Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 2:42:
Uma: “Those new followers of Yesus continually requested-teaching of the apostles of Lord Yesus, and they kept gathering together. They ate together, breaking/chunking bread to remember the Lord Yesus death, and they also prayed together.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “They were-very-happy/liked to be taught by the persons/people commissioned by Isa and they were all of one liver. They joined the ones trusting in eating bread to remember the death of Isa, and they also joined in praying to God.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And everyday they listened to that which the apostles taught them. They had fellowship with all of the believers, and they made a memorial of the death of Jesus by means of eating bread, and they were always praying.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “They persevered in studying and following what the apostles were teaching. They also singlemindedly/persistently joined-in-companioning and praying-with their fellows who believed, and eating-together the bread that was their means-of-being-reminded of Jesus’ death.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And all of them, they really persevered in what the apostles were teaching and they often/always gathered-together. They also shared-with-one-another food including doing Communion and were also often/always praying.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Morelos Nahuatl: “They continued studying with the apostles. They had joy in living together as brethren. Together they ate and prayed.”
Teutila Cuicatec: “All of them would gather day by day and study the messages that the apostles would teach. They lived peacefully together, used to pray to God and break bread as our Lord Jesus established.” (Source for this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 2:12:
Uma: “People who don’t know the Lord’s Law, if they sin, they are still/nonetheless guilty and fit to be separated from God. God punishes them because of their sins, but he does not punish them because of their breaking of the Lord’s Law. So also people who know the Lord’s Law. If they sin, God will punish them as well, but them he will punish because of their breaking of the Lord’s Law.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “The people not Yahudi they do not know the law of God written by Musa. When/if they sin God punishes them and they go to hell. But their punishment is not as is said in the law. The Yahudi, the ones who were given the law, when/if they sin they are judged (by) whether they were able to follow/obey the law or not. If they did not follow/obey, God punishes them like/as is said in the law.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “As for the people who are not Jews, they do not know what is commanded by the Law that Moses left behind, and when they do evil, they will be judged just the same in the future by God. However, He will not use the Law in His judging them, but He will punish them with death which is forever. And as for the people who are Jews, they by contrast know what is commanded by the Law, and if they do evil, God will judge them according to what they have transgressed there in the Law.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Because all who have sinned, they will be separated from God to be punished forever. As for the Gentiles, they don’t know the law of Moses, so that will not be the basis for God’s condemning them, but they will be punished nevertheless. As for the Jews by-contrast, they do know the law of Moses, so God will use that law in condemning them.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Now then, all people have sins and God will judge them. Concerning the people who do not know the law which the Jews follow, they also will be judged according to what they know. But concerning the people who know what is said in the law which the Jews follow, they will be judged according to that word which is written in the law.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Teutila Cuicatec: “All those who owe sin, who do not know the law that Moses wrote, it will not be that law that will rule what punishment they have, but they will be punished. Also all those who do know that law but owe sin, they will have to be punished as that law commands.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 4:25:
Uma: “You (sing.) are the one who gave words to our (excl.) ancestor of old, King Daud. Because Daud was your (sing.) servant [lit., ordered-one], and while he was controlled by the Holy Spirit, his words foretold ahead-of-time the opposition of all people, opposing the Lord Yesus. He said like this: ‘Why are the people who are not Yahudi so angry? And why also do the crowds make-plans wanting to oppose the Lord God? Their plans have no purpose.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “You caused your servant, Da’ud, our (excl.) forefather to speak and he was taught by the Holy Spirit what he spoke, he said, ‘Why are the non-Yahudi nations/tribes angry? Why do the people plan/agree to destroy but/and-what’s-more it was useless/there was no (good) result?” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “You are the one who said long ago through our ancestor, your servant King David, because when he was inspired by the Holy Spirit, he said, ‘Why are the people who aren’t Jews so angry? And why the Jews think about that which has no purpose?” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “You (sing.) moreover are the originator of the words (lit. word owner) that the Holy Spirit caused-David our (excl.) ancestor who served you (sing.) long-ago -to-write saying, ‘Why did the Gentiles become arrogant (lit. raise themselves) against God? Why did the descendants of Israel decide on a useless (lit. without use) plan to fight against him?” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Through the inspiration by the Espiritu Santo, our (excl.) ancestor David spoke this which you caused him to speak, saying, ‘Why did the people who don’t acknowledge/recognize God become so angry? Why did people decide to do what is worthless/ineffective?” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Teutila Cuicatec: “By means of your Holy Spirit you caused David who obeyed your word to write: ‘Why are all the nations rising up? ‘Why are people thinking about useless things?'”
