The Hebrew, Greek, and Latin that is transliterated as “Hezekiah” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the signs for “king” and “facing the wall” referring to Isaiah 38:2. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
In Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) it is translated with a sign that signifies a model, a parameter for his life, referring to “he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, just as his ancestor David had done” of 2 Kings 18:3. (Source: Missão Kophós )
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 18:19:
Kupsabiny: “And/But then the assistant to the king of Assyria said to Eliakim and co. that, ‘Tell (plur.) Hezekiah that the big king of Assyria has said, ‘What are you so proud of?” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “The army chief said to them, "Speak to Hezekiah like this, ‘The great King of Assyria has spoken like this — From whom have you taken your confidence?” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The commander said to them, ‘[You (plur.)] tell Hezekia that this is what the mighty king of Asiria says: ‘What are you (sing.) trusting-in?” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “One of Sennacherib’s important officials told them to take this message to Hezekiah: ‘This is what the king of Assyria, the great king, says: ‘What are you trusting in to rescue you ?” (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.”
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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 second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.
In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
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 rare (られ) 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, itteo-rare-ru (言っておられる) or “saying” is used.
The Rabshakeh said to them: For the Rabshakeh, see the comments on verse 17. Comparison with ancient Assyrian records shows that the message of the Assyrian official is couched in the usual language of diplomacy of the period.
Say to Hezekiah: Revised Standard Version does not reflect the fact that the Hebrew has a particle of entreaty following the verb Say (see the comments on 1 Kgs 1.12). In verse 26 Revised Standard Version translates this same particle as “Pray.” But like most other modern translations, Revised Standard Version does not attempt to translate this particle here. If a weakened form of a polite request can be expressed naturally in the receptor language, it may be used here.
The great king, the king of Assyria: While these words may be considered somewhat redundant, they reflect the extravagant respect that the speaker had for his king. The great king was a title given to Assyrian kings beginning in the eighteenth century B.C., and for this reason it should be capitalized in translation as in Revised English Bible and American Bible. Good News Translation does not translate these words, but since they are a title, they should be translated. If the direct quotation is retained in translation, this element of respect should also be reflected. At the same time, the speaker refers to the king of Judah simply as Hezekiah, without the use of his title, which may indicate a lack of respect.
On what do you rest this confidence of yours?: This confidence of yours may be rendered “your certainty.” The Hebrew noun rendered confidence is translated “hope” in Eccl 9.4. Some languages may require a clearer statement of what Hezekiah was confident of. While his confidence was in Yahweh, he was confident that he could remain independent of the Assyrian king. Both the verb rest and the noun confidence come from the same Hebrew root word, which is translated elsewhere in this chapter as “trusted” (verse 5) and “rely” (verse 20) and constitutes a major theme of the passage (see the comments on verse 5). The second person pronouns you and yours are singular since the message is for Hezekiah. They are also singular in verses 20-21 and 23-24.
The three levels of quotation in this verse will make it difficult to translate it literally in many languages. The sense of the whole verse may be rendered indirectly as in Good News Translation or by adopting the following model:
• One of the Assyrian officials explained to them that the great ruler of Assyria wanted to learn why Hezekiah was so certain that he could remain independent.
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 .
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