The Greek that is translated into English as “babbler” is translated in a number of different ways:
- Fuyug: “birdbrain” (source: David Clark)
- San Mateo del Mar Huave: “man who does not know how to close his mouth”
- Eastern Highland Otomi: “much-talker man”
- Teutila Cuicatec: “loud-mouthed fellow”
- Chichimeca-Jonaz: “person who does nothing but talk”
- Morelos Nahuatl: “man who talks so much” (source for this and four above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
- Low German: “know-it-all” (Klooksnaker) (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006)
- Hausa: “owner of noise” (source: Hausa Common Language Bible Back Translation)
- Hiligaynon: “boaster” (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- Mairasi: “guy know who talks out of his own thinking” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
For various English translations, see Translation commentary on Acts 17:18.
The Greek that is translated as “all scripture is inspired by God (or: is God-breathed)” into English is translated into various languages in the following ways:
- Berom: “All the words that were written in the Leaf of Teaching of Father Sun came away from God thing his” (Mwa neha de bà jɛk e Bwok-basa Dagwi na vey yi na Dagwi pyɛ mɛ)
- Hausa (Common Language Version): “All the writings of the Word of God are blown from his place” (Duk Rubutacciyar Maganar Allah hurarre ce daga wurinsa)
- Kera: “All the words that were written in God’s book come straight from God’s mouth” (Kel gə minti gə jeerə-jeere giidə kefter kə Pepeŋa keɗe ha’aŋ, yə bəŋ ku Pepeŋ da)
- Arabic (True Meaning Arabic edition): “All of this book is a revelation from God” (فهذِهِ الكُتُبُ كُلُّها وَحيٌ مِن اللهِ)
- Chadian Arabic: “The book is completely the word of God which he sent down (الْكِتَابْ كُلَّ كَيْ هُو كَلَامْ اللّٰهْ النَّزَّلَهْ)
- Dari (Today’s Dari Version 2008): “The whole holy book is divine revelation” (تمام کتاب مقدس از الهام خداست)
- French (Parole de Vie 2017): “All the holy books were written with the help of God” (Tous les Livres Saints ont été écrits avec l’aide de Dieu)
- Lamogai: “All of the talk written in God’s book was given by God’s Spirit.”
- Northern Emberá: “God (emph.) made all of his word to be written” (Ãcõrẽbʌrʌ jũma Idji Bed̶eara b̶ʌbisia)
- Hiligaynon: “The whole Written-Item was written by-means-of the power of God” (Kay ang bug-os nga Kasulatan ginbugna sang Dios kag mapuslanon sa pagtudlo sang kamatuoran)
- Sindhi: “The origin/fount of each writing of the holy word/scripture is God (emph. = alone)”
- Dobel: “And God’s Message all of it, it was he alone who put it in people’s thoughts, then they wrote it in The Book” (Sa Dukwaida Ssinan Ler si Rakwin re nam ffui, nai naꞌꞌenni yaꞌa nam i tamatu ada faꞌirandi nama datiya i Suratu Yabil)
- Amele: “All the written good talk God’s Spirit he himself taught/instructed men and they wrote” (Me je jaqec cunug Anutna Kis uqadodoc dana iwaladeceb jaqein)
- Saxwe Gbe: “Every holy writing came from God”
- Aja: “It was God’s Spirit that took all things that were written in the books of God’s Word and put them in the minds/consciences of people, and they wrote them” (source for this and all above: discussion on BT email list, contributions used with permissions)
- Kaqchikel: “All scripture is God’s breath”
On this last translation, the translation into Kaqchikel, Cameron Townsend reports:
“We were struggling with the part of the Scripture that says, ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God.’ We tried several different ways of translating this, but the men were never satisfied that it communicated well in Kaqchikel. I consulted the Greek and said, ‘How about translating it ‘all scripture is God-breathed?” ‘No,’ they said, ‘that doesn’t sound right.’ Then I suggested using ‘God’s breath.’ The men liked this and we agreed to use this phrase. But I wasn’t entirely convinced it was as accurate as it should be. Then I began to read other portions of Scripture where I noticed that when God spoke in creation it had the same connotation as God’s breath. And so we left it that way: ‘All scripture is God’s breath.'” (Quoted in Steven 1995, p. 196f.)
Derived from this phrase, the word for “Bible” in Armenian is Asdvadz-a-shoonch (Աստվածաշունչ) or “Breath of God.”
See also examined the scriptures, scripture, and complete verse (2 Timothy 3:16).
The Greek that is translated as “see(n) a vision” in English is sometimes translated generically, such as “to see something” (Sranan Tongo, Tae’), “something is made visible” (Western Apache), or “they knew, what he might have seen” (i.e. they knew that something had been seen but not what) (Shipibo-Conibo).
Elsewhere a specification is added, such as “to see a divine sight” (Kannada, Toraja-Sa’dan), “he had seen something supernatural, which had appeared to him” (Tboli) (source for this and all above: Reiling / Swellengrebel), or “something God showed” in Hiligaynon (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation).
See also vision.
