The Greek in 2 Peter 2:14 and 3:16 that is translated as “unstable” in English is rendered into Kahua with a simile that means “like butterflies.”
Language-specific Insights
sister
The Greek 2 John 1:13 that is translated as “sister” in English is rendered “elder sister” in Kahua because the church associated with the apostle John was assumed to be senior.
See also sister (younger sister).
flattery
The term in 1 Thessalonians 2:5 that is rendered as “flattery” in English is translated with a Kahua idiom: “We did not bend our heads to please people (i.e., use flattery).” (Source: David Clark)
See also flattering lips.
dual vs. plural (Acts 7:16)
In this episode in Acts 7:16 it is ambiguous whether only Jacob and Joseph or Jacob and all of the other patriarchs were taken back to Shechem. In languages that distinguish between a dual and a plural this ambiguity has to be resolved. In the translation into Kahua only two bodies were taken back because Joseph’s body is specifically mentioned in Exodus 13:19 and Joshua 24:32.
angel's voice vs. God's voice
In the translation into Kahua, it needs to be specified whose voice is mentioned in Acts 10:13 and 15. Many commentaries assume it is God’s voice but it could also be the angel mentioned in verse 3, since God is referred to in the third person in verse 15. The translators decided for God’s voice.
gentle and quiet spirit
The phrase in 1 Peter 3:4 that is translated in some English versions with “gentle and quiet in spirit” was translated into Kahua with the idiom that verbatim says “be beautiful in your belly.” (Source: Daniel Clark)
In the Tagalog and Indonesian Common Language Translations it is translated as “gentle character” (source: Daniel Arichea in The Bible Translator 1983, p. 209ff. )
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated as “the gentle and peaceful Holy Spirit.”
See also gentleness and spirit of gentleness.
keep warm
The Greek in James 2:16 that is translated as “keep warm” into English was translated into Kahua as “dress well” since “keep warm” sounds very strange in the permanently hot local climate on the Solomon Islands where Kahua is spoken.
travel through the whole island
In Kahua, unsurprisingly for an island language, there is a basic contrast in verbs of motion between travel by land and travel by sea. In Acts 13:4 it was explicit that Barnabas and Saul “sailed” to Cyprus, but once on the island, did they travel around by sea or by land? The translators assumed that the statement that is translated into English as “traveled through the whole island” implied travel by land, and used the appropriate verb.