The SwedishBibel 2000 declared the 69 Old Testament verses referenced herein as “untranslatable.” Typically, other Bible translations translate those verses and mention in footnotes that the translation is uncertain or give alternate readings. Christer Åsberg, the Translation Secretary with the Swedish Bible Society at that time, explains why the Swedish Bible Society decided to not translate these verses at all (in The Bible Translator 2007, p. 1ff.):
“In the new Swedish translation (SB) of 2000, [some verses are] not translated at all; [they are] indicated with three hyphens inside square brackets [- - -] [with a] reference to the appendix, where in the article ‘Text’ one will find a paragraph with roughly the following content:
In some cases the text is unintelligible and the variant readings differing to such an extent, that it is quite impossible to attain a reasonable certainty of what is meant, although some isolated word may occur, whose meaning it is possible to understand.
“If Bible translators find the Hebrew text untranslatable, what kind of text is it that they have produced in the translation into their own language? When a footnote says ‘The Hebrew is not understandable,’ what then is the printed text a translation of? And if the translators prefer to do without footnotes, are they then really released from the responsibility of informing their readers that the text they read is just mere guesswork?
“To leave a blank space in a Bible text seems to be an offensive act for many. (. . . ) To admit that a piece of Holy Scripture makes no sense at all may have been unimaginable in times past. In our enlightened era, an overprotective concern for the readers’ trust in the word of God is apparently a decisive factor when a translator tries to translate against all odds. The verdict ‘untranslatable’ is much more frequent in scholarly commentaries on different Bible books written by and for experts than in the translations or footnotes of the same books designed for common readers.
“Another reason (. . .) is a professional, and very human, reluctance to admit a failure. Also, many Bible translators lack translational experience of other literary genres and other classical texts where this kind of capitulation is a part of the daily run of things. They may have an innate or subconscious feeling that the Bible has unique qualities not only as a religious document but also as a linguistic and literary artifact. Completeness is felt to be proof of perfection. Some translators, and not so few of their clients, are unfamiliar with a scholarly approach to philological and exegetical matters. In some cases their background have made them immune to a kind of interpretative approximation common in older translations, confessional commentaries, and sermons. Therefore, their tolerance towards lexical, grammatical, and syntactical anomalies tends to be comparatively great.
“It is very hard to discern and to define the boundary between something that is extremely difficult and something that is quite impossible. I am convinced that all Bible translators in their heart of hearts will admit that there actually are some definitely untranslatable passages in the Bible, but are there a dozen of them or a score? Are there fifty or a hundred? Not even a group of recognized experts would probably pick out the same ten most obvious cases. (. . .)
“Conclusions:
There are untranslatable passages in the Bible.
How many they are is impossible to say—except for the translation team that decides which passages are untranslatable.
An untranslatable passage cannot and should therefore not be translated.
The lacuna should be marked in a consistent way.
The translating team should stipulate their criteria for untranslatability as early as possible.
It is an ethical imperative that the readers be comprehensively informed.
Untranslatability has been and can be displayed in many different ways.
An explanatory note should not confuse linguistic untranslatability with other kinds of textual or translational difficulties.
The information given should make it clear that the translators’ recognition of untranslatability is a token of respect for the Bible, not a proof of depreciation.
You shall not fear the void, but the fear of the void.”
With thanks to Mikael Winninge, Director of Translation, Swedish Bible Society
The Old Testament quote from Joel in Acts 2:17-21 is amended by what is translated in English as “In the last days, God declares.” Many translations don’t show this as an addition by Peter or Luke to the original quote but the SwedishBibel 2000 manages to distinguish the different sources by a differentiation in italics vs. regular script: Det skall ske i de sista dagarna, säger Gud, att jag utgjuter min ande över alla människor. (…)” (Source: Christer Åsberg (in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 71ff.)
