complete verse (2 Kings 19:18)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 19:18:

  • Kupsabiny: “Those kings have thrown those idols that people worshipped into fire since they were just things shaped from wood and stone.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “They destroyed the gods of the nations by throwing them into the fire, for they were not gods but only wood and stone made by human hands.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “including their little-gods/false-gods by throwing them into the fire. For these are not true gods but-rather just stones and wood made by man.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “And they have thrown the idols of those nations into fires and burned them. But that was not difficult to do, because they were not gods. They were only statues made of wood and stone, idols that were shaped by humans, and that is why they were destroyed easily.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 2 Kings 19:18

Cast their gods into the fire: The Assyrian kings destroyed the gods of the nations by burning them. But in some languages it will be impossible to refer to the idols made of wood and stone as gods. Translators will have to speak of “objects which they worshiped as God.”

For: The Hebrew conjunction used here is often translated “because” (Revised English Bible, New American Bible) in contexts like this. This meaning may be the best one for many languages to follow in the present context. In other languages it may be more natural to say “in fact” or “even though” (Hobbs).

They were no gods: Since the objects that were destroyed have already been called gods earlier in this verse, some languages will require a word like “really” or “truly” as a part of this negative statement, saying “they are not really gods” or “in fact they were not God.” Traduction œcuménique de la Bible attempts to avoid a contradiction here by translating “these gods were not God.” However, this kind of solution may be difficult to implement in certain languages. In cases where it is considered unnatural to pluralize the word for God, the first part of this verse might read “and they burned up the idols they worshiped as God because they were not truly God.”

The work of men’s hands may be translated “objects made by human beings,” “statues that people made” (New Century Version), or “human artefacts” (New Jerusalem Bible). There is no special emphasis on the maleness of those making the idols. The stress is rather on the fact that they were human and therefore mortal.

Therefore they were destroyed: This is the logical consequence of the fact that the objects in question were not really deities. The implication is that things should be different when Yahweh is concerned. It is clear that the agents of destruction here are the kings of Assyria (verse 17). Therefore the passive expression they were destroyed might be made active by saying “those kings destroyed them” or “the Assyrian kings destroyed those idols.” Or in view of the role of Yahweh in the process, it may be better to translate this part of the prayer as “you [Yahweh] caused those kings to destroy them.”

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 .