16The king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, seven thousand, the artisans and the smiths, one thousand, all of them strong and fit for war.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 24:16:
Kupsabiny: “The soldiers and leaders numbered seven thousand (7,000). and the craftsmen/carpenters and blacksmiths were one thousand. All those men were strong and fit for battle.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “The King of Babylon also took captive and deported to Babylonia seven thousand mighty soldiers able to do battle and one thousand craftsmen and artists.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Nebuchadnezzar also took-captive 7,000 brave soldiers and 1,000 thousand skilled workers and smiths/metal-workers who were soldiers also.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “They also took to Babylon 7,000 of the best soldiers and 1,000 men who knew how to make and repair things that are made from metal. All of these people whom they took were strong and able to fight in wars.” (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.”
The king of Babylon: See verse 1. It is legitimate to refer to the king by name here if it seems more natural to do so in the receptor language (so Good News Translation).
This verse is taken by some commentators as a more detailed account of what has already been said in verse 14. The total number of the men of valor is said to be seven thousand while the craftsmen and the smiths numbered one thousand. It is, however, unclear exactly how these numbers fit with the total of “ten thousand” that is given in verse 14.
All of them strong and fit for war seems to describe the entire group, including the craftsmen and the smiths. While most versions take it in this way, New International Version and New Century Version restructure the verse in such a way as to limit this qualification to the men of valor. It is questionable, however, whether such restructuring is valid.
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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