ancestors

The Hebrew that is translated as “ancestors” in English is translated in Kwere as “deceased ancestors” because the word for “ancestor” can also mean “grandfather.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (2 Samuel 7:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 7:12:

  • Kupsabiny: “If/When you die of old age and they keep/bury you, I will anoint your son to be the king and his rulership will be strong.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “After you die [and] are buried with your ancestors, I will make one of your sons king, and I will make his kingdom strong.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “When you die already and be-buried together-with your ancestors, I will-cause-to-succeed to you one of your children, and I will-make-strong/firm his kingdom.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “When your life ends and you go to be with your ancestors, I will appoint one of your sons to be king, and I will enable his kingdom to be strong/resist all their enemies.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 7:12

When your days are fulfilled: while it will be possible in most languages to translate flatly “When you die” as in Good News Translation, many will have more indirect ways of talking about death that will be appropriate here. Some may say, for example, “When you reach your last day on earth” or “When you come to the end of your days in this world.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh uses the English idiom “When your days are done.”

Lie down with your fathers: the same expression is more often translated “slept with … fathers” (especially in 1-2 Kings and 2 Chronicles), but here as in Gen 47.30 the verb “lie” is used. This idiomatic expression refers to burial in a place that is physically close to the dead person’s parents, grandparents, and other forebears. If there is no corresponding idiom in the receptor language, it will be best to translate the meaning as in Good News Translation, “buried with your ancestors.”

Raise up: the verb so translated is a causative form in Hebrew. The basic verb is used in the physical sense of getting up from a sitting or reclining position (compare 6.2 and 1 Sam 1.9). But used figuratively the meaning is “make prominent” or “give power.” In this context the idea is “cause to become king.”

Who shall come forth from your body: this expression, which is very similar in meaning to the word offspring, emphasizes the physical aspect of the relationship. It does not necessarily mean immediate descent but clearly involves a direct physical relationship. Compare 1 Sam 24.21, where a similar expression is used when Saul asks David to promise that Saul’s descendants will not be totally destroyed. Other languages may have special expressions that correspond to this. For example, “seed,” “offspring,” or possibly a simpler and more direct statement like “one of your own children” (Revised English Bible) or “one of your sons” (Contemporary English Version). Though the text does not mention him by name here, this is an allusion to Solomon (see 1 Kgs 2.12).

Establish: this does not focus on the original setting up of a kingdom but on making firm what has already been established. The verb comes from a root meaning “to stand up; be erect.” New Jerusalem Bible says “I shall make his royal throne secure forever.”

This verse may be restructured in some languages so that the part of the verse that talks about the time when these things will happen comes later in the verse rather than at the beginning. If this structure is preferred, the Contemporary English Version model may be helpful:

• I’ll choose one of your sons to be king when you reach the end of your life and are buried in the tomb of your ancestors. I’ll make him a strong ruler….

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 .