diff --git a/src/server/internalServer.cpp b/src/server/internalServer.cpp
index 7971840e6..876a5f7f6 100644
--- a/src/server/internalServer.cpp
+++ b/src/server/internalServer.cpp
@@ -462,6 +462,11 @@ std::string noSearchResultsMsg()
   return "The fulltext search engine is not available for this content.";
 }
 
+ParameterizedMessage nonParameterizedMessage(const std::string& msgId)
+{
+  return ParameterizedMessage(msgId, {});
+}
+
 } // unnamed namespace
 
 std::unique_ptr<Response> InternalServer::handle_suggest(const RequestContext& request)
@@ -680,9 +685,8 @@ std::unique_ptr<Response> InternalServer::handle_random(const RequestContext& re
     auto entry = archive->getRandomEntry();
     return build_redirect(bookName, getFinalItem(*archive, entry));
   } catch(zim::EntryNotFound& e) {
-    const std::string error_details = "Oops! Failed to pick a random article :(";
     return HTTP404HtmlResponse(*this, request)
-           + error_details
+           + nonParameterizedMessage("random-article-failure")
            + TaskbarInfo(bookName, archive.get());
   }
 }
diff --git a/static/i18n/en.json b/static/i18n/en.json
index 32ce8fa78..6c34ec729 100644
--- a/static/i18n/en.json
+++ b/static/i18n/en.json
@@ -8,4 +8,5 @@
 	, "no-such-book": "No such book: {{BOOK_NAME}}"
 	, "url-not-found" : "The requested URL \"{{url}}\" was not found on this server."
 	, "suggest-search" : "Make a full text search for <a href=\"{{{SEARCH_URL}}}\">{{PATTERN}}</a>"
+	, "random-article-failure" :  "Oops! Failed to pick a random article :("
 }
diff --git a/static/i18n/qqq.json b/static/i18n/qqq.json
index 8d1195b40..cbf41ffaf 100644
--- a/static/i18n/qqq.json
+++ b/static/i18n/qqq.json
@@ -9,4 +9,5 @@
 	, "no-such-book": "Error text when the requested book is not found in the library"
 	, "url-not-found" : "Error text about wrong URL for an HTTP 404 error"
 	, "suggest-search" : "Suggest a search when the URL points to a non existing article"
+	, "random-article-failure" :  "Failure of the random article selection procedure"
 }