The Greek in Revelation 12:5 that is translated as “snatched away” or similar in English is translated in Elhomwe idiomatically as “snatched from the hands of the mother.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated with entrücken or “transported (often used with a spiritual application).”
The Greek in 1 Peter 1:12 that is translated as “into which angels long to look” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) as “even the angels lean forward from heaven with great longing to catch a glimpse of it.”
The term in John 1:14 that is translated as “tabernacle” or “dwell” in English versions is translated in Hakha Chin as “made his village among us,” an expression that shows he was not just a casual visitor. (Source: David Clark)
Huehuetla Tepehua translates it as “came and lived with us here a little while.” (Source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
In the German translation by Fridolin Stier (1989) it is translates as “he pitched (or: lived in) his tent among us” (Welterneuerung).
See also tabernacle (noun).
The Hebrew in Isaiah 10:18 that is translated in English as “both soul and body” or similar is translated in the German Luther translation (all editions) with the commonly used alliteration mit Stumpf und Stiel or “completely” (verbatim: “root and branch”).
The Greek in John 18:38 that is translated into English as “What is truth?” is translated into Dogrib (Tłı̨chǫ) as Nàowo ehkw’ıı ayìı welè?: “What may the truth be anyway?”
Dwayne Janke (in Word Alive 2003, p. 16 ) tells the story of this translation:
“One challenging passage is John 18:37–38, where Christ tells Pontius Pilate that everyone on the side of truth listens to Him. In response, Pilate asks, ‘What is truth?’ and walks away.
“Jaap [Feenstra, an SIL translation consultant] turns to Alice [Sangris, a Dogrib co-worker for translation verification] after reading the verses. ‘Why, Alice, would he say, Nàowo ehkw’ıı ayìı awèidi? “What do you mean with truth?’?’
“Alice seems unsure. But after Marie Louise [Bouvier-White, a Dogrib translator] reads the verses again, Alice says, that to her, Pilate is asking a genuine question.
“‘It’s supposed to be a rhetorical question,’ Jaap replies. ‘Pilate is saying. We don’t even know what truth is.’
“Marie Louise catches onto the concept: ‘Pilate went out (of the room) because ‘truth’ doesn’t mean anything to him.’
“Mary [Siemens, another Dogrib translator] offers an optional wording that makes the Dogrib translation of Pilate’s question more sarcastic in tone. The group discusses and tweaks the phrasing, until in Dogrib it says: ‘What may the truth be anyway?'”
The German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) says Was ist denn die wahre Wirklichkeit? or “What then is the real truth (or: “true reality”).”
The Greek that is translated in English as “eternal life” is translated in various ways:
Lloyd Peckham explains the Mairasi translation: “In secret stories, not knowable to women nor children, there was a magical fruit of life. If referred to vaguely, without specifying the specific ‘fruit,’ it can be an expression for eternity.”
See also eternity / forever and salvation.
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Eternal Life in John .
The Greek of Philippians 2:9 that is translated as “the name that is above every other name” in most English versions is translated in the Dutch Statenvertaling (1886/2024) as een Naam gegeven, welke boven allen naam is and in the interconfessional French Traduction œcuménique de la Bible (2010) as le Nom qui est au-dessus de tout nom. In both of these cases, the first instance of the word for “name” is capitalized (Naam and Nom), elevating it to a divine level (along with words that translate “Lord,” “God” etc.).
This might well be a reflection of what a footnote to this verse in the German Neue Genfer Übersetzung (2011) says: “It [the first occurrence of “name” in this verse] probably refers to the ‘Lord’ (in the Septuagint [the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible] the rendering of ‘Yahweh,’ the proper name of God).” Likewise in the interconfessional Catalan translation (1995) it says: “Paul refers here to the name of the Lord (v. 11; Acts 2:21, 36), a term that in the Old Testament is used to designate God.” In other words, by this reading, God gave to Jesus the additional name “Yahweh” (which is known from the Hebrew scriptures to be the “Name above all Names — see Nehemiah 9:5 etc.), “so that every knee should bend to Jesus (as to Yahweh)” (see Philippians 2:10). (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
The Hebrew poetry in Eccl. 6:4-5 is translated by the German Gute Nachricht Bibel (last rev. 2018) in poetic form:
»Als ein Nichts kommt sie,
in die Nacht geht sie,
namenlos und vergessen.
Das Sonnenlicht sieht sie nicht,
was Leben ist, weiß sie nicht;
doch Ruhe hat sie gefunden.«
(Literal translation:
“She comes as a nothing,
she goes into the night,
nameless and forgotten.
She doesn’t see the sunlight,
She doesn’t know what life is;
but she has found peace.”)
The syllable count of the lines is 5-5-7-7-7-7 and lines 1 and 2 as well as lines 4 and 5 rhyme. Lines 2 and 6 don’t rhyme but provide an interesting counter-balance with the words vergessen (“forgotten”) and gefunden (“found”).
Source: Jan P. Sterk in OPTAT 1989/1, p. 36ff.