The Greek that is translated as “if God is for us” in English is translated as
- “if God is in fellowship with us” in Chicahuaxtla Triqui
- “if God does not abandon us” in Miahuatlán Zapotec
- “if God is united with us” in Yatzachi Zapotec
- “God is the one who helps us” in Huehuetla Tepehua
- “God himself loves us” in Teutila Cuicatec
- “if God is in our favor” in Isthmus Zapotec
- “if God is our helper” in Highland Totonac (source for this above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
- “if God is ours” in Kupsabiny (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
- “if God is on our side” in Low German translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006
- “we can say that God is really defending us” in Hiligaynon (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- “now we are friends with God” in Tenango Otomi (source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
- “if Above-One is the One who guards us” in Mairasi (source: Enggavoter 2004)
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “adultery” in English (here etymologically meaning “to alter”) is typically understood as “marital infidelity.” It is (back-) translated in the following ways:
- Highland Totonac: “to do something together”
- Yucateco: “pair-sin”
- Ngäbere: “robbing another’s half self-possession” (compare “fornication” which is “robbing self-possession,” that is, to rob what belongs to a person)
- Kaqchikel, Chol: “to act like a dog” (see also licentiousness)
- Toraja-Sa’dan: “to measure the depth of the river of (another’s) marriage”
- North Alaskan Inupiatun: “married people using what is not theirs” (compare “fornication” which is “unmarried people using what is not theirs”) (source for this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
- Purari: “play hands with” or “play eyes with”
- Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “talk secretly with spouses of our fellows”
- Isthmus Zapotec: “go in with other people’s spouses”
- Tzeltal: “practice illicit relationship with women”
- Huehuetla Tepehua: “live with some one who isn’t your wife”
- Central Tarahumara: “sleep with a strange partner”
- Hopi: “tamper with marriage” (source for this and seven above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
- German: Ehebrecher or “marriage breaker” / Ehe brechen or “breaking of marriage” (source: Zetzsche)
- In Falam Chin the term for “adultery” is the phrase for “to share breast” which relates to adultery by either sex. (Source: David Clark)
- In Ixcatlán Mazatec a specification needs to be made to include both genders. (Source: Robert Bascom)
- Likewise in Hiligaynon: “commit-adultery-with-a-man or commit-adultery-with-a-woman” (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
See also adultery, adulterer, adulteress, and you shall not commit adultery.
The Greek that is translated into English as “perplexed” is translated as
- “his heart was gone” in Tzeltal
- “hard chased” (as in animals in a hunt) in Piro
- “his mind was killing him” in Navajo (Dinė)
- “his stomach rose up” in Farefare
- “he was very irresolute” (i.e. “it was all wrong with him”) in Indonesian
- “his heart was very divided” in Javanese (source for this and all above: Bratcher / Nida 1961)
- “confused his head” in Hiligaynon (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- “his heart was agitated” in Uma (source: Uma Back Translation)
- “his thinking was difficult” in Kankanaey (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
See also Seat of the Mind for traditional views of “ways of knowing, thinking, and feeling” as well as perplexed, perplexed / puzzled, or troubled / perplexed,
The Greek that is translated in English as “music” is translated in Muna as “the sound of the gong and the drum.” René van den Berg explains: “There is no abstract word for ‘music’ (the footnote has the loan musik).”
In other languages it is translated as:
- Noongar: “singing” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
- Mazagway: “the sound of singing”
- Mofu-Gudur: “the sound of drumming” (source for this and above: Ken Hollingsworth)
- Uma: “people playing flutes” (source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “playing-of-the-kulintang/gongs” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “drum” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Mairasi: “the sound of songs” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
- Hiligaynon: “sounds” (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- Burmese: “the sound of beating-blowing” (“‘Beating blowing’ is a general term for instrumental music and covers the sound of percussion instruments, wind and brass instruments which are blown, and some stringed instruments which are also ‘beaten.'” — source: Anonymous)
The Greek that is often translated in English as “devout” (or “pious”) is translated in various ways:
- Lalana Chinantec: “[people who] revere God”
- Chichimeca-Jonaz: “[people who] obey and worship God”
- Eastern Highland Otomi: “[people who] remember God”
- San Mateo del Mar Huave: “worshipers of God”
- Tzotzil: “[people who] are zealously doing what they think is God’s word”
- Mezquital Otomi: “[people who] very much believe what they have been taught about God” (source for this and five above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
- Chichewa interconfessional translation, publ. 1999: “[people who] love God” (source: Wendland 1998, p. 90)
- Uma: “[people who] submit to Lord God” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “very religious” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “[people who] are faithful in carrying out the commands of God” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “[people who] are serving God” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “[people who] are indeed devout-worshipers of God” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
- Bariai: “[people who] respect God” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
- Kupsabiny: “[people who] have dedicated themselves to God” (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
- German: “God-fearing” (gottesfürchtig) or “pious” (fromm)
- Low German translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006: “[people who] take their faith very seriously” (source for this and above: Zetzsche)
- Hausa Common Language Bible: “owners of worshiping God” (source: Hausa Common Language Bible Back Translation)
- Hiligaynon: “godly” (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
See also righteous / righteousness.
