23and they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him to King Jehoiakim, who struck him down with the sword and threw his dead body into the burial place of the common people.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 26:23:
Kupsabiny: “When Uriah was caught, he was returned and taken to king Jehoiakim. Then the king said/ordered that Uriah should be killed, and then his body was thrown where all other people were buried.)” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “They took Uria (from) there and brought to King Jehoyakim, and King Jehoyakim have- him -killed with a sword and have- his corpse -thrown into the place-of-burial for the public.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “They captured Uriah and took him back to Jerusalem to King Jehoiakim. The king then had a soldier kill Uriah with a sword. Then they buried his corpse in a place where poor people are buried.” (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.”
Fetched … brought may be expressed by the one verb “brought” (Good News Translation, Moffatt). On the assumption that this was a matter of formal extradition, rather than of kidnaping, Bright renders “extradited … brought.” In many languages brought should be “took.”
Who slew him with the sword: Although it is possible that the king did this act himself, it is more probable that it was something he ordered; that is, “who had him killed” (Good News Translation). Of course, in many cultures it is clearly understood that when someone says that the leader or monarch “killed,” that it means “had him killed.” Likewise cast would probably be understood to mean “had his body thrown.” Translators should be sure that the text is natural and clear to readers. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “who had him executed with the sword,” thus retaining the sword as the instrument of execution.
Cast his dead body into the burial place of the common people: Bright indicates the significance of the burial rather than its location (“given a dishonorable burial”), while Good News Translation expresses the clause as “who had … his body thrown into the public burial ground.”
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.