streams run like oil

The Hebrew that is translated as “streams run like oil” in English is translated in Klao as “streams run smoothly like oil.” (Source: Don Slager)

my servant David

The Hebrew that is translated as “my servant David” in English is translated in Klao as “the descendant of my servant David.” (Source: Don Slager)

wolf

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated in English as “wolf” is translated in Muna as da’u ngkahoku: “forest dog,” because there is no immediate lexical equivalent. (Source: René van den Berg)

In Asháninka, it is translated as “ferocious animal,” in Waffa and Kui as “wild dog,” and in Navajo as “Coyote” (source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125), and in Odia as “tiger” (source for this and for Kui: Helen Evans in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 40ff. )

In Lingala it is translated as “leopard.” Sigurd F. Westberg (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 117ff. ) explains: “The wolf, for example, does not exist here, but its relative the jackal does and we have a name for it. But the jackal does not prey on domestic animals as the wolf did in Palestine, nor is he as fierce. The equivalent from these points of view is the leopard. Hence in Genesis 49 Benjamin is likened to a ravenous leopard, and the basic meaning is approached more closely than if we had been governed by scientific classification.”

Mungaka also uses “leopard” (see also bear (animal)) (source: Nama 1990). Likewise in Klao (source: Don Slager).

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acceptable during that time frame, but weighed against today’s translation theory and procedures, they appear quite outdated and even questionable.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.”

he feeds on ashes

The Hebrew that is translated in English as “he feeds on ashes” is translated in Klao as “Isn’t it like someone eating ashes?” to express the meaning in the context more accurately. (Source: Don Slager)

cubit

The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek that is translated as “cubit” or into a metric or imperial measurement in English is translated in Kutu, Kwere, and Nyamwezi as makono or “armlength.” Since a cubit is the measurement from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, one armlength (measured from the center of the chest to the fingertips) equals two cubits or roughly 1 meter. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

In Klao it is converted into “hand spans” (app. 6 inches or 12 cm) and “finger spans” (app. 1 inch or 2 cm) (Source: Don Slager)

so marred was his appearance

The Hebrew that is translated in English as “so marred was his appearance” or similar is translated in Klao had “being disfigured by someone” added to avoid the misunderstanding of this servant being ugly from birth. (Source: Don Slager)

twenty shekels by weight

The Hebrew that is translated as “twenty shekels by weight” (or “eight ounces” or “230 grams”) in English is translated in Dan as “one kneecap,” the commonly used form of measurement.

In Klao it is “one cup.” (Source: Don Slager)

silver

The Hebrew that is translated as “silver” in English is translated in Klao as “metal.” (Source: Don Slager)

In Kwere there also was no word for “silver.” Instead a Swahili loan word hela (“coin”) was adopted, which in extension has come to mean “silver” since many coins look like silver. (Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

he has become my salvation

The Hebrew that is translated in English as “he has become my salvation” is translated in Klao as “you have become my salvation” since God is directly addressed here. (Source: Don Slager)

first person pronoun references in Isaiah 12

The Hebrew that is translated in English with the first person singular pronoun (I) is translated in Klao with the first person plural pronoun (we) because more than one person is speaking. (Source: Don Slager)

kingdom against kingdom

The Hebrew that is translated in English as “kingdom against kingdom” is translated in Klao as “one side of the country against another side of the country” to express the meaning in the context more accurately. (Source: Don Slager)