Language-specific Insights

deacon

The Greek that is often translated as “deacon” in English is translated as kavumbi in Chokwe, someone “who serves another, not from compulsion or for a wage, but because of vumbi or grace.” (Source: D. B. Long in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 87ff. )

A number of English translations (Revised Standard Version 1952, Phillips 1958, Jerusalem Bible 1966 and its later revisions, Lattimore 1982, Christian Community Bible 1997, The Orthodox New Testament 2004, and New Catholic Bible 2019) use the feminine form deaconess in Romans 16:1. This can also be found in some French translations (La Bible Du Semeur 1992, Louis Segond 1910, La Bible de Communautés Chrétiennes 1994, and Nouvelle Edition de Genève) as well as the majority of Spanish, Italian, and German versions (French: diaconesse, Spanish: diaconisa, Italian: diaconessa, German: Diakonisse).

One French translation (La Bible Du Semeur) and a couple of German translations (BasisBibel 2021 and Gute Nachricht Bibel 1968 / 2018) also use the feminine form of deacon in 1 Timothy 3:11 (for a discussion on this, see Translation commentary on 1 Timothy 3:11).

bottomless pit

The now commonly-used English idiom “bottomless pit” (for something that holds a very large amount of something) was first coined in 1526 in the English New Testament translation of William Tyndale (spelled as bottomlesse pytt) for the Greek abussos. (Source: Crystal 2010, p. 289)

For other idioms in English that were coined by Bible translation, see here.

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.

you put my feet in the stocks (Job 13:27)

The Hebrew in Job 13:27 that typically is translated as “you put my feet in the stocks” or similar in English is translated in the English translation by E.L. Greenstein (2019) as “and mark my feet with lime.” Greenstein (p. 59) explains: “Reading be-sid for ba-sad ‘in stocks,’ which makes no sense: fettered feet cannot go anywhere, so they cannot be followed. Job develops the same point in 14:16.”

See also stocks.

justified by faith

The Greek in Romans 3:28 that is translated as “justified by faith” or similar in English is translated in the German translation of Martin Luther (first edition 1522, last revised edition 2017) as gerecht wird (…) allein durch den Glauben: “justified by faith alone” (highlight added).

Luther expained his decision to add allein (“alone”) on pure linguistic grounds rather than as an attempt to emphasize justification by faith:

“I knew very well that the word solum [Latin = alone, only, solely] is not in the Greek or Latin text of Romans 3:28. (…) It’s a fact that these four letters ‘sola’ are not there (…) [But] it belongs there if the translation into German is to be clear and lucid. I wanted to speak German, not Latin or Greek, since it was German I had undertaken to speak in the translation. But it’s the nature of our German language that in speaking of two things, one of which is affirmed and the other denied, we use the word ‘solum’ (allein) along with the word ‘nicht’ (not) or ‘kein’ (no).”

Original text in German

“So habe ich hier in Röm. 3,28 sehr wohl gewußt, daß im lateinischen und griechischen Text das Wort »solum« nicht stehet (…) Wahr ists, diese vier Buchstaben ‘sola’ stehen nicht drinnen. (…) Die Absicht des Textes [ist] gleichwohl »sola« und wo mans klar und deutlich verdeutschen will, so gehöret es hinein. Denn ich habe deutsch, nicht lateinisch noch griechisch reden wollen, da ich mir beim Übersetzen deutsch zu reden vorgenommen hatte. Das ist aber die Art unserer deutschen Sprache: wenn sie von zwei Dingen redet, deren man eines bejaht und das andere verneint, so gebraucht man das Wort ‘solum’ = ‘allein’ (nur) neben dem Wort ‘nicht’ oder ‘kein’.” (source )

Other German Bible translations, including the Zürcher Bibel (which was first published just a few years after Luther’s initial publication) show that the linguistic argument alone is not sufficient. It translates in its current edition: Gerecht wird ein Mensch durch den Glauben — “A person is justified by faith.” The only other German translation that uses allein is Hoffnung für alle (publ. 1983), the German pendant of the English Living Bible.

A Lutheran Low German translation by Johannes Jessen (publ. 1933, republ. 2006) also follows Luther’s translation (alleen dörch Glowen — “by faith alone”).

The only major English translation that adopts Luther’s reading is the Good News Bible (publ. 1976 and often revised) that reads “only through faith.”

See also righteous by faith / justified by faith and Luther’s Translation of “Faith Alone” in Romans 3:28 .