Lalana Chinantec: “The heart of your servant David obeyed what the Great Spirit of God wanted back then. He announced your word. He said: ‘Why is it that the other people very much make a fuss? Why is it that the Israel people think thoughts that are worthless?'” (Source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 17:31:
Uma: “For he has made-certain one time later to decide/judge the cases of people all over the world justly. That work of deciding he has handed over to a person whom he chose ahead of time. That person he caused to live again from death, so that it would be clear to all mankind that he is indeed the one he chose to be the Judge of all mankind.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “For God has already appointed the day when he will judge all mankind, and his judgment is straight. And he has already chosen the man who will judge. God has-made-certain-to/assures all mankind that he is the one he has chosen, in that he made this man alive again from his death.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “He has set a day in the future upon which he will inspect all of mankind, and his inspection will be righteous also by means of the person whom he has chosen. He has shown that this which he will do is true because as for that person, he died and God raised him from the dead.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Because there is a day that God has designated when-he-will-judge all people in the world. There is also a person whom he chose to properly judge them, and he confirmed that he is the one whom he chose by-means-of his bringing-him -to-life again.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “For he has already determined the day when he will judge all people for their sins. There is a person whom he has set up to do the judging, and this judging of his is just/righteous. The proof that he is the one set up by God is, he died and then God made him alive again.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Morelos Nahuatl: “Thus God wants that we repent because he set apart a day in order that all people be before him. He chose a man named Jesus in order that on that day which God set apart Jesus would say which people are good and which people are bad. God chose Jesus for that work because Jesus says only what is true. God made Jesus alive from the dead ones and in that way he showed us that he chose Jesus for that work.”
Teutila Cuicatec: “He has already established a day when he will judge with complete fairness all the people of the world. He has already chosen a man who will judge in his stead and he raised that person back to life from among the dead’. By this he has given all people to understand that this is how things are established.”
San Mateo del Mar Huave: “‘For Father God has appointed a day in which to judge all the people of the world. That will be when Jesus will judge. For that reason Father God, when he raised Jesus from the dead, then it was manifested that it was the truth all that he had said that he would do.’ he says.” (Source for this and two above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 2:47:
Uma: “They continued praising God, and all people/crowds were glad about them. Every day the Lord added-to their number; its meaning, every day there were more-and-more people who believed in the Lord Yesus and [lit., until] were lifted from the punishment of their sins.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “They always praised God and all the people respected them. And every day there were people who newly trusted in Isa being added to them by God.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And they praised God and everybody respected them. And everyday at that time there were people who believed. And all of them, God set them free so that they would no longer be punished by him, and those were added to the believers.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “They were praising God continually, and all the people acknowledged-with-respect their good behavior. Every-day also those whom God was saving were joining/being-added to them.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “They were always praising God, and they were highly-spoken-of by people who hadn’t yet believed. Really every day there were those being graced with salvation by God, whom he was adding to those believers.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Lalana Chinantec: “They worshipped God. All of the townspeople spoke well with regard to those people. Every day the Lord made there to be more people who were saved. They joined with the people of Jesus.”
Eastern Highland Otomi: “And the believers glorified God and all the people had respect for them and God caused that day by day more believers walked with them.”
Chichimeca-Jonaz: “They were telling that God did them good he helped them and they pleased the hearts of all the people. Also always each day he who is Chief gradually was gathering and joining those who were being saved with the others who were already believing and meeting together.”
Teutila Cuicatec: “They would praise God and the townspeople respected them. Day by day our Lord God was saving some from among the townspeople and causing them to join them.”