The Hebrew that is translated as “Lord of hosts” in English (or: “Yahweh of Armies” [translation by John Goldingay, 2018], “Hashem, Master of Legions” [ArtScroll Tanakh translation, 2011]) is translated in various ways: It’s translated as “God the Highest Ruler” in Kankanaey, as “Lord Almighty” in Newari, as Mndewa Imulungu or “Lord with all power” in Kutu (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext), as Wànjūnzhī Yēhéhuá (万军之耶和华) or “Jehovah of 10,000 [=all] armies” in Mandarin Chinese, as “Yawe God of the universe” in Mandinka, and in the German (Luther) Bible the second part of the name is transliterated: Herr Zebaoth or “Lord Zebaoth” (Swedish, Finnish and Latvian use the same translation strategy). The Russian Orthodox Synod translation uses a transliteration of the second part of the designation as well: Господь Саваоф / Gospod’ Savaof.
The traditional French translation of l’Eternel/Yahve/le Seigneur/Seigneur des armées (“Lord of the armies”) presents a problem when listened to, as Jean-Marc Babut explains (in The Bible Translator 1985, p. 411ff. ):
“For the hearer, the traditional translation l’Eternel/Yahve/le Seigneur des armées can easily be taken in a bad sense: there is nothing, in fact, to prevent the listener from hearing l’Eternel désarmé, ‘the Eternal One disarmed’ or ‘stripped of his power’! (…). Thus the Bible en français courant [publ. 1997] has decided to use the expression Seigneur/Dieu de l’univers, “Lord/God of the Universe”. This formula, which has an undeniably liturgical ring, seems to have been favorably received by users.”
Other, later French Bibles who have chosen a similar strategy, include Parole de Vie (publ. 2017) with Seigneur de l’univers or Bible Segond 21 (publ. 2007) with l’Eternel, le maître de l’univers.
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin terms that are typically translated as “mercy” (or “compassion” or “kindness”) in English are translated in various ways. Bratcher / Nida classify them in (1) those based on the quality of heart, or other psychological center, (2) those which introduce the concept of weeping or extreme sorrow, (3) those which involve willingness to look upon and recognize the condition of others, or (4) those which involve a variety of intense feelings.
While the Englishmercy originates from the Latinmerces, originally “price paid,” Romance languages (Italian, Spanish, Corsican, Catalan) and other Germanic languages (German, Swedish, Danish — Barmherzigkeit, barmhärtighet and barmhjertighed, respectively) tend to follow the Latin misericordia, lit. “misery-heart.”
The Hebrew that is translated as “I lift up my eyes to the hills” or similar in English was judged as too archaic an expression in a direct translation in Swedish and was instead translated as Jag ser upp emot bergen or “I look up at the mountains” from the 1970’s on. (See Bertil Albrektson in The Bible Translator 1978, p. 101ff. )
The Hebrew that is translated in most English versions as “wild ox” was translated by the Ancient GreekSeptuagint translation as μονόκερως (monókeros) or “unicorn.”
Bibles in the Protestant tradition also used an equivalent of that translation up into the early 20th century. This includes translations like the EnglishKing James Version/Authorised Version (unicorn), the German translation by Luther (up to and including the revision of 1912) (Einhorn), or the SwedishCharles XII Bible of 1686 (enhörningen).
Since translations of the Orthodox traditions tend to follow the Septuagint (see above), they also use an equivalent of “unicorn,” such as the Russian Synod translation with единорог (yedinorog).
Translations in the Catholic tradition tended to use an equivalent of “rhinoceros,” going back to the LatinVulgate’srinoceros. Modern Catholic translations that follow the Hebrew text now also use “wild ox” or an equivalent.
The influential Literary / Classical ChineseDelegates Version (publ. 1854) used sì (兕), a mythological Chinese creature that also only had one horn (see here ).
In the Hebrew text, each verse of the acrostic in Proverbs 31:10-31 is started with the successive 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. While most translations mention that in a note or a comment, a number of Bible translations have been able to use the same the rhetorical device. The SwedishBibel 2000 had the advantage of an additional three letters in the Swedish alphabet aside from the 26 letters of the Latin alphabet (A-Z) — Å, Ä, and Ö are added behind Z — and by skipping some of the more difficult letters (source: Staphan Lindström). The letters that are successively employed are A, B, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U, V, Å, Ä, Ö.
