The Hebrew that is translated as “(he is) our body” in English is translated in Bura-Pabir with the existing idiom as “(he is) our blood.” (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
In Elhomwe it is translated with the idiomatic mbalaaka, literally “of my knee.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
See also your bone and flesh.
The Hebrew that is translated as “let us make,” “become like one of us,” and “let us go down” or similar in English in Genesis 1:26, Genesis 3:22, and Genesis 11:7 had to be examined closely in Bura-Pabir.
Andy Warren-Rothlin explains: “God appears to refer to himself in the plural, and it seems important to retain this, even though we don’t know whether it is a reference to the Trinity (the Bura translation team’s view) or a hint at a polytheistic background or the ‘council of God’ (e.g. Ps 82:1). Bura has three words for ‘we’ — an exclusive one (referring to speaker and others, excluding the addressee), an inclusive ‘dual’ one (referring to the speaker and one other person), and an inclusive ‘plural’ one (referring to the speaker and more than one addressee). We agreed to use the latter, which allows for a Trinity, pantheon or divine council; the only interpretation it excludes is one which reads this as referring to just the Father and the Son (which some may think is the case).”
See also clusivity and Three Men visit Abraham / Trinity (icon).
The Hebrew that is translated as “the anger of the Lord was kindled against them” or similar in English is translated in Bura-Pabir as MTHLAKU ku ɓzi ka duna ata kəra ɗa or “the Lord did take heart on their head,” a Bura idiom that describes something similar to the Hebrew idiom used here. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “fringe” or “tzitzit” in many English translations is translated in Uma as “the decorations [lit.: “fruit”] of clothes” (source: Uma Back Translation), in Tenango Otomi as “clothing that reaches the ground” (source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation) and in Mairasi as “wings of the garments” (source: Enggavoter 2004).
In Bura-Pabir a term is used that is traditionally used for the tassels worn on clothes by hunters. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
In Paasaal it is translated as “cloth mouth.” (Source: Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
See also suspended and their fringes long.
The Hebrew that is translated in English as “a piece of wood” or similar is translated in Bura-Pabir as udzim laga or “a certain stick” and in the Hausa Common Language Bible as wani itace or “a certain tree.” Andy Warren-Rothlin explains the Hausa translation: “This is doubtless a right interpretation of this as referring to a particular medicinal plant, not just a random tree, as is suggested by some English translations.”
The Hebrew that is translated in English as “(wrongful) use the name (of the Lord)” or similar is translated in Bura-Pabir as ká thləma or “call name,” while at the same time also meaning “swear.” “This is a good translation, since it rightly implies the context of swearing oaths.” (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
The Hebrew and Greek that is typically translated in English as “hardened” or “stubborn” is translated in the Hausa Common Language Bible idiomatically as taurin kai or “tough head.”
Other languages spoken in Nigeria translate similarly: Abua uses oḅom ẹmhu or “strong head,” Bura-Pabir kəra ɓəɓal or “hard head,” Gokana agẹ̀ togó or “hard/strong head,” Igede egbeju-ọngịrị or “hard head,” Dera gɨddɨng koi or “strong head,” Reshe ɾiʃitə ɾigbaŋgba or “strong head,” and in Chadian Arabic raas gawi (رَاسْكُو قَوِي) or “hard head” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
Other translation approaches include Western Bukidnon Manobo with “breath is very hard” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation) or Ixil with “callous heart” (source: Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 40).
See also hardness of heart.
The Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic that is translated in English as “(as white as) snow” is translated in San Miguel El Grande Mixtec as “(as white as) volcano frost,” the only white kind of frost that is known in that language (source: Nida 1947, p. 160.). Likewise, it is translated in Chichewa as matalala or “hail stones,” since “hail in Central Africa, when it occurs, is also white” (source: Wendland 1987, p. 72).
In Obolo it is translated as abalara: “white cloth” (source: Enene Enene), in Bambam and Bura-Pabir as “like the white of cotton” (source: Phil Campbell in Kroneman 2004, p. 500 and Andy Warren-Rothlin), in Muna as “white like cotton flowers” (source: René van den Berg), in Sharanahua as “like fresh Yuca root” (source: Holzhauen / Riderer 2010, p. 72), in Tagbanwa as “white like just broken waves” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation), in Chitonga as “as the cattle egret ” (source: Wendland 1987, p. 130), in Nabak as “white as a white cockatoo ” (source: Grace Fabian ), in Cerma “white like the full moon,” except in Psalm 51:7 where the Cerma translators chose “wash me with water until I shine” (source: Andrea Suter in Holzhauen / Riderer 2010, p. 36), and in Elhomwe as cotton or ntuura / “ash” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
In Gbaya, in most cases an ideophone (term that expresses what is perceived by the five senses) is employed to depict strong intense whiteness (either ndáká-ndáká or kpúŋ-kpúŋ are used for the ideophones), sometimes in combination with “cotton.” Interestingly, for Rev. 1:14 where the color of the hair of the “Son of Man” is described, the use of cotton was questioned since it “would create the unpleasant image of an untidy person with disheveled hair or of a mourner with unkempt appearance.” It was eventually used, but only with a footnote that gives additional information by mentioning the French loan word neige for “snow.” In the two cases where the color white refers to the color of the skin of leprosy (Numbers 12:10 and 2 Kings 5:27), the image of hail is used in the first to describe the pale white of leprous skin, while the ideophone ndáká-ndáká is used for dramatic effect in the second. (Source: Philip Noss)
See also snow, frost, cotton, teeth are like a flock of ewes, many-colored robes / white, very white, and this devotion on YouVersion .