The Hebrew that is translated in English as “(go) take (yourself) a wife” is translated in Meru as “go buy (marry) buy a prostitute.’ “In Meru, ‘buy’ is used for ‘marry.’ In churches, a new expression ‘take’ is gaining ground (being more respectful, it is thought). But the common way of referring to marriage is by using the verb ‘buy.'”
Language-specific Insights
my Baal
The Hebrew that is translated as “My Baal” in English presented an “interesting problem in Meru: the pronoun concord on ‘my’ will indicate whether ‘Baal’ is a living being or not. It is either BAALI WAAKWA (Baal being a living being) or BAALI YAAKWA (Baal being a thing, an idol). But since one can hardly call God a non-living being, it was suggested to use WAAKWA.”
See also Baal.