Click or tap here for the complete 22 verses in Swedish:
10 Att finna en driftig hustru, vem förunnas det —
långt mer än pärlor är hon värd.
11 Blint litar hennes man på henne,
och vinsten uteblir inte.
12 Dagligen är hon honom till nytta,
aldrig till skada.
13 Efter att ha skaffat ull och lin
arbetar hon med flinka händer.
14 Från avlägsna trakter hämtar hon förråd,
hon är som köpmannens skepp.
15 Gryningen är inte inne när hon stiger upp,
sätter fram mat åt familjen och ger pigorna deras portioner.
16 Hon ser ut en åker och köper den,
planterar en vingård för det hon själv har tjänat.
17 Ivrigt går hon till verket
och hugger i med starka armar.
18 Kan hon märka att affärerna går bra
får hennes lampa brinna hela natten.
19 Lätt hanterar hon sländtrissan
och håller sländan i handen.
20 Mot de svaga räcker hon ut handen,
hon öppnar sin famn för de fattiga.
21 När snön kommer ängslas hon inte:
hela familjen har kläder av ylle.
22 Också täcken väver hon själv,
hon är klädd i linne och purpur.
23 På hennes man ser alla med aktning,
där han sitter bland de äldste i porten.
24 Rockar av linne syr hon och säljer,
handlaren förser hon med bälten.
25 Styrka och värdighet utstrålar hon
och ser leende framtiden an.
26 Talar gör hon med klokhet,
vänliga förmaningar delar hon ut.
27 Uppmärksamt följer hon allt i huset,
aldrig äter hon lättjans bröd.
28 Välsignad blir hon av sina barn,
och hennes man lovprisar henne:
29 Åtskilliga duktiga kvinnor har jag sett,
men du överträffar dem alla! —
30 Älsklighet kan bedra, skönhet förgår,
för sin gudsfruktan skall en hustru prisas.
31 Överlämna åt henne hennes mödas lön,
må hon prisas i portarna för sina verk.
Likewise, Danish also has additional letters in its alphabet (Æ, Ø, and Å) and the DanishBibelen på Hverdagsdansk (publ. 1985, rev. 2015 et al.) also maintained an acrostic in this passage:
Click or tap here for the verses in Danish:
10 At finde den ideelle hustru er enhver mands drøm.
Lykkes det, har han fundet en uvurderlig skat.
11 Bedre kan ingen mand ønske sig det,
altid har hun hans fulde tillid.
12 Charmerende er hun tillige,
støtter og opmuntrer ham livet igennem.
13 Dagene bruger hun flittigt,
hun samler uld og hør og har travlt med at spinde.
14 Eksotiske retter forstår hun at frembringe,
for hun har en bred horisont.
15 Før daggry står hun op for at lave mad til familien
og fordele opgaverne mellem husets piger.
16 Går hun forbi et frugtbart jordstykke, køber hun det
og planter en vingård for, hvad hun har tjent.
17 Hun går energisk i gang
og arbejder med stor udholdenhed.
18 Indsatsen bærer frugt,
og der er lys i hendes vindue til langt ud på natten.
19 Jævnligt sidder hun ved sin rok
eller spinder dygtigt ved tenen.
21 Kulden er ikke noget problem,
for hun er klar med det varme tøj.
20 Lider de fattige nød,
er hun der straks med en hjælpende hånd.
23 Man ser hendes mand som en af byens ledere,
for han er en mand, der aftvinger respekt.
22 Nydeligt er hun klædt i dragter af det fineste stof,
hun syr selv sit tøj og væver sine tæpper.
25 Optimistisk ser hun fremtiden i møde,
hun optræder værdigt og karakterfast.
24 Penge har hun nok af,
for hun sælger af det pragtfulde tøj, hun fremstiller.
