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)
HausaCommon Language Bible: “owners of worshiping God” (source: Hausa Common Language Bible Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “godly” (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations of Ephesians 5:18:
Uma: “Don’t be drunk, for that causes evil desires to appear. We must be controlled by the Holy Spirit. From that power of the Holy Spirit,” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “You should not be/get drunk because it destroys you. Instead that’s what you should do, you should allow/let God’s Spirit rule over you.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Dont’t you get drunk on wine because this can destroy you; but rather, it’s necessary that you are thoroughly inspired by the Holy Spirit.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Don’t be getting drunk, because that of course is destructive, but rather be full of the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Be disgusted now with the habit of getting drunk, for that is what takes you to a messed up life (lit: life which has no fixing-up). It’s necessary that it’s not alcoholic-drink which is controlling and guiding-you-from-within, but rather the Espiritu Santo now.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “In order to live happily, do not give your heart to getting drunk. Because the drunkard is hurting himself. Rather give your hearts up to the Holy Spirit who will teach you what you must do.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Rotuman: “And you (3 or more) to not (get) drunk [lit.: poisoned] with wine, (a) thing that causes violent character; be full (filled) instead with (the) Holy Spirit.” (Ma ’au la se ’oan ’e uaini, tēet ne ho’ ag rạhrạhi; ’an la hoi ke ‘e ’At Ha’a) (for an analysis of this translation, click or tap here)
“This text has been widely used as a proof text for the ‘Spirit-filled life’ by the so-called Holy Spirit movement. It has therefore been the focus of much interest and controversy among Rotuman readers as to its true meaning.
“As with all translation, it is important to understand not just the meaning intended by the translator, but also what the readers and hearers take the words to mean. We will try to illustrate this in the comments that follow.
“Ma … la se. Beginning a sentence with ma gives this conjunction a much stronger force that usual, like saying, ‘But . . . must . . .’ Likewise the use of la with the negative se is also a strong expression, ‘Beware to not …’
“’an. This plural, referring to three or more people is well understood in Rotuman: ‘you and you and you and . . .’ Any address, or warning, or instruction to the community is always to ’au. This includes all listeners, men, women, young, and old.
“’oan, ‘drunk’, literally means to be poisoned. The same word is used of fish poisoning, or any other food poisoning or overdose. With wine, the kind it obviously seems to refer to is the new wine which is still bubbling. Fruit wine at this early stage of fermentation is bubbling and foamy, and very poisonous.
“Community drinking is always by a group (of men). If one person is drinking alone, he is selfish; if only two are drinking together, they arc secretive. Some of the purposes of such community drinking are:
relaxation after a hard day’s work
sharing, reflecting, evaluating the day’s work
leaving lime for the womenfolk to cook dinner
guarding against individuals getting drunk
“‘To not get drunk (poisoned) with wine’ implies certain things. It can mean that moderate drinking is all right; it can mean that drinking is all right unless it causes a person to stagger or vomit. It can also mean that wine is prohibited, but other intoxicating drinks such as kava are allowed.
“Uaini is a transliteration of the English word ‘wine’. So does this verse speak only of Eastern wine or Western wine, wine made from grapes? The island brew is made from fruit such as oranges, pineapples, bananas, mangoes. The best is reckoned to be what is made from the juice of a green coconut, and this is always white, not red.
“In fact tēet means ‘a thing’, and it never refers to a liquid like wine. And it is really the excessive drinking rather than the nature of the drink that leads to violence. But in normal community drinking no one drinks to get drunk—it is only an after-work pre-dinner fellowship.
“Ho’ means to ‘pile up’. The picture is of a person gradually getting more and more drunk, which eventually leads to violent behaviour.
“ag rahrahi. This expression is made up of two terms, aga or ‘character’, and rạhrạhi (from the root rạhi. ‘fire’), ‘rekindled fire’. It is thus intended to mean fiery or violent character. But it can also be understood in a number of other ways:
‘recklessness’ — and this does not mean the unlawful use of force
‘bravery’ or acting the daredevil
‘prodigality’ or a life of gaiety
masculine, ‘macho’ behaviour, without any suggestion of immodesty. (Parents enjoy watching their sons grow up with some wildness in their behaviour.)
‘reconciling’, as the rekindled fire cleans up all inflammable rubbish
‘consistent’ or ‘enduring’
“This indicates that ag rạhrạhi is really an expected and accepted pattern of behaviour; and in its Rotuman setting a person doesn’t get drunk to be ag rạhrạhi. In community life, (he worst form of behaviour to display or possess is ‘being inconsiderate’.
“hoi ke. The adverb ke, ‘instead’, again presents the idea of a strong contrast: ‘Never, never get drunk with wine, but always . . .’ Hoi means to be filled with, or to be full of. It is used mainly for filling something with liquid, although it can also mean to be ‘satisfied’ with solid food.
“From the contrast between the two parts of the verse, it is understood that the person who is filled with the Holy Spirit will not possess or manifest violent character. Therefore the argument and controversy, and sometimes violent action, that have appeared with some people who claim to be ‘filled with the Spirit’, are seen to be a denial of that experience.
