Sabbath

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “Sabbath” in English is rendered as “day we rest” in Tzotzil, in Mairasi as “Jew’s Rest Day,” in Quiotepec Chinantec as “day when people of Israel rested,” in Shilluk as “day of God,” in Obolo as Usen Mbuban or “Holy Day,” and in Mandarin Chinese as ānxírì (安息日) or “rest day” (literally: “peace – rest – day”). (Sources: Tzotzil: Marion Cowan in Notes on Translation with Drill, p. 169ff; Mairasi: Enggavoter 2004; Quiotepec Chinantec: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.; Shilluk: Nida 1964, p. 237; Obolo: Enene Enene; Chinese: Jost Zetzsche)

In Matumbi it is translated as Sabato ya Ayahudi or “Sabbath of the Jews,” to distinguish it from the Islamic Sabbath (which is Friday) or the Christian Sabbath (which is Sunday). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

In the old Khmer version as well as in the first new translation this term was rendered as “day of rest” (Thngai Chhup Somrak / ​ថ្ងៃ​ឈប់​សំរាក). Considered inadequate to convey its religious meaning (not only about cessation of work, but also in honor of Yahweh as the Creator), the committee for the Today’s Khmer Version (publ. 2005) decided to keep the Hebrew word and use its transliterated form Thgnai Sabath (​ថ្ងៃ​សប្ប័ទ). “The Buddhist word Thngai Seil ‘day of merits’ used by some Catholics was once under consideration but was rejected because it did not receive unanimous support.” (Source: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 233ff. )

In Spanish, the translation is either día de reposo (“day of rest”) or sábado (usually: “Saturday,” derived from the Greek and Hebrew original). Nida (1947, p. 239f.) explains that problem for Spanish and other languages in its sphere of influence: “In translation ‘Sabbath’ into various aboriginal languages of Latin America, a considerable number of translators have used the Spanish sábado, ‘Saturday,’ because it is derived from the Hebrew sabbath and seems to correspond to English usage as well. The difficulty is that sábado means only ‘Saturday’ for most people. There is no religious significance about this word as the is with ‘Sabbath’ in English. Accordingly the [readers] cannot understand the significance of the persecution of Jesus because he worked on ‘Saturday.’ It has been found quite advantageous to use the translation ‘day of rest,’ for this accurately translated the Hebrew meaning of the term and resolves the problem in connection with the prohibitions placed upon some types of activities.”

In French Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts closing of the blinds of a store:


“Sabbath” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Sabbath .

complete verse (2 Kings 11:5)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 11:5:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then Jehoiada said to the people, ‘On this coming Sabbath day you must divide the soldiers who are on guard on the Sabbath day into three groups. Some are to guard the house of the king” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “He gave them instructions like this, "You are to do like this, when you come to work on the Sabbath, one-third of you are to guard the palace.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “He said to them, ‘[You (plur.)] divide yourselves in three groups. One group, who guards on the Day for-Resting, will-guard in the palace of the king.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “He gave them these instructions: ‘There are three groups of you guards. When one group finishes their work on the Sabbath day, divide yourselves into three smaller groups. One group must guard the palace.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (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 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).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on 2 Kings 11:5

The precise sense of verses 5-7 is not clear, and translations vary considerably in their renderings. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente states in a footnote that “verses 5-7 are obscure and the translation is uncertain.” Traduction œcuménique de la Bible has a similar footnote: “The Hebrew text of verses 5-7 is unclear and the translation is uncertain.” Such a footnote may be advisable in other languages in which footnotes are used. The many interpretations that have been proposed for this verse cannot all be mentioned here, but the most common ones will be considered. Translators should read all of the comments on verses 5-8 before attempting to translate these four verses.

A rather literal translation of verses 5b-7 reads as follows:

• The third of you coming the sabbath and keeping guard [at/in] the house of the king and the third at the gate Sur and the third at the gate behind the guards/runners and you [plural] shall guard at the house massah and the two divisions of you all going out the sabbath and they guard [in/at] the house of LORD to the king.

He commanded them: The pronoun he might possibly be understood as referring to Joash, but the orders were given by Jehoiada. So in cases where there is a danger of misunderstanding, the proper name “Jehoiada” or the phrase “the priest” should replace the pronoun. Commanded is literally “commanded … saying.”

This is the thing that you shall do: The strategy outlined by Jehoiada begins with these words and continues through the end of verse 8. Instead of the future tense as in Revised Standard Version, it may be more natural in many languages to translate these words as “This is what I want you to do” or “This is what you must do” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).

One third of you: Jehoiada had called together the leaders of the different groups mentioned in verse 4. But the orders concern not only the leaders, but also the men under their command. For this reason some languages may require a translation like “a third of your forces” or “the men led by a third of you.”

Those who come off duty on the sabbath: The English expression come off duty (and “go off duty” in verse 9) renders the common Hebrew verb most often translated “come” or “arrive,” but sometimes “go.” The expression “come on duty” in verses 7 and 9 is based on the ordinary Hebrew verb usually meaning “to go out,” but which is also used with a wide variety of meanings. The interpretation of verses 5-8 hinges partly on the understanding of these two verbs. Of the major English versions, only Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version translate come off duty in this verse. Good News Translation, New American Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible say “come on duty” (similarly Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New International Version, New Century Version, em>Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Nouvelle Bible Segond).

There were three groups of guards. Each of the three groups kept watch for a full week and then had two weeks off. The changing of the guard apparently took place on the sabbath. For the word sabbath, see 2 Kgs 4.23.

Guard translates a participle plus a noun in Hebrew, which is literally “guarding the guard,” but some interpreters have thought that the context and the grammar require that the first and last consonants of the Hebrew verb be reversed to read “you shall guard.” La Bible Pléiade, for example, has the following translation for the last half of this verse: “a third of you, those who enter on the day of the Sabbath, will guard the house of the king.” But such a correction of the text misses the point. The author is not stating that this third is to guard the palace, rather he is describing this third of the troops as those who normally guard the palace.

Commentators are not agreed on the number and status of the groups nor of their precise arrangement.

Group A would normally be on duty while groups B and C would be officially off duty on the Sabbath day when the events were to occur. The usual placement of those on and off duty would be as follows:

A* at the Royal Palace (verse 5b)
A* at the Sur Gate (verse 6a)
A* at the gate behind the other guards (verse 6b)
B off duty (verse 7)
C off duty (verse 7)

A possible model for verses 5-8 as a whole is given at the end of verse 8 below. But it is important to recognize the fact that soldiers who were to be officially off duty would play a very active role in the proposed activities.

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 .