1Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year, and David inquired of the Lord. The Lord said, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house because he put the Gibeonites to death.”
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Saul” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign that depicts “sword in chest” (referring to 1 Samuel 31:4 and 1 Chronicles 10:4) and also “self-centered.” (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 21:1:
Kupsabiny: “In the days when David was reigning, hunger came for three years throughout. David prayed to God to show what caused it. God replied that, ‘There is blood(guilt) that follows Saul and his family because he pierced/killed the people of Gibeon.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “In the time of David’s reign, there was famine for about three years. Then David sought the LORD. Then the LORD said, "The blame for blood has fallen upon Saul and his clan, for he has killed Gibeonites. Since it is like that the famine took place."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “While David was-reigning-(as-king), there arrived a famine for a period/[lit. inside] of three years. David asked-for-help to the LORD, and the LORD answered him, ‘The famine came because Saul and his household had-killed the Gibeonhon.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “During the time that David ruled, there was a famine in Israel for three years. David prayed to Yahweh about it. And Yahweh said, ‘In order for the famine to end, Saul’s family needs to be punished because Saul killed many people from Gibeon city.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-kao (御顔) or “face (of God)” in the referenced verses.
Since this is the beginning of the supplementary section of 2 Samuel, the transition term or expression used here will be important. The text itself indicates that the events described in this chapter happened in the days of David. Contemporary English Version begins “While David was king….” But some languages have special words or expressions to introduce events that are presented out of their normal, chronological order. Something like this may be used at the beginning of this chapter.
Famine: this word is used to describe a time during which there is insufficient food for a population. The result is extreme hunger and sometimes death by starvation. This is often seen in the Old Testament as divine punishment for some act or condition of unfaithfulness to God. The term is found frequently in Genesis and also in Ruth 1.1. The rendering of New Century Version, “a time of hunger,” is very much like the expression used in many other languages, except that in some cases the adjective “great” is added: “time of great hunger.”
In the days of David: the use of the word days may be troublesome in some languages. It is used here of a general time reference and has nothing to do with a twenty-four-hour period. The idea is “during the time when David ruled.”
Year after year: the use of this expression immediately after the three-year period already mentioned adds emphasis. It was a matter of three consecutive years and covered the three-year period completely. Knox translates “three years continuously,” and New American Bible and New International Version have “for three successive years.”
Sought the face of the LORD: similar expressions are used elsewhere in the Old Testament to refer in general to praying to God, to ask his advice (2 Chr 7.14; Psa 27.8), or to going to the Temple to worship Yahweh (Psa 24.6). Here the idea is clearly that of communion with God through prayer, but there is probably no implication of going to a particular place to do so.
Bloodguilt: this actually represents the Hebrew plural “bloods.” The term is used to refer to guilt that comes as a result of killing or “shedding of blood” of other persons. Compare Lev 17.4 as well as 1 Sam 25.26 and 33. Saul had apparently killed many Gibeonites (although this is not recorded elsewhere in the Bible) and was therefore considered guilty and deserving of punishment. Since he was no longer living, his guilt was transferred to his descendants.
The Gibeonites were the people who lived in the Benjaminite city of Gibeon, about eight kilometers (five miles) northwest of Jerusalem.
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 .
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