The Greek in Acts 5:20 that is translated as “the whole message about this life” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with die lebendige Botschaft ohne Abstriche or “the living message without sacrificing anything.”
In Desano it is translated as “the new life in the Chief God,” in Teutila Cuicatec as “all the words of this Life the new message about the health of men’s hearts,” in Central Pame as “all this message that gives them their life.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
The Greek in Acts 22:3 that is often translated in English as “zealous for God” is translated as “very much I was always ready for the word of God with all my heart” in Eastern Highland Otomi, as “very much wanted to do as I thought God wanted” in Lalana Chinantec, and as “every day I obey with all my innermost being all that God commands” Teutila Cuicatec. (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
The Greek in Acts 1:8 that is translated in English as “to the ends of the earth” or similar is translated in Enlhet as “everywhere” because it would have had negative spiritual implication in the worldview of the native language speakers if translated more literally. (Source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. )
The Greek that is translated as “room upstairs” of “upper room” in English is translated in a 1922 translation into Chagatai, a precursor language of both Uzbek and Uighur, with bala-xāna, “small room” of “children’s room.” “It is safe to say that the cultural structure of the Uighurs influenced the choice of this word for the translation. At the time of the translation, the attic room commonly used by the Uighurs living in East Turkistan was known as “bala-khana”, due to its smaller size compared to other rooms. Therefore, it is understood that the translators translated the source text by considering word choices such as this that would help society understand the text better. This choice of the translators can again be explained by the concept of cultural equivalents.” (Source: F. Erbay and F.N. Küçükballı in Acta Theologica 2025 45/2, p. 133ff. )
Isthmus Mixe: “the top floor of a more than one story house” (Source for this and above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
“house of God where they kept the stones on which were written the commandments of God” in Morelos Nahuatl
“small holy house which was of the skins of animals, in it were the stones which contained the ten commandments” in San Mateo del Mar Huave
“church inside which the slates on which God’s law was written were kept” in Teutila Cuicatec (source for this and above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
“Tent of meeting God” in Nigerian Fulfulde (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
“the tent of the testimony showing that God is present” in Elhomwe (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
“God’s shelter together with the box of the law which confirmed his talk” in Bariai (source: Bariai Back Translation)
“Great Above One’s Cloth House” in Mairiasi (source: Enggavoter 2004)
The Greek in Acts 1:8 that is translated “when the Holy Spirit has come upon you” in English is translated as “when God’s Holy Spirit descends and possesses you” in Teutila Cuicatec. (Source for this and above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
