complete verse (2 Samuel 18:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 18:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “The soldiers of David defeated the soldiers of Israel. Many people reaching to twenty thousand died that day.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “There the Israelites were defeated by David’s soldiers. Twenty thousand men died that day. In this way they were badly destroyed.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The soldiers of Israel were-defeated by the soldiers of David. That day very many died — 20,000 men.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “David’s soldiers defeated Absalom’s soldiers. They killed 20,000 of them!” (Source: Translation for Translators)

David

The name that is transliterated as “David” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign signifying king and a sling (referring to 1 Samuel 17:49 and 2 Samuel 5:4). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Elizabeth” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

In German Sign Language it is only the sling. (See here ).


“David” in German Sign Language (source )

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

The (Protestant) Mandarin Chinese transliteration of “David” is 大卫 (衛) / Dàwèi which carries an additional meaning of “Great Protector.”

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about David (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: David .

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 18:7

The statement containing the passive verb, were defeated, may easily be turned around if the passive causes problems: “David’s army defeated the Israelites….”

The servants of David: in the present context this expression refers to all those who were loyal to David—including officers and regular fighting men.

The slaughter there was great …: the structure of the last part of this verse is awkward and will probably need to be arranged differently in other languages. Some may prefer the following model: “That day twenty thousand soldiers died in the battle. The killing was very great.” The word translated slaughter is rendered “casualties” (New International Version and New American Bible) and “loss of life” (Revised English Bible). The rendering of Good News Translation as “defeat” may therefore be misleading. The same Hebrew term is rendered “plague” in 1 Sam 6.4 and “slaughter” in 1 Sam 4.17 and 2 Sam 17.9.

Twenty thousand men: it is uncertain whether this refers to the total number of soldiers on both sides or just the enemies of David. The parallelism between the two parts of this verse suggests that the figure twenty thousand refers to the enemies only, that is, to the Israelite soldiers. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch makes this interpretation explicit, with “20,000 Israelites met their death.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .