The Hebrew that is translated into English as “moving (or: hovering) over the (sur)face of the waters” is translated into Ebira as “(the spirit of God) stayed above the water doing NANANA [ideophone].” (Source: Rob Koops)
In Bari it is translated with bibirto, “which is used of a bird hovering over its nest or fluttering round a bunch of ripe bananas.” (Source: Source: P. Guillebaud in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 189ff.)
In Kutu it is translated as “spreading over the water” and in Nyamwezi as ku’elela: “to circle around slowly over water, without touching it.” In Kwere it is translated with katanda, which carries the meaning of being ‘spread out’ over the water as one would spread a blanket out over a bed. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
The Hebrew that is translated as “vindicated” or similar in English is translated in Kutu as “every person knows that you have not done any bad.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
The Hebrew that is translated as “shall not depart out of your mouth” or similar in English is translated in Kutu as “don’t stop to speak.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
The Hebrew that is translated as “worthless idols” or similar in English is translated in Kutu as vinyago or “idols,” “because all ‘vinyago‘ are worthless and by putting the adjective on it then it might give the people the idea that there are idols that are ‘useful/good.'” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
See also idol / idols.
The Hebrew that is translated as “weighing two/ten gold shekels” or similar in English is translated in Kutu as zahabu or “of great price” to make the meaning clear as weight for these items would not convey the meaning of great worth. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
The Hebrew that is translated as “a second time” or similar in English is clarified in Kutu with the expression “who have not been circumcised,” so that there is no misunderstanding that the men who had already been circumcised were circumcised a second time. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “bear” in English is translated in Mungaka as “leopard” since bears are not known in that culture (see also wolf) (source: Nama 1990).
In Vidunda and Kutu it is translated as “lion” and in Kwere as “cheetah” (in Proverbs 17:12). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Michel Kenmogne comments on this and comparable translations (in Noss 2007, p. 378 ff.): “Some exegetical solutions adopted by missionary translations may have been acceptable during that time frame, but weighed against today’s translation theory and procedures, they appear quite outdated and even questionable. For example, Atangana Nama approvingly mentions the translation into Mungaka of terms like ‘deer’ as ‘leopard’, ‘camel’ as ‘elephant’, and ‘wheat’ as ‘maize,’ where the target language has no direct equivalent to the source text. These pre-Nida translation options, now known as adaptations, would be declared unacceptable in modern practice, since they misrepresent the historico-zoological and agricultural realities in the Bible. Nowadays it is considered better to give a generalized term, like ‘grain,’ and where necessary specify ‘a grain called wheat,’ than to give an incorrect equivalence. Unknown animals such as bears, can be called ‘fierce animals,’ especially if the reference is a non-historical context.”
The Hebrew that is translated as “what can flesh do to me” or similar in English is translated in Kutu as “what can a person who dies do to me?” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)