“‘At Ha’a is quite clear in its meaning, ‘the Holy Spirit’. Unlike wine, the Holy Spirit cannot be seen; but still the idea of being filled with the Holy Spirit is clear. In Rotuman ancestral worship a person talked about being ‘possessed’ by the spirit of, say, his father. This was a totally ‘outside of me’ power or infilling.”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 28:15:
Kankanaey: “It is moreover utterly true that I will be with you (sing.) continually so-that I will take-care-of you (sing.) wherever (lit. even-if where) you-(sing.)-go. Then I will also escort you (sing.) to return to this country here. I will not moreover leave/abandon you (sing.), but rather I will fulfill all that I promised to you (sing.),’ God said.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Newari: “I am with you. No matter where you go I will be caring for you. And I will bring you back here. I will not leave you until the work of [my] promise to you has been fulfilled.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Always remember that I am-with you and I will-watch-over you wherever you go. I will-have- you -return to this land and I will- not -leave you until I have-fulfilled my promise to you.'” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “I will help you and protect you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you; I will continue to do for you all that I have promised to do.'” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The Greek in Luke 5:10 that means “catch (or: capture) alive” is usually translated as “catch (people)” of “fish (for people)” in English which implies the fact that the captured or caught are still alive.
The Syriac Aramaic (Classical Syriac)Peshitta translation, however, makes the meaning of “catch alive” more explicit by translating ṣāeḏ ləẖayye (ܨܳܐܶܕ݂ ܠܚܰܝܶܐ) or “catch alive.” Following that translation, other translations that are based on the Peshitta, including the Classical Armenian Bible (vorsayts’es i keans [որսայցես ի կեանս] or “catch for life”), the Afrikaans PWL translation (publ. 2016) (mense vang tot verlossing or ” catch [people] to salvation”), the Dutch translation by Egbert Nierop (publ. 2020) (vangen tot redding or “catch to save”) or various English translations (see here ) explicitly highlight the “alive” as well. (Source: Ivan Borshchevsky)
Some languages have to find strategies on how to deal with the metaphor of “catching.” “In some cases the metaphor can be rendered rather literally, cp. ‘seeking for men’ (Kekchí, where ‘to seek fish’ is the idiomatic rendering of ‘to catch fish’). In several other languages, however, more radical adjustments are necessary, such as making explicit the underlying simile, ‘you will catch men as if you were catching fish’ (Inupiaq); or a shift to a non-metaphorical rendering, sacrificing the play-on-words, e.g. ‘you will be a bringer of men’ (Northern Grebo). In some cases the durative aspect of the construction is best expressed by n occupational term, e.g. ‘youwill be one-whose-trade-is catching men’ (Tae’ and Toraja-Sa’dan).” (Source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Other translations include:
Uma: “teach people to become my followers” (source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “fetch people to follow me” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “look for people so that they might be my disciples” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “persuade people” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “as-it-were catch/hunt/fish-for” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 24:65:
Kankanaey: “and she asked-for-information from the slave, ‘Who is that man who is approaching to meet-us?’ ‘The child of my master,’ he said answering. Therefore Rebeka covered her face with a head-cloth, because that was the custom of young-ladies there.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Newari: “Then she asked Abraham’s servant — ‘Who is [that] man coming from over there?'” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “and asked the servant of Abraham, ‘Who is that man in the field who is-approaching us (excl.)?’ The servant answered, ‘He is my master Isaac.’ Therefore Rebeka covered her face with a veil.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “and asked the servant, ‘Who is that man who is approaching?’ The servant replied, ‘That is Isaac, my master, the man you will be marrying.’ So she took her veil and covered her face, which was the custom for a woman who was about to be married.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 8:13:
Uma: “For if we follow the evil desires of our hearts, the end will be we will die and be separated from God. But if we release/give-up our evil behavior by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will receive good life with God.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Because if we (dual) really obey/follow the will/wish of our (dual) greedy-desire, our (dual) destiny is to die and go to hell. But if we (dual) really now abandon our (dual) deeds which are evil by the help of God’s Spirit to us (dual), we (dual) will live forever.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “For if what we obey are the desires of our body, we will be punished with death which is forever. But if by the help of the Holy Spirit, we abandon the evil actions of our bodies, we will be given life forever.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Because if we are obeying our human minds, it is unavoidable (lit. forced) that we be separated from God forever. But if we accept the help of the Holy Spirit in order to turn-our-backs on the evil that we are doing, we will have the life that has no end.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Because should we continue along with the evil we committed before, then we will go to punishment. But if we do what we are taught by the Holy Spirit to do, that we separate from evil, then we will be given the new life which is forever.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The Aramaic, Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “fast” in English is translated in Isthmus Mixe as “going without food to worship God,” in Lacandon as “leaving eating in order to talk to God” (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.), in Vidunda as “resting to eat” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext), and in Kankanaey as “endure hunger” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation).
In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a sign referring to abstinence from food and drink. (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)
Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 6:10:
Uma: “He died one time only to defeat the power of sin forever. And at this time he lives on-and-on following the desire of God.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “He died and sin was really done away with by him. Now he is alive and all his deeds praise God.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “He died only once as a substitute for all people and that was sufficient and because of this His being troubled by our sins has now been removed from Him. And now He is raised from the dead and His life has become that which is the reason for God to be praised.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Because his death was only once. He will not repeat his bearing of sin. And his living now/today is so that he will serve God.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Because Christ one time only died for the sins of the people. Now that he lives, he is living to do the will of God.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
