complete verse (2 Kings 10:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 10:14:

  • Kupsabiny: “Jehu said to his soldiers, ‘Go with them/bring them alive.’ Then immediately, the people of Jehu took/caught all those people. They were forty-two young men and they killed (them) there at that hole so that no one escaped.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Then he said, "Take them alive! They seized all forty-two of them. Then they killed them near the pit of Beth-eked. Not one of them was kept alive.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Jehu then ordered his men, ‘Take them alive.’ So they brought them alive to a well there, and they killed them. They were 42 all, and no one at-all was-left alive among them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Jehu said to his men, ‘Seize them!’ So they seized them and killed all of them at the pit named Beth-Eked. There were 42 people whom they killed; they did not allow any of them to remain alive.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 2 Kings 10:14

He said: In many languages it may be necessary to provide an indirect object for the verb said. What is clearly implied is that Jehu spoke these words to the soldiers under his command who were traveling with him. Good News Translation correctly translates “Jehu ordered his men.”

There seems to be a contradiction between the command Take them alive and what actually happened. The text indicates that they were taken alive, but only for a very brief period. Then they were all killed. Nevertheless, the text must be translated as it stands.

And slew them at the pit of Beth-eked: For slew see the comments on verse 7. The Hebrew noun translated pit refers to a hole dug in the ground or in rocks. Such pits were used for storing rainwater or items that needed to be kept dry (for example, grain). Most English translations say “pit,” “well” (Gray), or “cistern” (Hobbs), but New Jerusalem Bible has “storage-well.” Since verse 12 has already stated that Jehu was in Beth-eked, some translations omit the place name here (so Good News Translation). Revised English Bible interprets the whole clause here in a different way. The Hebrew preposition rendered at often indicates movement toward something. In English it is often translated “toward” or “into.” Revised English Bible follows this sense for the preposition by rendering the clause “then slain, and flung into a pit that was there.” Although this rendering seems grammatically possible, it is not very widely accepted.

The number forty-two may have been a large round number that signified very many captives. For example, forty-two boys were killed by the bears in 2 Kgs 2.24. In any case, the exact number should be translated.

He spared none of them: This final statement serves to emphasize what was already said. Compare verse 11.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .