The Hebrew that is translated as “sprinkle it with his finger” is translated in Tibetan with a culturally equivalent. David Clark (in: Clark / Desnitsky 2009 , p. 24) explains: “The verb used in Tibetan for ‘sprinkle’ is very specific, and means ‘to flick with the third finger of the right hand.’ This is the verb used to describe what monks do when they make offerings involving liquids. The translator felt that the ad- vantages of using a word that fits precisely in the context of religious sacrifices outweighed any risk that the nature of Aaron’s ritual action might be misunderstood. The Hebrew text does not specify exactly how Aaron was to perform the sprinkling, so the implication that it was done with the third finger of the right hand was not considered significant enough to cause a problem.”
Language-specific Insights
hypocrite
The Greek and Hebrew terms that are translated as “hypocrite” in English typically have a counterpart in most languages. According to Bratcher / Nida (1961, p. 225), they can be categorized into the following categories:
- those which employ some concept of “two” or “double”
- those which make use of some expression of “mouth” or “speaking”
- those which are based upon some special cultural feature
- those which employ a non-metaphorical phrase
Following is a list of (back-) translations from some languages:
- Highland Totonac, Huautla Mazatec, Lacandon, Cuicatec, Highland Puebla Nahuatl: “two-faced”
- Obolo: ebi isi iba: “double-faced person” (source: Enene Enene)
- Tzeltal, Chol: “two hearts”
- Pame: “two mouths”
- San Miguel El Grande Mixtec: “two heads”
- Kekchí: “two sides”
- Shipibo-Conibo: “double (or “forked”) tongue”
- Eastern Highland Otomi: “double talk”
- Huehuetla Tepehua: “talk false”
- Copainalá Zoque: “lie-act”
- Kituba, Amganad Ifugao, Chuukese: “lie”
- Toraja-Sa’dan: “someone whose lips are fair” (i.e. “gracious”)
- Mossi: “have a sweet mouth”
- Mazahua: “have a swollen mouth” (from too much speaking)
- Tai Dam: “have a straight mouth and a crooked heart”
- Kongo: “the bitterness of white” (an idiom based on the fact that white-wash looks nice but tastes bitter)
- Merina Malagasy: “spread a clean carpet” (an expression used in Madagascar to describe one who covers up the dirt of an unswept floor just before the arrival of guests)
- Zanaki: “those who make themselves out to be good”
- Tetelcingo Nahuatl: “those who deceive” (this and all examples above acc. to Bratcher / Nida 1961, p. 225)
- Kafa: “one who makes as if his belly is clean” (source: Loren Bliese)
- Agatu: ɔcɛ gigbefu — “disguised person acting a part” (source: Mackay in The Bible Translator 1962, 211f. )
- Mairasi: “deceiver person” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
- Bauzi: “good on top person” (source: David Briley in Kroneman (2004), p. 502)
- Tibetan: kha chos pa (ཁ་ཆོས་པ།), lit. “mouth + religion + person” (used for instance in Matt. 7:5) or sgyu zog can (སྒྱུ་ཟོག་ཅན།), lit. “deception + fraud + person” (used for instance in Matt. 24:51) (source: gSungrab website )
- Low German: “actor in a comedy” (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006)
- Kölsch (Boch 2017): falscher Fuffzijer, literally “counterfeit 50-pfennig coin” (source: Jost Zetzsche)
- German: “pretender” (Heuchler) (most versions), “wanna-be saint” (Scheinheiliger) (Gute Nachricht), “dazzler” (Blender) (translation by Fridolin Stier [1989])
- Lélé: ne kub so or “make mouth two” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
The Latvian term liekulis was likely coined by the Bible translation of Ernst Glück (1654–1705) in the late 17th century and is still being used today (source ).
The English version of Sarah Ruden (2021) uses “play-actor.” She explains (p. li): “A hupokrites is fundamentally an actor. The word has deep negativity in the Gospels on two counts: professional actors were not respectable people in the ancient world, and traditional Judaism did not countenance any kind of playacting. I write ‘play-actor’ throughout.”
See also hypocrisy.
with blight and mildew and hail
The Hebrew that is translated as “with blight and mildew and hail” is translated in Tibetan as “hot and strong and black.” David Clark (in: Clark / Desnitsky 2009 , p. 22) explains: “In Haggai 2:17, there is mention of ‘blight and mildew and hail.’ Blight and mildew in the Holy Land are the results of opposite extremes of humidity, produced respectively by dry winds from the desert and moist winds from the Mediterranean. For Tibetan readers unfamiliar with the weather patterns of that area, the cumulative effect is expressed in a partially figurative manner by saying the winds were ‘hot and strong and black’ (meaning very severe).”
the early rain and the later rain
The Hebrew that is translated as “the early rain and the later rain” is translated in Tibetan as “rain at the appropriate time.” David Clark (in: Clark / Desnitsky 2009 , p. 22) explains: “In Deuteronomy 11:14 there is mention of ‘the early rain and the later rain,’ referring to the autumn rain and the spring rain in the Holy Land. A literal translation in Tibetan would have been meaningless, and ‘summer rain and winter rain’ would have been ecologically misleading, so the translator used a set expression in Tibetan meaning ‘[rain] at the appropriate time.’ This captures the focus of the Hebrew without distorting the weather patterns of the eastern Mediterranean.”
See also early rain.
metal
In Babatana there is no generic equivalent for “metal,” so silver and gold, the only metals known, were made explicit. (Source: David Clark)
Likewise, in Tibetan, there is also no generic equivalent, so there the translation is “gold, silver, copper, iron etc.” (Source: David Clark in Clark / Desnitsky 2009 , p. 21).
Hail, Long live / live forever
The Hebrew and Aramaic that is translated in English as “long live” or “live forever” and the Greek that is translated as “Hail” in English is translated in Mandarin Chinese as wànsuì (万岁 / 萬歲) or “(may you live) 10,000 years” which was used to hail Chinese emperors and, more recently, the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong (Máo Zhǔxí Wànsuì [毛主席万岁] or “May Chairman Mao live for ten thousand years!”).
Likewise it is also used in these verses in other East Asian languages, including Japanese with ban zai (ばんざい / 万歳), Korean with man se (만세), Vietnamese with vạn tuế or muôn tuổi, or Mongolian with mandtugai (мандтугай). (Note that Mongolian does not use that term for the New Testament renderings.) (Source: Zetzsche)
For more information on this phrase, see 10,000 years .
In Tibetan, “live forever” is reserved for the Dalai Lama and cannot be used. (Source: David Clark in Clark / Desnitsky 2009 , p. 23)
See also greetings (Japanese honorifics) and LORD of hosts.
logical placement of Nahum 3:2
In Tibetan, “well-formed individual sentences are important, but unless they are linked correctly according to the conventions of the receptor language, the chain of events or the logic of an argument can remain difficult or even impossible for the reader or hearer to follow. In Nahum 3:2, the problem is rather different: this is the middle one of three verses which are deliberately abrupt and disjointed in Hebrew. They are describing the scene of chaos and panic as Nineveh is captured by its enemies, and the challenge to the translator is to reflect this as the Hebrew does. In Tibetan, repetition is normally regarded as poor style and boring, but in this verse the translator chose to violate the norm by repeating the phrase ‘the sound of’ before the four sounds described, thus producing a cohesive and climactic effect by means of stylistic surprise.” (Source: David Clark in Clark / Desnitsky 2009 , p. 21)
altar
The Greek, Latin and Hebrew that is translated as “altar” in English is translated in a number of ways:
- Obolo: ntook or “raised structure for keeping utensils (esp. sacrifice)” (source: Enene Enene)
- Muna: medha kaefoampe’a or “offering table” (source: René van den Berg)
- Luchazi: muytula or “the place where one sets the burden down”/”the place where the life is laid down” (source: E. Pearson in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 160ff. )
- Tzotzil: “where they place God’s gifts” (source: John Beekman in Notes on Translation, March 1965, p. 2ff.)
- Tsafiki: “table for giving to God” (source: Bruce Moore in Notes on Translation 1/1992, p. 1ff.)
- Noongar: karla-kooranyi or “sacred fire” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
- Uma: “offering-burning table” (source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “place for sacrificing” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “burning-place” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
- Tibetan: mchod khri (མཆོད་ཁྲི།) or “offering throne” (source: gSungrab website )
- Bura-Pabir: “sacrifice mound” (source: Andy Warrren-Rothlin)
- Kalanga: “fireplace of sacrifice” (source: project-specific notes in Paratext)
- Cherokee: “fire nurturing place” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 26) (note that the Jewish priest is “fire feeder” in Cherokee)
The Ignaciano translators decided to translate the difficult term in that language according to the focus of each New Testament passage in which the word appears (click or tap here to see the rest of this insight
Willis Ott (in Notes on Translation 88/1982, p. 18ff.) explains:
- Matt. 5:23,24: “When you take your offering to God, and arriving, you remember…, do not offer your gift yet. First go to your brother…Then it is fitting to return and offer your offering to God.” (The focus is on improving relationships with people before attempting to improve a relationship with God, so the means of offering, the altar, is not focal.)
- Matt. 23:18 (19,20): “You also teach erroneously: ‘If someone makes a promise, swearing by the offering-place/table, he is not guilty if he should break the promise. But if he swears by the gift that he put on the offering-place/table, he will be guilty if he breaks the promise.'”
- Luke 1:11: “…to the right side of the table where they burn incense.”
- Luke 11.51. “…the one they killed in front of the temple (or the temple enclosure).” (The focus is on location, with overtones on: “their crime was all the more heinous for killing him there”.)
- Rom. 11:3: “Lord, they have killed all my fellow prophets that spoke for you. They do not want anyone to give offerings to you in worship.” (The focus is on the people’s rejection of religion, with God as the object of worship.)
- 1Cor. 9:13 (10:18): “Remember that those that attend the temple have rights to eat the foods that people bring as offerings to God. They have rights to the meat that the people offer.” (The focus is on the right of priests to the offered food.)
- Heb. 7:13: “This one of whom we are talking is from another clan. No one from that clan was ever a priest.” (The focus in on the legitimacy of this priest’s vocation.)
- Jas. 2:21: “Remember our ancestor Abraham, when God tested him by asking him to give him his son by death. Abraham was to the point of stabbing/killing his son, thus proving his obedience.” (The focus is on the sacrifice as a demonstration of faith/obedience.)
- Rev. 6:9 (8:3,5; 9:13; 14:18; 16:7): “I saw the souls of them that…They were under the table that holds God’s fire/coals.” (This keeps the concepts of: furniture, receptacle for keeping fire, and location near God.)
- Rev. 11:1: “Go to the temple, Measure the building and the inside enclosure (the outside is contrasted in v. 2). Measure the burning place for offered animals. Then count the people who are worshiping there.” (This altar is probably the brazen altar in a temple on earth, since people are worshiping there and since outside this area conquerors are allowed to subjugate for a certain time.)
See also altar (Acts 17:23).
In the Hebraic English translation of Everett Fox it is translated as slaughter-site and likewise in the German translation by Buber / Rosenzweig as Schlachtstatt.