The Greek that is translated as “exchanged natural relations for unnatural” or similar in English is translated as “stop their work with men and begin to do wrong things with one another” in Hopi, as “women no longer did as women do but rather knew each other” in Isthmus Zapotec, as “changed their lives. They didn’t live with a man. Among themselves they sinned against each other” in Huehuetla Tepehua, as “even the women, one with another, strangely doing evil lived” in Central Tarahumara, or as “lay down with other women as they should not do” in Yatzachi Zapotec. (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated as “that’s how women became lesbian and exchanged the natural sexual relationships with unnatural ones.”
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “adultery” (typically understood as “marital infidelity”) in English 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”
- 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)
- In Purari: “play hands with” or “play eyes with”
- In Hakha Chin the usual term for “adultery” applies only to women, so the translation for the Greek term that is translated into English as “adultery” was translated in Hakha Chin as “do not take another man’s wife and do not commit adultery.”
- Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “talk secretly with spouses of our fellows”
- Isthmus Zapotec: “go in with other people’s spouses”
- Hopi: “tamper with marriage” (source for this and two above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
- In Falam Chin the term for “adultery” is the phrase for “to share breast” which relates to adultery by either sex. (Source for this and three above: David Clark)
- In Ixcatlán Mazatec a specification needs to be made to include both genders. (Source: Robert Bascom)
See also adultery, adulterer, adulteress, and you shall not commit adultery.
The Greek that is translated as “glorified with him” in English is translated as “live in God’s light” in Hopi, as “receive our well-being in heaven” in Tzeltal, as “be with him where it is beautiful” in Sayula Popoluca, and as “he will give us our good life in heaven” in Huehuetla Tepehua. (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
The Greek that is translated as “(he was) declared to be Son of God with power” or similar is translated into various languages as:
- Tzeltal: “by means of God’s power it was made evident that (Jesus) is the Son of God
- Sayula Popoluca: “God said that he is his Son and that he has strength”
- Hopi: “Thus God showed to the people that he was his Son, (Jesus) having received power from the Holy Spirit”
- Yatzachi Zapotec: “Shows that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that Jesus Christ is powerful”
(Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
The Greek that is translated as “all ungodliness” in English is translated as “those who don’t think anything of God” in Huehuetla Tepehua, as “all those who don’t pay attention to him” in Isthmus Zapotec, as “all people who don’t believe in him” in Sayula Popoluca, as “all who do not pay attention to what God says” in Sierra de Juárez Zapotec, and as “those who do not respect him” in Hopi. (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
The Greek that is translated as “were consumed with passion for one another” or similar in English is translated as “became dark in their hearts by a lustful heart toward one another” in Hopi, as “only exceedingly desired to do evil in a different way with other men” in Central Tarahumara, and as “with ardent desire doing what is not good” in Sierra de Juárez Zapotec. (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
The Greek that is translated as “heartless” in English is translated as “don’t love their fellows” in Chicahuaxtla Triqui, as “don’t delight in people” in Hopi, and as “didn’t love like people should” in Huehuetla Tepehua. (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
The Greek that is translated as “sacrifice of atonement,” “expiation,” or “propitiation” in English is translated as “substitute in paying for our sins” in Tzeltal, as “God arranged for him to (die and) take away sin” in Hopi, and “God gave him (to die in order) to pardon us” in Sayula Popoluca. (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
In Ajië, it is translated by a term which referred to a leaf used in traditional religion to heal a wound after the proper sacrifices had been made. (Source: Smalley 1991, p. 57 and Clifford 1992, p. 83ff.)
See also propitiation / atoning sacrifice, expiation, and atonement.