26 Råd og opmuntring giver hun gerne,
hun taler med visdom og venlige ord.
27 Sit hus har hun styr på,
hun kender ikke til lediggang.
28 Til hver en tid får hun ros af sine børn,
og hendes mand lovpriser hende med følgende ord:
29 „Utallige kvinder er dygtige,
men du overgår dem alle!”
30 Ydre skønhed falmer, og charme kan bedrage,
men en kvinde, der følger Herren, er al beundring værd.
31 Ære og hæder fortjener hun fuldt ud,
og hendes gerninger lovprises overalt i byen.
Like the Hebrew alphabet, the Tok Pisin alphabet has 22 letters (A, B, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U, V, W, Y) which the translators saw as a challenge to maintain the Hebrew acrostic: “One of the ways the Israelites followed in writing was a bit different. In the Hebrew alphabet there are 22 letters. Well sometimes they used to divide the talk that they wanted to write into 22 parts, and each part had to start with a different letter. When people translate Hebrew into other languages, they are not able to follow this custom in the translation. But Tok Pisin has 22 letters in its alphabet, the same number as in Hebrew. So in just this one passage in the Bible, we (translators) have followed this custom and reproduced it (the form of the Hebrew), so that you can see how it goes.” (Source: Note in the translation, translated by Timothy Lloyd Wilt in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 207ff. ).
Click or tap here for the verses in Tok Pisin:
10 Ating man i laik maritim meri i gat gutpela pasin tru, a? Orait bai em i hatwok tru long painim. Kain meri olsem i winim olkain ston i dia tumas.
11 Bai man bilong dispela kain meri i save gut long meri i bihainim gutpela pasin oltaim. Na meri bai i helpim em na em i gat planti samting.
12 Dispela meri i save mekim gutpela pasin tasol long man bilong en.
13 Em i save wokim kain kain tret na em i amamas long lumim olkain laplap.
14 Famili bilong en i gat planti kain kaikai, long wanem, em i save go longwe tumas long kisim kaikai, olsem ol bikpela sip i save mekim.
15 Gutpela meri olsem i save kirap taim tulait i no bruk yet na i kukim kaikai bilong famili bilong en na makim wok bilong ol wokmeri bilong en.
16 Hapmeri olsem i save lukluk gut pastaim long graun em i laik baim, na bihain em i baim. Na bihain, em i kisim mani long bisnis bilong em na baim ol yangpela diwai wain bilong planim.
17 I no gat wanpela taim em i les. Em i strongpela meri na i save taitim bun na i wok.
18 Jak bilong lam bilong en i pulap long wel na lam i lait i stap, na em i wok i go inap biknait tru long taim em i lukim bisnis bilong en i go het gut.
19 Kain meri olsem i save wokim ol tret bilong em yet na lumim ol laplap.
20 Long taim em i lukim ol man i sot long ol samting na i rabis, em i save givim ol samting long ol.
21 Maski ren ais i pundaun, em i no save wari long ol famili bilong en, long wanem, em i bin wokim klos bilong ol long laplap i gutpela tumas.
22 Na em yet i save wokim ol blanket bilong ol bet long haus bilong en. Na em i save kisim ol gutpela waitpela laplap na ol gutpela retpela laplap na wokim ol klos bilong en.
23 Ol hetman bilong ples i givim biknem long man bilong en. Na man bilong en i wanpela bilong ol dispela hetman.
24 Planti taim dispela meri i save samapim ol gutpela klos na wokim ol let, na ol bisnisman i save kam baim.
25 Rispek na biknem i olsem klos bilong en na em i gat strong. Em i no save wari long ol samting bai i kamap bihain.
26 Sapos em i skulim ol manmeri, em i mekim tok isi tasol. Na olgeta tok bilong en i kamapim gutpela tingting na save bilong en.
27 Taim em i lukautim ol samting long haus bilong en, em i no save les. Nogat. Em i save wok strong na mekim gutpela wok tumas.