Desano: “Thus making God happy and saying that he is good, they lived in peace with the people. God added to the group which was close to him many more whom he was saving well.” (Source for this and four above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
The Greek that is translated as “Son of Man” is mostly used by Jesus to refer to himself as well as in the prophecies of Daniel and Enoch (see Enoch 17:34 et al). It is translated in the following languages as (click or tap for details):
Tzotzil: “I who am equal with men” or “The Older Brother of Everybody” (“expressing the dignity and authority of the Messiah and the universality of his work”)
Tenango Otomi: “The Man Appointed” (i.e. the man to whom authority has been delegated) (source for this and preceding: Beekman, p. 189-190, see also Ralph Hill in Notes on Translation February 1983, p. 35-50)
Aguaruna: “One who was born becoming a person” (source for this and two above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Older Sibling of Mankind” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Child of a Person” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “One From Heaven Born of Man/human?” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Man who came from heaven” (source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Yatzachi Zapotec: “One who God sent, who was born a human” (a direct translation would have suggested “that the father is unknown due to the indiscretions of the mother” and where “he is the son of people” is used when one wants to disclaim responsibility for or relationship with a child caught in some mischief — source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Kâte: Ŋic Fâri Wâtuŋne or “the man who is a true support” (source: Renck, p. 106)
Mezquital Otomi: “The son who became a person” (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
Alekano: “The true man who descended from heaven” (source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation June 1986, p. 36ff.)
Central Tarahumara: “One who has been stood up to help” (“This suggests that Christ has been given authority to some appointed task. A very generic word, help, was selected to fill in the lexically obligatory purpose required by the word which means to appoint or commission. Usually this word is used of menial tasks but not exclusively. The choice of this generic term retains the veiled reference to the character of Christ’s work which He intended in using the ‘Son of Man’ title.”)
Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “He who is relative of all people.” (“The Triqui word for relative is a rather generic term and in its extended sense sometimes is diluted to neighbor and friend. But the primary meaning is relative.”)
Tepeuxila Cuicatec: “The Person who Accompanies All People” (“The literal equivalents ‘son of man’ and ‘son of people’ were both rejected because of the false inference of natural birth involving a human father. Furthermore, it was necessary to expand any translation of the Bible by the addition of the pronoun ‘I’ so as to clarify the fact that Jesus is using the third person in referring to Himself. A common expression used by the Cuicatecos when difficulties befall someone, is to say to that one, ‘don’t worry, we are accompanying you.’ By this they mean they share that person’s sorrow. When wedding guests arrive at the home of a son who has just been married, they say to the father, ‘We have come to accompany you.’ By this they mean that they have come to share the father’s joy. These expressions do not refer to ordinary physical accompaniment, which is expressed by a set of different verbs. For example, visits are always announced by some such greeting as, “I have come to visit you,’ ‘I have come to see you,’ or ‘I have come to ask you something.’ The desire to accompany a friend on a journey is expressed by saying, ‘I will go with you.’ Translation helpers used the verb ‘accompany’ in constructing the phrase ‘I, the Person who Accompanies All People.'(…) It reflects the fact that Jesus closely identified Himself with all of us, understands our weaknesses, shares our burdens, rejoices with us in times of gladness, etc.”) (source for this and the three preceding: Beekman in Notes on Translation January 1963, p. 1-10)
Guhu-Samane: “Elder-brother-man” (“Since the term denotes an elder brother in every way such as honor, power, leadership, representation of the younger, etc. it is a meaningful and fitting — though not ostentatious — title.” Source: Ernest Richert in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 198ff. )
Navajo (Dinė): Diné Silíi’ii — “Man he-became-the-one-who” (“This terra presented a difficulty not only in Navajo but also one peculiar to all the Athapaskan languages. It lies in the fact that all these languages, so far as we know, have a word phonetically similar to the Navajo diné which has three meanings: ‘man, people in general,’ ‘a man,’ ‘The People’ which is the name the Navajos use for themselves. (The name Navajo was first used by the Spanish explorers.) Although it seemed natural to say diné biye’ ‘a-man his-son,’ this could also mean ‘The-People their-son’ or ‘a-Navajo his-son,’ in contrast to the son of a white man or of another Indian tribe. Since the concept of the humanity of Christ is so important, we felt that diné biye’ with its three possible meanings should not be used. The term finally decided on was Diné Silíi’ii ‘Man he-became-the-one-who.’ This could be interpreted to mean ‘the one who became a Navajo,’ but since it still would impart the idea of Christ’s becoming man, it was deemed adequate, and it has proven acceptable to the Navajos.”) (Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )
Toraja-Sa’dan: “Child descended in the world” (“using a poetic verb, often found in songs that [deal with] the contacts between heaven and earth”) (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Obolo: Gwun̄ Ebilene: “Child of Human” (source: Enene Enene).
