Language-specific Insights

tohu wa-bohu

The Hebrew assonance tohu wa-bohu is often translated in English as “formless void” or some equivalent, but in some translations and languages attempts have been made to recreate some of its literary flavor:

  • English: wild and waste (Fox 1995); welter and waste (Alter 2004); void and vacant (James Moffatt 1935); complete chaos (New Revised Standard Version, updated edition 2021)
  • German: Irrsal und Wirrsal (Buber / Rosenzweig 1976); wüst und wirr (Einheitsübersetzung, 1980/2016)
  • French: vide et vague (La Bible de Jérusalem, 1975)
  • Ancient Greek: aóratos kaí akataskévastos (ἀόρατος καὶ ἀκατασκεύαστος) (Septuagint)

A number of modern languages have also adopted form of tohu wa-bohu as an idiom for a state of chaos. These include:

See also formless void.

word play in Isaiah 5:7

The Hebrew of Isaiah 5:7 employs a word play with “justice” and “bloodshed” (mišpāṭ — miśpāḥ) and “righteousness” and “cry” (liṣḏāqāh — ṣə‘āqāh) that the German common language version (Die Gute Nachricht, 1982) is able to replicate:

Er hoffte auf Rechtsspruch
— und erntete Rechtsbruch,
statt Liebe und Treue
nur Hilfeschreie.

Source: John Ellington in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 301ff.

See also poetry in Isaiah 5:1-6.

remove the roof

The Greek that is translated in English with “remove the roof” is translated into Avaric with an existing term: t’ox bichize. “Demolishing a roof in order to reach the interior of a house is an entirely familiar action, used, for example, in assaults on strongholds and fortified buildings in wartime; there is even a special phrase for this in Avaric (t’ox bichize).” (Source: Magomed-Kamil Gimbatov and Yakov Testelets in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 434ff. .

In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated with the professional term Dach abdecken or “unroof.” In Luke 5:19, the Greek text only implies the removing of the roof but Berger / Nord add deckten einige Ziegel ab or “remove some roof tiles” for clarification.

See also Mark 2:1-12 in Russian Sign Language.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Is there precedent for coming in through the roof in Mark 2:1-12 .

the sun’s light failed

The Greek that is usually translated as “the sun’s light failed (or: darkened)” in English is translated by the predominant US Catholic English New American Bible (1970, 1986) as eclipse of the sun. (Source: Jost Zetzsche)

In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated idiomatically with die Sonne versagte ihren Dienst or “the sun refused to be of service.”

love (John 21:15-17)

The different Greek words (agapaō and phileō) that are used in the conversation between Jesus and Peter (the first two times, Jesus asked Peter whether he “agapaōs” him, to which Peter answers that he “phileōs” Jesus, whereas the third time, Jesus’ question and Peter’s answer are both “phileō“) and that are typically all translated “love” in English are differentiated in some translations:

  • The English translation by Blackwelder (1980) differentiate with love and have affection, Cassirer (1989) with love and hold dear, Pakaluk (2021) has cherish and love, and Ruden (2021) has love and close friend
  • A number of German translations (Luther 2017, Neue Genfer Übersetzung 2011, Menge 2010, BasisBibel 2021) use lieben (for agapaō) vs. lieb haben for phileō (“love” vs. “be very fond of”); the translation by Fridolin Stier (1989) has “love” and “be a friend”
  • Likewise, the French Bible Segond 21 (publ. 2007) uses aimer vs. avoir l’amour with a similar difference than the former German translations
  • The Burmese Myanmar Standard Bible (2017) has hkyit (ချစ်) vs. hkyithkain (ချစ်ခင်), also “love” vs. “love / be fond of.”
  • Kayaw makes a distinction as well (source: Anonymous)

See also Translation commentary on John 21:15.

translations with a Hebraic voice (Genesis 1:2)

Some translations specifically reproduce the voice of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament / Hebrew Bible.

English:
When the earth was wild and waste,
Darkness over the face of Ocean,
Rushing spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters —

Source: Everett Fox 1995

German:
Die Erde aber war Irrsal und Wirrsal.
Finsternis über Urwirbels Antlitz.
Braus Gottes schwingend über dem Antlitz der Wasser.

Source: Buber / Rosenzweig 1976

French:
la terre était tohu-et-bohu,
une ténèbre sur les faces de l’abîme,
mais le souffle d’Elohîms planait sur les faces des eaux.

Source: Chouraqui 1985

For other verses or sections translated with a Hebraic voice, see here.

be of one heart and soul

The Greek in Acts 4:32 that is translated as “be of one heart and soul” in English is translated in Elhomwe idiomatically as “agree in hearts and thoughts.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

In the 2008 Moba Yendu Kadapaaonn translation “be of one heart” is translated as “(this who believed) had one mouth.” (Source: Bedouma Joseph Kobaike in Le Sycomore 17/1, 2024, p. 3ff. )

In German, the idiom ein Herz und eine Seele (literally “one heart and one soul”) has become a widely-used idiom relating to a very close relationship. It was made popular in 1522 in the German New Testament translation by Martin Luther. (Source: Redewendungen aus der Bibel )

lowered the sea anchor

The Greek in Acts 27:17 that is translated as “lowered the sea anchor” in English is translated in Elhomwe as “lowered the cloth” “because of what follows about drifting” (see also Translation commentary on Acts 27:17). (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translates as Treibanker, eine Art Floß, dass die Fahrt des im Sturm treibenden Schiffs verlangsamte or “drift anchor, a kind of raft that slowed the speed of the ship drifting in the storm.”

See also anchor.