28 “Ure, ure long mama bilong mipela.” Ol pikinini bilong dispela meri i save tok olsem. Na man bilong en i litimapim nem bilong em moa yet na i tok,
29 “Viles na taun bilong yumi i gat planti meri i save mekim gutpela pasin tru, tasol yu winim ol moa yet.”
30 Wanpela meri inap givim switpela tok long yumi, tasol pasin bilong en i narakain. Na maski meri i luk nais tru, em i no inap i stap olsem oltaim. Mobeta yumi litimapim nem bilong meri i save aninit long Bikpela.
31 Yumi mas tingting long gutpela pasin bilong meri na long gutpela wok em i bin mekim, na givim biknem long em. Olgeta manmeri i ken litimapim nem bilong en.
The English Bible translation by Ronald Knox (publ. 1950) is the only English translation that — aside from Psalm 9/10 — maintains every Hebrew acrostic (even though Knox’s translation itself is based on the Latin text of the Vulgate rather than the Hebrew):
10 A man who has found a vigorous wife has found a rare treasure, brought from distant shores.
11 Bound to her in loving confidence, he will have no need of spoil.
12 Content, not sorrow, she will bring him as long as life lasts.
13 Does she not busy herself with wool and thread, plying her hands with ready skill?
14 Ever she steers her course like some merchant ship, bringing provision from far away.
15 From early dawn she is up, assigning food to the household, so that each waiting-woman has her share.
16 Ground must be examined, and bought, and planted out as a vineyard, with the earnings of her toil.
17 How briskly she girds herself to the task, how tireless are her arms!
18 Industry, she knows, is well rewarded, and all night long her lamp does not go out.
19 Jealously she sets her hands to work, her fingers clutch the spindle.
20 Kindly is her welcome to the poor, her purse ever open to those in need.
21 Let the snow lie cold if it will, she has no fears for her household; no servant of hers but is warmly clad.
22 Made by her own hands was the coverlet on her bed, the clothes of lawn and purple that she wears.
23 None so honoured at the city gate as that husband of hers, when he sits in council with the elders of the land.
24 Often she will sell linen of her own weaving, or make a girdle for the travelling merchant to buy.
25 Protected by her own industry and good repute, she greets the morrow with a smile.
26 Ripe wisdom governs her speech, but it is kindly instruction she gives.
27 She keeps watch over all that goes on in her house, not content to go through life eating and sleeping.
28 That is why her children are the first to call her blessed, her husband is loud in her praise:
29 Unrivalled art thou among all the women that have enriched their homes.
30 Vain are the winning ways, beauty is a snare; it is the woman who fears the Lord that will achieve renown.
31 Work such as hers claims its reward; let her life be spoken of with praise at the city gates.
Greek, Hebrew, Latin and Aramaic all have one term only that refers to what can be expressed in English as “sky” or “heaven(s)” (as a physical and spiritual entity). While there is a slight overlap between the meaning of the two English terms, “sky” (from Old Norse sky meaning “cloud”) typically refers to the physical entity, and “heaven” (from Old English heofon meaning “home of God”) typically refers to the spiritual entity. While this enriches the English lexicon, it also forces English Bible translators to make decisions that can be found only in the context in the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic texts. Most versions tend to use “heaven(s)” even if the meaning is likely “sky,” but the Contemporary English Version (NT: 1991, OT: 1995, DC: 1999) is an English translation that attempted to be more specific in the separation of the two meanings and was used as the basis for the links to verses used for this and this story (“heaven”).
