Language-specific Insights

they are no more than bread for us

The Hebrew that is translated as “they are no more than bread for us” in English is translated in Manya as “the land is easily conquered.” (Source: Don Slager)

circumcise heart

The Hebrew that is translated as “Circumcise one’s heart” in English is translated in Kutu as “cleanse one’s heart” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext) and in the English translation by Goldingay (2018) as “remove the foreskin from your mind.”

In Manya as “discipline your hard hearts” to keep some of the imagery of the original text. (Source: Don Slager)

See also circumcise.

in the sanctuary you shall pour out a drink offering

The Hebrew that is translated as “in the sanctuary (or: “holy place”) you shall pour out a drink offering” in English is translated in Manya as “on the holy altar you shall pour out a drink offering” for clarifications sake. (Source: Don Slager)

snow

The Hebrew and Ge’ez that is translated as “snow” in English is translated in Manya as “solid cold pieces,” since snow is unknown. (Source: Don Slager)

See also snow (color).

pit

The Hebrew that is translated as “pit” or “well” in English is translated in Manya as “big hole in the ground.” (Source: Don Slager)

rows of stones on Aaron's breastpiece

The Hebrew that is translated into a wide and often differing variety of gemstones on Aaron’s breastpiece in English and other translations, was translated with a focus on their colors in a West African language:

Row One: a red stone, a stone the color of the yellow fruit inside the pod of the African locust bean (parkia biglobosa ), and a blue colored stone mixed with the color of fresh growth on trees (green)

Row Two: deep red stone, a blue colored stone, diamond

Row Three: a stone the color of an orange, a stone with many colored stripes, a stone the color of a local purple fruit

Row Four: a stone of deep green color, a stone with splotches of color, and a green stone.

(See this blog entry )

The Manya translators “only knew a word for diamond, so we transliterated the others, giving some idea of the color for each one.” (Source: Don Slager)

See also jewels in the New Jerusalem.

rainbow / bow

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “bow” or “rainbow” is translated in Yagaria with a term — fugigina — that is also used as a term for “glory.” (Source: Renck, p. 94)

In Maltese it is translated with qawsalla, literally “bow of God,” and in Southern Samo as “snake up above” (source: Lynell Zogbo).

The Manya term for it is “frog-monkey-bridge” since “they believe the rainbow comes from the mouth of a frog.” (Source: Don Slager)