Yatzachi Zapotec: “poor people who have nothing” (source for this and three above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.).
Low German: “those who don’t account to anything in other people’s eyes” (source: translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006)
Kako: “those who lower the heart” (source: Reyburn 2002, p. 190)
The Greek that is translated in English as “tanner” is translated as “someone who fixes animal skins” in Eastern Highland Otomi. (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
The Greek in Acts 22:3 that is often translated in English as “zealous for God” is translated as “very much I was always ready for the word of God with all my heart” in Eastern Highland Otomi, as “very much wanted to do as I thought God wanted” in Lalana Chinantec, and as “every day I obey with all my innermost being all that God commands” Teutila Cuicatec. (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
The Greek and Hebrew terms that are translated as “hypocrite” in English typically have a counterpart in most languages. According to Bratcher / Nida (1961, p. 225), they can be categorized into the following categories:
those which employ some concept of “two” or “double”
those which make use of some expression of “mouth” or “speaking”
those which are based upon some special cultural feature
those which employ a non-metaphorical phrase
Following is a list of (back-) translations from some languages:
Mazahua: “have a swollen mouth” (from too much speaking)
Tai Dam: “have a straight mouth and a crooked heart”
Kongo: “the bitterness of white” (an idiom based on the fact that white-wash looks nice but tastes bitter)
Merina Malagasy: “spread a clean carpet” (an expression used in Madagascar to describe one who covers up the dirt of an unswept floor just before the arrival of guests)
Zanaki: “those who make themselves out to be good”
Tetelcingo Nahuatl: “those who deceive” (this and all examples above acc. to Bratcher / Nida 1961, p. 225)
Kafa: “one who makes as if his belly is clean” (source: Loren Bliese)
Bauzi: “good on top person” (source: David Briley in Kroneman (2004), p. 502)
Tibetan: kha chos pa (ཁ་ཆོས་པ།), lit. “mouth + religion + person” (used for instance in Matt. 7:5) or sgyu zog can (སྒྱུ་ཟོག་ཅན།), lit. “deception + fraud + person” (used for instance in Matt. 24:51) (source: gSungrab website )
Low German: “actor in a comedy” (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006)
Lélé: ne kub so or “make mouth two” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
The Latvian term liekulis was likely coined by the Bible translation of Ernst Glück (1654–1705) in the late 17th century and is still being used today (source ).
The English version of Sarah Ruden (2021) uses “play-actor.” She explains (p. li): “A hupokrites is fundamentally an actor. The word has deep negativity in the Gospels on two counts: professional actors were not respectable people in the ancient world, and traditional Judaism did not countenance any kind of playacting. I write ‘play-actor’ throughout.”
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.).
The Greek in Acts 2:8 that is translated as “our own native language” or similar in English is translated as “the language we know when we were children” in Eastern Highland Otomi, “as we talk from when we were born” in Morelos Nahuatl, “the Chinantec we have spoken since we were small” in Lalana Chinantec, and “language we began to understand when still a baby” in Chichimeca-Jonaz. (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
