wicked, worthless

The Hebrew that is translated as “worthless” or “wicked” in many English versions is translated into Anuak as “whose head is bad” (1Sam. 25:17) or “people whose intentions are black” (i.e., greedy) (1Sam. 30:22).

scoundrel

The Hebrew that is translated as “scoundrel” or “worthless person” or similar in English is translated in Vidunda as “troublemaker” and Kutu as “very evil person.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (1Sam 30:22)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the inclusive pronoun, including everyone.

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 )

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)

Translation commentary on 1 Samuel 30:22

Base fellows: literally “[men of] Belial.” See the comments on 1.16.

Because they did not go with us: literally “Because they did not go with me” (so Fox). It is not clear whether Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation are following the Septuagint and those Hebrew manuscripts that read us, or whether they read the plural for translation reasons. Hebrew uses the singular pronoun “me” here to indicate or underline the fact that this viewpoint is that of each of the wicked and base fellows. Compare Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, “Since they didn’t come with me, we won’t give them any of the spoil that we have taken.” The following verbs (give and recovered), however, are first person plural. Although Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives an {A} rating to the singular pronoun of the Masoretic Text, in many languages it will be natural to say “with us.”

New Century Version says “These 200 men didn’t go with us,” making it quite clear to whom the pronoun they refers.

In those languages where indirect discourse is preferred, the following model is suggested for this verse:

• But some of the men who had gone with David were worthless troublemakers; they insisted that, since those other men didn’t go along on the raid, they should not get any of the loot. They wanted them to just take their wives and children and go away.

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 .