complete verse (2 Samuel 4:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 4:12:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then David told his people to kill Rekab and Baanah. They killed those people and cut off the hands and legs and hanged their bodies near the pool/spring at Hebron. After those people finished doing like that, the head of Ishbosheth was taken and buried in that tomb/cave where Abner was buried in Hebron.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “So David ordered his men and they killed them. They chopped off their hands and their feet and hung them beside the pond of Hebron. Ishbosheth’s head, however, they took and buried it in Abner’s tomb at Hebron.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Therefore David commanded his men to kill Recab and Baana, and they obeyed it. They cut-off their hands and feet and had- their bodies -hung by the pool in Hebron. They took the head of Ishboshet and buried in the burial-place of Abner at Hebron.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Then, following David’s orders, his soldiers killed the two men, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hung their bodies (OR, their hands and feet) on a pole near the pool at Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it respectfully in the tomb of Abner, there at Hebron.” (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 4:12

And: while many English versions leave the transition word untranslated, it may be better to show the connection with the previous verses by using something like “So” (New American Bible, Knox, New International Version) or “Then” (An American Translation and Moffatt).

His young men: that is, “his soldiers.” See 1.15 and 2.14.

Hanged them: the referent of the pronoun them is unclear. Was it the bodies of these men or only their hands and feet that had been severed from their bodies that were put on display to others? Good News Translation and Revised English Bible seem to take it as referring to the hands and feet (so also the footnote in La Bible Pléiade), but New Revised Standard Version says clearly “hung their bodies” (similarly New International Version). While either is possible grammatically, it is more probable that the bodies of the guilty men were hung up as a public display (1 Sam 31.10; Deut 21.22).

The pool at Hebron: the pool referred to was probably the most public place in Hebron and was chosen in order to give maximum exposure to the fact that those who committed such deeds could expect swift punishment. Compare the “pool of Gibeon” in 2.13.

Tomb: as in 2.32 and 3.32, this word may be translated “burying place” or something similar.

The Masoretic Text here reads simply Abner. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, suggests that the words “son of Ner” have been accidentally omitted from the text and recommends that translators include “son of Ner,” following the Septuagint and a manuscript from Qumran. But see the comments above on 3.23.

At Hebron: the burial of Ishbosheth’s head took place in the same place where David was when the sons of Rimmon brought it to him, that is, in Hebron. The wording of the translation should not give the impression that Hebron was some distance from where the events took place.

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 .