Mairasi: Jaanoug Tat: “Person Child” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Costa Rican Sign Language: “It was impossible to translate the expression ‘Son of Man.’ The son-man sign simply means ‘male child.’ The Costa Rican Sign Language (LESCO) team opted for an interpretation of the term and translated it ‘Jesus.'” (Source: Elsa Tamez (in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 59ff. )
Lokạạ: wẹẹn wạ ọnẹn or “son of a person.” “This translation is symbolic in that it uses indigenous Lokạạ words. However, since the publication of the New Testament in 2006, this phrase has gained popularity within contemporary Lokạạ society as an expression to describe an important person whose career is going well. In the New Testament, the phrase ‘son of man’ is used to describe Jesus as prototypically human, but the Lokạạ phrase is now being used to describe an exceptional person in Lokạạ society.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
In many West African languages, using a third person reference as a first person indicator is common practice with a large range of semantic effects. Languages that use the exact expression “son of man” as a self-reference or reference to another person include Lukpa, Baatonum, Mossi (“son of Adam”), Yoruba (“son of person”), Guiberoua Béte, or Samo. (Source: Lynell Zogbo in: Omanson 2000, p. 167-188.)
In Swahili the expression Mwana wa Mtu or mwana wa mtu or “son/daughter of human person,” which is used by several Bible translations, also has “the idiomatic meaning of ‘a human being’” (source: Jean-Claude Loba-Mkole in An Intercultural Criticism of New Testament Translations 2013, see here). The same is true for the Lingala expression Mwana na Moto — “son/daughter of human person.” (Ibid.)
In Balinese “we are again bordering on theological questions when we inquire as to which vocabulary shall be used to translate the texts where Jesus speaks of himself as ‘the Son of man.’ One of the fixed rules governing the use of these special vocabularies is that one may never use the deferential terms in speaking of oneself. This would be the extreme of arrogance. Now if one considers the expression ‘Son of man’ primarily as a description of ‘I,’ then one must continually indicate the possessions or actions of the Son of man by Low Balinese words. In doing this the mystery of the expression is largely lost. In any case the vocabulary used in most of the contexts would betray that Jesus means the title for himself.
“However, a distinction can actually be made in Balinese between the person and the exalted position he occupies. For example, the chairman of a judicial body may employ deferential terms when referring to this body and its chairman, without this being taken as an expression of arrogance. Considered from this standpoint, one may translate in such a way that Jesus is understood as using such deferential words and phrases in speaking of himself. The danger is, however, that the unity between his person and the figure of “the Son of man” is blurred by such usage.
“On request, the New Testament committee of the Netherlands Bible Society advised that ‘the sublimity of this mysterious term be considered the most important point and thus High Balinese be used.'”
“One of the first things that we did in working through the earlier part of the New Testament was to decide on how we would translate some of the more difficult technical terms. It was immediately obvious that something must be done with the translation of ‘the Son of Man,’ since the literal rendering anak manusia (literally ‘child of a man’) held absolutely no meaning for Malay readers. We felt that the title should emphasize the divine origin and authority of the one who used this title, and at the same time, since it was a title, we decided that it should not be too long a phrase. Finally, a phrase meaning ‘the One whom God has ordained’ was chosen (yang dilantik Allah). It is interesting to note that the newly-begun Common Indonesian (Alkitab Kabar Baik, published in 1985) has followed a similar route by translating ‘the One whom God has chosen’ (yang depilih Allah).”
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 4:26:
Uma: “The kings in the world are all-set-to-fight. And all the commanders are united, wanting to oppose the Lord God and the Redeemer King which he has chosen.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “The kings of the earth and the leaders prepare and gather together against/to oppose (kuntara) God and Almasi, the one he has chosen to rule.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Because the kings here on the earth are ready to fight and the leaders are gathered together because they will fight against the Lord, and they will oppose his chosen king.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “The kings and rulers in this world gathered and made-ready to war against God and the Messiah he appointed.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “For the kings here under the heavens have agreed together and the leaders are now in readiness. For they intend to fight God, and Cristo who is the Savior King whom he promised.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Desano: “The great chiefs of the world and the chiefs of the towns gathered together to hinder the things of Chief God, and those of his sent one Christ they also wanted to hinder.”
Teutila Cuicatec: “All of the kings who live on earth rebelled, and all of the rulers gathered together in order to fight against our Lord God and his Christ.” (Source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