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Righteousness by Faith .

Translation: German

Der griechische Text, der direkt übersetzt etwa "aus Glauben gerechtfertigt" bedeutet, wurde von der deutschen Übersetzung von Martin Luther (Erstausgabe 1522, letzte überarbeitete Ausgabe 2017) als "gerecht wird (...) allein durch den Glauben" übersetzt (Hervorhebung nicht im Originaltext).

Luther erklärte seine Entscheidung für die Hinzufügung von allein aus rein sprachlichen Erwägungen und nicht als eine Betonung der Gerechtwerdung durch Glaube:

Original text in German: "So habe ich hier in Röm. 3,28 sehr wohl gewußt, daß im lateinischen und griechischen Text das Wort »solum« nicht stehet (...) Wahr ists, diese vier Buchstaben 'sola' stehen nicht drinnen. (...) Die Absicht des Textes [ist] gleichwohl »sola« und wo mans klar und deutlich verdeutschen will, so gehöret es hinein. Denn ich habe deutsch, nicht lateinisch noch griechisch reden wollen, da ich mir beim Übersetzen deutsch zu reden vorgenommen hatte. Das ist aber die Art unserer deutschen Sprache: wenn sie von zwei Dingen redet, deren man eines bejaht und das andere verneint, so gebraucht man das Wort 'solum' = 'allein' (nur) neben dem Wort 'nicht' oder 'kein'." (Quelle)

Andere deutsche Bibelübersetzungen, einschließlich der Zürcher Bibel (die wenige Jahre nach Luthers Übersetzung veröffentlicht wurde) zeigen, dass das linguistische Argument alleine nicht ausreicht. Hier wird in der aktuellen Ausgabe: Gerecht wird ein Mensch durch den Glauben übersetzt. Die einzige andere deutsche Übersetzung, die allein verwendet, ist die Hoffnung für alle (veröffentl. 1983).

bag (Job 14:17)

The Hebrew in Job 14:17 that typically is translated as “bag” in English is translated in the English translation by E.L. Greenstein (2019) as “pouch.” Greenstein explains (p. 62): “If the evidencer aggawqinst Job is kept in aw pouch — asw was the ancient practive preceding a trial — Job cannot be convicted. For the image, compare Job 7:1 that typically is translated as “hard service” or similar in English is translated in the English[/tip_languaghttps://tips.translation.bible/tip_verse/hos-1312/”>Hosea 13:12.

mark

The Hebrew in Ezekiel 9:4 and Ezekiel 9:6 that is translated as “mark” or “sign” in Protestant English Bibles was translated in the Latin Vulgate translation as signa thau or “signs of Thau.” The Hebrew had used tav (תָּו) which means “mark” or “sign,” but was interpreted here as strictly referring to tav (taw) (ת), the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

This is a tradition that Catholic Bibles, for into the 1940s which the Vulgate was the source version, have maintained until the present day. While the 16th century English Dhouay-Rheims version translated this directly as mark Thau, later versions either translated this as “X” (New American Bible, including its Revised Edition), but were more commonly using cross (Knox, Jerusalem Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Catholic Bible, Christian Community Bible). In a footnote it usually says something like this: “Literally, ‘with a tau.’ This was the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and in the old script a cross was the symbol for it.”

Indeed, this is what tav looked like historically:

Source: Wikipedia

Protestant Bibles in English, with the exception of the recent Evangelical Heritage Version (2019), all use a form of “mark.”

Other languages have the same tradition. The French Catholic La Bible de Jérusalem uses croix, the Mandarin Chinese Sigao translation says 一個十字記號 (yīge shízì jìhào) or “a mark in the sign of a cross,” the Portuguese Bíblia Ave Maria uses cruz, the Polish Biblia Tysiąclecia uses Taw (and mentions in a footnote that taw used to be written in the form of a cross), the German EinheitsübersetzUng has Taw as well, and the Spanish El Libro del Pueblo de Dios has “T.”

This last translation (“T”) also found its way into a series of stained glass window from the Three choir windows in the Marienkirche, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, of the 14th century (note the “T” in the antichrist’s halo as well as on the forehead on his followers):

Source: Das Antichristfenster by Ludger Каup, 2010

Incidentally, the German word for devil is “Teufel” (in the spelling “tiuvel” in the 14th century), which likely helped the choice of the “T” for the mark.

See also other stained glass windows from the Marienkirche in Frankfurt.