15Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile some of the poorest of the people and the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the artisans.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 52:15:
Kupsabiny: “Nebuzaradan took all the people who remained in the city, including those who had accepted for the king of Babylon to rule over them and the craftsmen, going with them to become prisoners.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “And he took-captive the remaining people in the city, as-well-as some of the poorest people and the people who defend/[lit. sided] the king of Babilonia.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Then Nebuzaradan forced to go/exiled to Babylon some of the poorest people, those Israelis who had said they would support the king of Babylon, the rest of the craftsmen, and other people who had remained in Jerusalem.” (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.”
It is not natural in English to continue to identify Nebuzaradan as the captain of the guard.
Some of the poorest of the people: The next verse states that Nebuzaradan left some of the poorest people, using the same Hebrew term as here. Some translations (Good News Translation, for instance) have dropped it from this verse on the assumption that it is misplaced from verse 16. New Jerusalem Bible shows its doubts about the term by placing it within parentheses. But this is not necessary, since the Hebrew text as we have it is perfectly clear, saying that some of the poorest people were taken (verse 15) and some … were left (verse 16). Another way to render the first part of the verse is “Nebuzaradan carried away captive the rest of the people who were left in the city. Some of them were poor people.”
The rest of the artisans: Artisans (not mentioned in 39.9) is the rendering of most modern English translations; for instance, New International Version has “craftsmen” and Good News Translation “skilled workers.” The text the rest of the artisans could make readers think that the other people listed in the verse were also skilled workmen. The meaning is “the skilled workmen who were still left in the city.”
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 .
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