Norm Mundhenk (in The Bible Translator 2006, pp. 92-95) describes the difficulty that English translations face (click or tap here to see more):
“A number of years ago an old lady asked me a question. What did Jesus mean when he said, ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away’? I do not remember what answer I gave, but I was surprised at how concerned she seemed to be about the verse. It was only later, after I had left her, that I suddenly realized what it was that she was so concerned about. She knew that death could not be far away, and all her life she had looked forward to being with God in heaven. But this verse said that ‘heaven will pass away’! What did that mean for her hopes? In fact, of course, in this verse Jesus was talking about the skies or the heavens, not about Heaven as the place of God’s presence. If I had realized the problem in time, I could easily have set the lady’s mind at rest on this question that was troubling her so much. However, I suspect that she is not the only person to be misled by the wording of this verse. Therefore, it is very surprising to find that even today many English versions (including the New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Good News Translation) still say ‘heaven and earth’ in verses like Matt 24:35 and its parallels (Mark 13:31 and Luke 21:33). The Contemporary English Version (CEV) and Phillips’ translation seem to be aware of the problem, and in Mark 13:31 both of these have ‘earth and sky’ instead of ‘heaven and earth.’ But in some other passages (such as Matt 5:18) the traditional wording is still found in both of those translations. The New Century Version (NCV) does have ‘earth and sky’ more consistently, and the New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) has ‘sky and earth’ in these passages. (Although ‘sky and earth’ is closer to the Greek, it seems more natural in English to say ‘earth and sky’; but either way, at least the meaning is correct.)
“Louw and Nida’s Lexical Semantics of the Greek New Testament (publ. 1992) suggests that the Greek expression being translated here, ho ouranos kai he ge is ‘a more or less fixed phrase equivalent to a single lexical unit’ and that it means everything that God created, that is, the universe. They then quote Mark 13:31 as an example, using ‘heaven and earth’ in their translation of it. However, they go on to say that there ‘may be certain complications involved in rendering ho ouranos kai he ge as ‘heaven and earth,’ since ‘heaven’ might be interpreted in some languages as referring only to the dwelling place of God himself. The referents in this passage are ‘the sky and the earth,’ in other words, all of physical existence, but not the dwelling place of God, for the latter would not be included in what is destined to pass away.’ In my opinion, English itself is one of the languages where the word ‘heaven’ will be interpreted as referring only to the dwelling place of God himself, and translations into English should not use ‘heaven’ in these passages. It is probably because these passages are so very familiar that translators do not realize the meaning they are giving their readers when they use the expression ‘heaven and earth’ here. In modern English we might talk about a rocket ‘soaring into the heavens,’ but we would certainly not describe it as ‘soaring into heaven,’ because ‘heaven’ is not another way of referring to the sky or to outer space.
“In fact, it is surely important in all languages to have some way of distinguishing the concept of ‘sky’ from the concept of ‘dwelling place of God.’ In these passages translators should never use a term meaning ‘the dwelling place of God.’ It may not be necessary to use a term meaning ‘sky’ either, if there is some other expression in the language which gives the correct meaning of ‘everything that has been created’ or ‘the universe.’ There are of course places in the New Testament where Heaven, as the place where God lives, is contrasted with the earth. In these passages, translators should be careful to give the correct meaning. A good example of this is in the Lord’s Prayer, in Matt 6:10: ‘Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’ Similarly, 1 Cor 15:47 says that ‘the first man [a reference to Adam] was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.’ Passages like these are referring to Heaven, not to the sky. Other NT passages where heaven refers to God’s dwelling place, in contrast with earth, are Matt 5:34-35, 16:19, 18:18, Acts 7:49, James 5:12, and Rev 5:3.
“Sometimes in the New Testament, the word ‘heaven’ is used because of the Jewish reluctance to use the name of God. ‘Heaven’ in these cases is used in place of ‘God’ and refers to God himself. This is the case in the many references in Matthew to ‘the kingdom of heaven’ where other gospels have ‘the kingdom of God’ (e.g., compare Matt 4:17 with its parallels in Mark 1:15 and Luke 10:9). It is also most likely the case in references like Matt 16:1, Luke 20:4, 5, John 3:27, and even perhaps Col 1:5.
