The Greek that is translated as “Pentecost” in English is translated in Huichol as “festival of the 7th week” It was rendered thus because the name of Pentecost would be equated with a sect only, and a harvest festival in late May would strain credibility. (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
The name that by some English 20th century translations was transliterated as “Junias” but is now widely recognized as a female name and typically transliterated as “Junia” is translated in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) as a male name with a combinations of the signs for “young man” (which is assumed to be the meaning of the name) and “3” (because Junias was one of three prisoners along with Paul and Andronicus). (Source: Missão Kophós )
This is likely a reflection of the majority of Portuguese Bible translations that with some exceptions (Versão Fácil de Ler 1999, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje 2000, Almeida Revista e Corrigida 2009, Nova Versão Internacional 2023) use the male form Júnias rather than the female Júnia.
The Greek that is translated into English as “Jesus, whose other name is Justus” is translated into Banaro as “a ground (earthly) man whose name is Jesus, whose other name is Justus.”
“The translation introduced the next person as ‘a ground (earthly) man whose name is Jesus, whose other name is Justus.’ ‘Ground man’ is a term that we have used previously to refer to people of the earth, usually with the connotation of ‘sinful people.’ I could not figure out why Samuel had characterized a companion of Paul in this way so I asked the checkers, ‘Why is the word ‘ground’ in there?’ I got a look that said, ‘Are you really that stupid?’ then the explanation, ‘The man’s name is Jesus. If we don’t tell people that he is a ‘ground man,’ people will be confused and think that Paul is talking about Jesus, God’s son.’ Okay, I never thought about it that way but it does make sense.'”
In Mandarin Chinese, in the Protestant tradition the name “Jesus” in this verse is transliterated with a different character for the second syllable: yé shù (耶数 / 耶數) to prevent confusion. Note that the Catholic tradition uses the same transliteration for both: Yēsū (耶稣) (Source: Zetzsche)
In Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) it is translated with a sign that depicts the number 3 (he was one of three helpers during Paul’s imprisonment in Rome) and “justice” (the meaning of justus). (Source: Missão Kophós )
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Cyprus” in English is translated more specifically as “the island of Cyprus” in some languages. Eastern Highland Otomi for instance has “the land of Cyprus, the little land it sits in the water,” Morelos Nahuatl has “the land-rise of Cyprus,” or Lalana Chinantec has “land in the middle of the water which is called Cyprus.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
In Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) it is translated with a sign that depicts the shape of the island and “blossoming flower” (a possible meaning of the name). (Source: Missão Kophós )
The Greek that is transliterated as “Samothrace” in English is translated more specifically as “the island of Samothrace” in some languages. Isthmus Mixe has “the land of Samothrace [which is] in the midst of the sea” and Eastern Highland Otomi uses “little land of Samothrace which sits in the water.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.) (See also Cyprus.)
The Greek that is transliterated in English as “Theophilus” is translated in the Bavarian translation by Sturmibund (publ. 1998) as “Gottlieb.” “Gottlieb” is a popular name in Bavarian-speaking Germany and Austria and has the same meaning than “Theophilus”: “friend (or ‘lover’) of God.” (Source: Jost Zetzsche)
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way to do this is through the usage of appropriate suffix title referred to as keishō (敬称) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017 by either using -san or –sama with the latter being the more formal title.
In these verses, Theophilus is addressed in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as Teofilo-sama (テオフィロ様), combining the transliteration for “Theophilus” and the suffix title –sama. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
The name that is transliterated as “Amon” in English is translated in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) with a sign that depicts forsaking God and blasphemy, because “he was evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done” (2 Kings 21:20). (Source: Missão Kophós )
The name that is transliterated as “Achim” in English is translated in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) with a sign that depicts “the Lord will establish” (the original meaning of the name) and the shoulder refers to Achim’s ancestors from the Kings of Judah. (Source: Missão Kophós )
