complete verse (2 Samuel 2:20)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 2:20:

  • Kupsabiny: “While he was chasing (him), Abner looked behind and asked Asahel, ‘Oh, is it you my friend?’ Asahel replied, ‘I am the one.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Then looking back Abner said, "Oh Asahel, is it you?" He replied, "Yes."
    Abner spoke again, warning [him], "Stop pursuing me." He said, "How, having killed you, will I show my face to your elder brother Joab?” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “When Abner looked-behind, he saw him and asked, ‘Is that you Asahel?’ Asahel answered, ‘Yes.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Abner looked behind him, and said ‘Is that you, Asahel?’ Asahel replied, ‘Yes!’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

2nd person pronoun with low register (Japanese)

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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. )

See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 2:20

If direct quotations are used in translation, the context of the battle must be remembered. It is difficult to imagine a man chasing another saying something as stilted as It is I in response to the question asked. And in some languages the direct quotations of this verse will be more naturally translated as indirect. Consider, for example, “Then Abner looked back and asked whether it was Asahel who was chasing him. And Asahel let him know that it was.” Another possible model is that of Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, “At a certain point [in the chase], Abner turned and asked, ‘Is it you, Asahel?’ ‘Yes,’ he replied.”

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 .