, they captured the city of Babylon in 622 B.C. The term Chaldea then became a synonym for “Babylonia” (so Good News Translation, New International Version, New Living Translation, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).
Who slew their young men with the sword …: In the Hebrew text the verbs rendered brought up, slew, had … compassion, and gave seem to have the same subject. Who slew is literally “and he slew.” Since God is the subject of the first verb and the last verb, some interpreters think that God is also the subject of the verbs slew and had … compassion. Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and most other versions make the Babylonian king the subject of the middle verbs. But New Jerusalem Bible seems to have God as the subject of all four verbs. Of course, it was the Babylonian soldiers (so Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente) and not strictly speaking the Babylonian king (so Good News Translation) who killed the young men of Judah, but the writer seems to say that they were simply carrying out God’s will. The verb slew is somewhat archaic, so New Revised Standard Version and most other modern versions say “killed.” The Hebrew word translated young men is the plural of the same word rendered young man in this verse. Some interpreters think that the meaning of the Hebrew word should be understood to mean “elite” in light of a cognate noun in the Mari writings, which refers to elite or select soldiers. This understanding is the basis for the La Bible Pléiade rendering “elite men.” But most interpreters do not find this nuance in the Hebrew term. For the phrase with the sword, see the comments on 2 Chr 21.4.
The house of their sanctuary may be rendered simply “the Temple” (Good News Translation). See the comments on 1 Chr 22.19.
And had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged: For the Hebrew verb rendered had … compassion, see the comments on verse 15. The Hebrew word translated virgin is rendered “young woman” in New Revised Standard Version. In this context it refers to any young woman and stands in opposition to young man. The point of the list here is to include all people of whatever age or sex. It also includes people who may be in poor health or in good health. The Hebrew term for aged refers to the weakness that comes with old age. For this reason Revised English Bible translates old man or aged as “neither the old nor the weak.” Some other renderings are “the aged or the feeble” (New Revised Standard Version) and “the old people or the sick people” (God’s Word).
He gave them all into his hand: The pronoun he refers to God and the pronoun his refers to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia. In some languages one or both of these pronouns will have to be translated by a noun; for example, New International Version and New Century Version say “God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar,” Revised English Bible has “God gave them all into his power,” and Contemporary English Version translates “God let him kill everyone in the city.” This took place just as Jeremiah had prophesied (see Jer 21.1-10; 34.1-5; see also Ezek 12.12-14). The word hand is used here as an image for power.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.