“There are some places, such as Matt 11:25, where God is called ‘Lord of heaven and earth.’ Since God is of course the Lord of Heaven as well as of the universe, it may not matter so much which interpretation is given in these passages (others are Luke 10:21 and Acts 17:24). Nevertheless, the intended meaning here is likely to be ‘the universe.’ This is because this expression in Greek, as Louw and Nida say, is a set expression referring to everything that has been created. Acts 17:24 in fact combines the idea of the creation of the universe with the idea of God as Master or Lord of the universe. (…)
“Old Testament background The use of ‘heaven and earth’ in the New Testament is very similar to what we find in the Old Testament, because it is largely based on the Old Testament.
“The Old Testament begins with the story of creation, which is presented as the creation of the heavens and the earth, with lights to shine in the heavens and give light to the earth. Birds are created to live in the heavens, animals to live on earth, and fish to live in the sea (Gen 1:1-2:4).
“As we can see from the way the creation story is told, it is meant to be understood as the creation of the universe. Although in English the regions above the earth have traditionally been called ‘the heavens’ in the story of creation, they cannot be called ‘Heaven,’ in the sense of the place where God dwells. In terms of modern English, it would probably be better to say ‘the sky and the earth’ or ‘the earth and the sky.’ The story of creation then becomes an important theme throughout the Old Testament. (…)
“In most passages, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, when ‘heaven and earth’ or ‘the heavens and the earth’ are mentioned, the meaning is the created universe. It is not a reference to Heaven, as the dwelling place of God. In English, translators have not been careful to keep this distinction clear, and this is probably true in many other languages as well. However, as we have seen, this can lead to real confusion for ordinary Bible readers. It is better if translators find ways to make the meaning clear in these passages. ‘Heaven’ should be mentioned only in passages which clearly mean the dwelling place of God. In other passages, an expression should be used which means only ‘sky.’ Or else, the whole expression ‘heaven and earth’ can be translated in a way to show that the whole universe is meant.”
Other languages that have a semantic distinction similar to English include:
Mossi: saase — “sky”; nyingeri — “the up above”(source for Loma and Mossi: Bratcher/Nida)
Roviana: mamaṉa — “sly”; maṉauru — “heaven” (an old word, meaning “empty, open space of the sky”) (source: Carl Gross)
Kayaw: mô̄la or “canopy-under”/mô̄khû̄la or “canopy-above-under” — “sky” (atmosphere where there is just air); mô̄khû̄ or “canopy-on/above” — “heaven” (invisible abode of God and angels)
Mairasi: Sinyavi — an indigenous term that is used for both “sky” and heaven”; Surga — loanword from Sanskrit via Indonesian referring to “heaven” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Kamo: yamba, which, when capitalized (Yamba), means “God” (source: David Frank)
In some languages, such as Wandala, the vocabulary for terms for either “heaven” or “sky” is much richer than just to include those two distinction. While zhegela, the term that is specifically used for the physical sky was only used in early translations of the New Testament for “sky,” other terms such as samaya (used for both “sky” and “heaven”), zlanna (specifically used for the perfect abode of God and the goal of the faithful, as in Matthew 8:11), kwárá (a locational term used to speak of a chief’s rule [lit., “voice”] such as Matthew 3:2), or sleksire (“chieftaincy,” “kingship,” or “royalty” [originally from slekse “chief”] and used where there are no locational overtones, such as in Matthew 16:28) are used. (Source: Mona Perrin in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 51ff.)
The English translation by Sarah Ruden (2021) uses “sky” throughout. Ruden explains (p. li): “The Greek word ouranos refers evenhandedly to the physical sky and the place—often pictured as a royal court — where supreme divinity resides. ‘Sky’ seems generally better, first of all in avoiding the wackier modern imagery that comes with the English ‘heaven.’ And even when a supernatural realm is meant, ‘sky’ will often do, because the divine realm was thought to be located there, in addition to the weather and the heavenly bodies, whereas ‘heaven’ to us is fundamentally a religious term, and the ancients did not tend to separate linguistic domains in this way. I have retained the plural ‘skies’ where I see it in the Greek, because it is a Hebraism familiar in English translations of scripture and (I hope) not too archaic or jarring.”