The Greek in James 5:15 that is translated as “anyone who has committed sin will be forgiven” or similar in English is translated as “if there is his sin the one who is healed his sin will be lost also” in Tzotzil, “that sick one has been healed, his sins the Father has pardoned” in Mezquital Otomi), and “and if sins are the cause of our sickness, it will be forgiven us” in Eastern Highland Otomi) (source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation July, 1967, p. 5ff.).
Language-specific Insights
sexual promiscuity
The Greek in Romans 13:13 that is translated in English as “sexual promiscuity” or similar is translated as
- “have affairs with women” in Chicahuaxtla Triqui
- “act any old way” in Central Tarahumara
- “live in the street” in Huehuetla Tepehua
- “commit adultery” in Yatzachi Zapotec
- “lie with people” in Mezquital Otomi
- “go after women” in Isthmus Zapotec (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
- “play alongside the mat [foolish joking]” in Mairasi (source: Enggavoter 2004)
See also licentiousness / impurity, sexual immorality / fornication and adultery.
grieving
The Greek that is translated as “grieving” or “sorrowful” in English is often translated metaphorically:
- “his stomach died” (Mezquital Otomi)
- “he was heavy in his stomach” (Uduk)
- “his heart was pained” (Kpelle)
- “he was sick in his mind” (Amganad Ifugao)
- “his heart hung” (Loma)
- “his heart was spoiled” (Mossi) (source for this and all above: Bratcher / Nida 1961)
- “his interior was crying” (Bariai) (source: Bariai Back Translation)
- “heart got shocked” (Kupsabiny) (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
- “insides/heart-became-bad” (Mairasi ) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
See also sorrow and Seat of the Mind for traditional views of “ways of knowing, thinking, and feeling.”
he sent two of his disciples
The Greek that is translated as “he sent two of his disciples” in English had to be translated in Mezquital Otomi: as “Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead to borrow a little donkey.” The implicit idea of borrowing the donkey had to be made explicit to avoid the wrong meaning that the instructions in the succeeding verses were for them to steal it. (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
See also this devotion on YouVersion .
become one flesh
The Greek and Hebrew that is often translated into English as “(the two) shall become one flesh” is translated as “become just one” in Copainalá Zoque and San Mateo del Mar Huave or with existing idiomatic equivalents such as “become one blood” in Mitla Zapotec, “become the complement of each other’s spirit” in Tzeltal (source for this and above Bratcher / Nida), “become one body” in Uab Meto (source: P. Middelkoop in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 208ff. ), “tie with wife as one, so that they tie one insides” in Luang (source: Kathy and Mark Taber in Kroneman [2004], p. 539), or “become like one body-entity” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).
In Tataltepec Chatino it is translated as “the two shall accompany each other so that they no longer seem two but are like one person,” in Choapan Zapotec as “when the man and woman live together in front of God, it is as if just one person,” and in Mezquital Otomi as “they aren’t two, it is as though they are one.” (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated with bilden eine neue Sippe or “form a new clan.” They explain (p. 417): “Usually ‘become one flesh.’ This is clearly not correct from a biological point of view. In the Old Testament, ‘flesh’ in such contexts means: ‘kinship, clan, family.’ So the idea is that the man gives up his clan and forms a new clan together with the married woman.”
See also I am your bone and flesh.
figures of speech
The Greek that is translated as “figures of speech” or similar in English is translated in Ojitlán Chinantec as “telling words a little bit covered,” in Tenango Otomi as “comparisons,” in Navajo (Dinė): “stories that teach,” and in Mezquital Otomi as “like a story” (source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.).
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated as vieldeutige Worte or “ambiguous word (or: “words with many meanings”)” and in the translation by Fridolin Stier (1989) as “hidden (or: shrouded) speech” (Hüllrede).
firstborn
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “firstborn” in English is translated in a number of ways:
- “he/she that opens the gown” in Batak Toba (because formerly a woman stopped wearing a gown and started using a bodice after the birth of her first child)
- “he/she that damages the stalk (i.e. the body)” in Uab Meto (source for this and above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
- “the oldest son of all” in Mezquital Otomi
- “oldest child” in Isthmus Zapotec (source for this and one above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
- “firstborn child, who was a boy” in Elhomwe (to make clear, without ambiguity, that Mary did not have daughters before) (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
In Bawm Chin, the term can imply the existence of younger siblings, so a translation is needed that brings out the fact that Jesus is superior to all else, not just the first of a series. (Source: David Clark)
See also only begotten son / (one and) only son and firstborn.
peace with God
The Greek in Romans 5:1 that is translated as “peace with God” in English is translated as “there’s nothing between us and God” in Hopi, as “we are at fellowship with God” in Chicahuaxtla Triqui, as “God has no anger toward us” in Huehuetla Tepehua, as “we have a good relationship with God” in Isthmus Zapotec, and as “we are living well with God” in Mezquital Otomi. (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)