21Abner said to David, “Let me go and rally all Israel to my lord the king, in order that they may make a covenant with you and that you may reign over all that your heart desires.” So David dismissed Abner, and he went away in peace.
The Hebrew and Greek that is usually translated into English as “peace,” when referring to one’s inner peace, is (back-) translated with a variety of idioms and phrases:
“rest the heart” (Central Mazahua) / “rest within” (Lacandon) (source: Nida 1952, p. 40 and 128ff.) / “wait well in your heart” (Yatzachi Zapotec) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Natügu: nzesz’tikr drtwr: “oneness of mind” (source: Brenda Boerger in Beerle-Moor / Voinov, p. 164)
Tagalog: tipan: mutual promising on the part of two persons agreeing to do something (also has a romantic touch and denotes something secretive) (source: G. Henry Waterman in The Bible Translator 1960, p. 24ff. )
Tagbanwa: “initiated-agreement” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Guhu-Samane: “The concept [in Mark 14:24 and Matthew 16:28] is not easy, but the ritual freeing of a fruit and nut preserve does afford some reference. Thus, ‘As they were drinking he said to them, ‘On behalf of many this poro provision [poro is the traditional religion] of my blood is released.’ (…) God is here seen as the great benefactor and man the grateful recipient.” (Source: Ernest Richert in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. )
Chichewa: pangano. This word can also be translated as a contract, agreement, or a treaty between two parties. In Chewa culture, two people or groups enter into an agreement to help each other in times of need. When entering into an agreement, parties look at the mutual benefits which will be gained. The agreement terms are mostly kept as a secret between the parties and the witnesses involved. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Law (2013, p. 95) writes about how the Ancient GreekSeptuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew berith was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments (click or tap here to read more):
“Right from the start we witness the influence of the Septuagint on the earliest expressions of the Christian faith. In the New Testament, Jesus speaks of his blood being a kaine diatheke, a ‘new covenant.’ The covenant is elucidated in Hebrews 8:8-12 and other texts, but it was preserved in the words of Jesus with this language in Luke 22:20 when at the Last Supper Jesus said, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. Jesus’s blood was to provide the grounds for the ‘new covenant,’ in contrast to the old one his disciples knew from the Jewish scriptures (e.g., Jeremiah 31:31-34). Thus, the earliest Christians accepted the Jewish Scriptures as prophecies about Jesus and in time began to call the collection the ‘Old Testament’ and the writings about Jesus and early Christianity the ‘New Testament,’ since ‘testament’ was another word for ‘covenant.’ The covenant promises of God (berith in Hebrew) were translated in the Septuagint with the word diatheke. In classical Greek diatheke had meant ‘last will, testament,’ but in the Septuagint it is the chosen equivalent for God’s covenant with his people. The author of Hebrews plays on the double meaning, and when Luke records Jesus’ announcement at the Last Supper that his blood was instituting a ‘new covenant,’ or a ‘new testament,’ he is using the language in an explicit contrast with the old covenant, found in the Jewish scriptures. Soon, the writings that would eventually be chosen to make up the texts about the life and teachings of Jesus and the earliest expression of the Christian faith would be called the New Testament. This very distinction between the Old and New Testaments is based on the Septuagint’s language.”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 3:21:
Kupsabiny: “Then Abner told David that, ‘Let me return home to talk to all the people of Israel to join together and come to where you are. Then, you make an agreement with them. That is when you will rule Israel and anything that you stomach needs/wants.’ At that time, David released Abner to go with peace.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “And Abner said to David, "Now I will go and bring all Israel before you, and they may make a covenant with you. Then you may reign over all you desire." David bid Abner farewell and he went [away] happy.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Abner said to David, ‘Beloved King, allow me to go now to convince all people of Israel that they will-support you (sing.) as king. I will-have- them -make a covenant to you (sing.) that they will-accept you (sing.) as their king. Then you (sing.) will-reign anywhere you (sing.) want to reign.’ So David caused-Abner -to-walk/[meaning to go] he did- not -do-anything-(to-him)/[meaning he did- not -harm him].” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Afterwards, Abner said to David, ‘Sir/Your majesty, I will now go and encourage all the people of Israel to accept you to be their king, as you have desired.’ Then Abner left, peacefully.” (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.”
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. The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “want,” “desire,” or “need” or similar in English is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as o-nozomi (お望み), combining the verb “desire” (nozomi) with the respectful prefix o-. Note that in Mark 14:36, only the second instance of “want” is translated that way.
Also, an honorific construction is employed. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, osame-rare-ru (治められる) or “reign/rule” is used.
I will arise and go: frequently in Hebrew the verb arise followed by a second verb, as in this case, is intended more as an initiation of the action verb that follows than as a separate undertaking. Furthermore, the wording in English does not sound particularly polite, but the idea is that of requesting permission. Bible en français courant attempts to reflect this by saying “Your Majesty, I am now ready to leave and gather all the Israelites…,” and Contemporary English Version says “let me leave now.” In some languages it may be better to say “Now I would like to go….”
Gather all Israel: that is, to encourage and to rally all the people of the northern tribes to support David.
My lord the king: this is an indirect reference to David himself. But since Abner is speaking directly to David, this will have to be worded differently in many languages. The expression “your majesty” works well in English, but many languages do not have a similar expression in reference to royalty. It may therefore by wise simply to introduce the second person singular pronoun to make the reference direct: “to you, my master and king.”
Covenant: see verses 12 and 13.
All that your heart desires: here the heart stands for the person. Some therefore may prefer to translate simply “all that you desire” (New Jerusalem Bible and Anchor Bible).
Sent Abner away: this wording in English sounds somewhat harsh. The idea is rather that he dismissed Abner in the usual polite fashion. Although the rendering is hardly common language, the meaning communicated by New American Bible is correct: “so David bade Abner farewell.” Other languages may say “so David said goodbye to Abner….”
And he went in peace: the writer emphasizes here and in the following verses (22 and 23) the fact that David and Abner were on good terms when they separated. This is important in light of the fact that Abner will soon be killed, and the writer sought to avoid giving the slightest impression that David was responsible for his death. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh translates “he went away unharmed” (and similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).
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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