The Greek in Luke 9:62 that is translated as “put a hand to the plow” in English is translated in Elhomwe with the equivalent expression “dig the land with a how.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
See also no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back.
The Greek that is often rendered in English as “to be converted” or “to turn around” is (back-) translated in a number of ways:
The Greek in Acts 7:44 that is translated as “tent of testimony” or similar in English is translated as
See also tabernacle (noun) and tent of meeting.
The Greek that is translated as “house of Jacob” in English is translated in Elhomwe as “the people of Israel.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
The Hebrew in Esther 1:13 that is translated as “who know the laws” or “who know the times” in English is translated in Elhomwe with “who know what happens in different times.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
See also the signs of the times and magi / wise men.
The Greek that is translated as “purse” in English is translated in Elhomwe as “money” since the concept of a purse is unknown. (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated into English as “bless” or “blessed” in relation to food or drink is translated in a number of ways:
See also bless(ed).
The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is translated as “quail” in English is translated in Elhomwe as ayuurwe. Ayuurwe are “small (like doves), wild birds which people catch to eat. This type of bird rots very quickly” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext). In Bariai they are translated as “bush hen” (source: Bariai Back Translation).
There is total agreement among versions and commentators that this is the Common Quail Coturnix coturnix. This bird existed in Egypt in enormous flocks numbering many millions for centuries, right up to the early part of the twentieth century. It was netted in enormous quantities, dried in the sun, and exported. The Egyptian bird has a rather limited migration route, going across the eastern side of Egypt to the Sinai, then southward into the Sudan. Other quails that migrate from southern Europe to Africa also cross the Sinai. It was during these migrations, when the birds fly only a few feet from the ground, that they were netted.
The common quail is a small brown bird streaked with white, the smallest of the game birds. It looks like a miniature partridge, with a small white patch beneath its beak, a white stripe above its eye, and another around its neck. The males have a black chest stripe above a chestnut-colored breast patch.
The quail is associated with God’s merciful provision during the Exodus from Egypt.
The common quail is found all over Africa, in southern and southeastern Europe, and in the Middle East. It is then found in a discontinuous band across mainland Asia to Japan. Other very similar species, the Harlequin Quail Coturnix delegorguei and the Chinese Quail Coturnix chinensis, are equally common in Africa and Asia respectively. The latter is also found in Australia, where it is called the king quail. In North America the California quail is well known. In other areas where the true quail is not known, a phrase such as small partridge can be used. The reference in Numbers 11:31, literally “two cubits high above the face of the earth”, should be interpreted as “they were flying about a meter 3 feet above the ground.” In the following verse, the text should be interpreted as “they spread them out on the ground,” that is, to dry in the sun.
Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)
See also Bread from Heaven.
