וַיֹּאמֶר֩ דָּוִ֨ד לַאֲנָשָׁ֜יו חִגְר֣וּ ׀ אִ֣ישׁ אֶת־חַרְבּ֗וֹ וַֽיַּחְגְּרוּ֙ אִ֣ישׁ אֶת־חַרְבּ֔וֹ וַיַּחְגֹּ֥ר גַּם־דָּוִ֖ד אֶת־חַרְבּ֑וֹ וַֽיַּעֲל֣וּ ׀ אַחֲרֵ֣י דָוִ֗ד כְּאַרְבַּ֤ע מֵאוֹת֙ אִ֔ישׁ וּמָאתַ֖יִם יָשְׁב֥וּ עַל־הַכֵּלִֽים׃
13David said to his men, “Every man strap on his sword!” And every one of them strapped on his sword; David also strapped on his sword, and about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.
the Hebrew and Greek that is translated with “sword” in English is translated in Tepeuxila Cuicatec as “machete that is sharp on two sides,” in Lalana Chinantec as “machete” and in San Mateo del Mar Huave as “knife.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
See also two-edged sword.
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 )
The (Protestant) Mandarin Chinese transliteration of “David” is 大卫 (衛) / Dàwèi which carries an additional meaning of “Great Protector.”
The direct quotation at the beginning of this verse may be made into indirect discourse if this seems more natural in the receptor language: “David instructed all his men to put on their swords.”
The verb gird/girded, which occurs three times in this verse, is rendered by the less archaic expression “strap/strapped on” in New Revised Standard Version.
After David: the preposition rendered after in Revised Standard Version may be understood to mean that the men went “behind” David as he led the way, or simply that they went “with” him.
Baggage: that is, the military supplies. The same word is translated “armor” in 17.54 and “weapons” in 20.40 and 21.8. Here it probably includes both. See the comments at 10.22.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
No comments yet.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.