Language-specific Insights

flute players

The Greek that is translated in English as “flute players” (who were hired to express grief) is translated in Muna as “flute players” as well but has an explanatory note in brackets following the translation “[as-a-sign of grief].”

René van den Berg explains: “Music in Muna is always associated with joyous occasions, and to indicate that the presence of the flute players was perfectly normal then (such people were often hired musicians) the explanatory note in brackets was added.”

in Kankanaey it is translated as “nose-fluters” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation), in Tagbanwa as “players of stringed-instruments” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation), and in Tenango Otomi as “musicians” (source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation).

See also flute (Jeremiah 48:36) and flute.

he loved them to the end

The Greek that is translated as “he loved them to the end” or similar in English is translated as “there wasn’t any limit to his love” in Tenango Otomi. (Source: John Beekman in Notes on Translation 12, November 1964, p. 1ff.)

Peace be with you

The Greek that is typically translated as “Peace be with you” in English is translated in Ojitlán Chinantec as “Have peaceful happy hearts,” in Huehuetla Tepehua as “Don’t be sad in your hearts,” in Aguaruna as “Be content,” in Shipibo-Conibo as “Think very good,” in Isthmus Mixe as “Don’t worry,” and in Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac as “May it go well with you.” (Source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)

In Uma it is “Goodness come to you,” in Yakan it is “May there be peace in your liver,” in Tagbanwa “Protection of your inner-being will now be yours” (source: Uma, Yakan, and Tagbanwa Back Translation respectively), and in Mairasi “Good Peace be to you guys!” (source: Enggavoter 2004).

See also be cheered.

does not dwell in houses made with hands

The Greek that is translated as “does not dwell in houses made with hands” in English is translated in does not dwell in Palantla Chinantec as “it isn’t as though men are capable of building a house where he will live,” in Tenango Otomi as “doesn’t reside in churches made by people,” in Lalana Chinantec as “it isn’t a house that people made where God lives. He lives up in heaven,” in Morelos Nahuatl as “does not really live in churches that we made with our hands,” and in Teutila Cuicatec as “it is not necessary for God….to live inside churches that people build.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

See also dwell (Japanese honorifics) and dwell.

if God is for us

The Greek that is translated as “if God is for us” in English is translated as

  • “if God is in fellowship with us” in Chicahuaxtla Triqui
  • “if God does not abandon us” in Miahuatlán Zapotec
  • “if God is united with us” in Yatzachi Zapotec
  • “God is the one who helps us” in Huehuetla Tepehua
  • “God himself loves us” in Teutila Cuicatec
  • “if God is in our favor” in Isthmus Zapotec
  • “if God is our helper” in Highland Totonac (source for this above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • “if God is ours” in Kupsabiny (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • “if God is on our side” in Low German translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006
  • “we can say that God is really defending us” in Hiligaynon (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • “now we are friends with God” in Tenango Otomi (source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
  • “if Above-One is the One who guards us” in Mairasi (source: Enggavoter 2004)

virtue / excellence

The Greek that is typically translated as “virtue” or “excellence” in English is translated in other languages in the following ways:

  • Kupsabiny: “good behavior” (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “good behaviors” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Mairasi “improved lives/behavior” / “good life” (Enggavoter 2004)
  • Uma: “good character” (source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “good works” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “really good nature/ways” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “earnestly live good” (source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
  • Hausa: “character of goodness” (Hausa Common Language Back Translation)
  • Mandarin Chinese: déxíng 德行 or “moral behavior” (Protestant) / yìlì 毅力 or “willpower” (Catholic)
  • English EasyEnglish Bible (publ. 2018): “try to do what is good”
  • Low German translation by Johannes Jessen (publ. 1937, republ. 2008): “stand your ground as a Christian”
  • Pennsylvania Dutch: goot layva or “good life”

untie sandals

The Greek that is translated as “(not worthy to) untie sandals” or similar in English is translated in various ways:

  • Awa: “because he is an important one, when he speaks I will be silent”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “I am not worthy to be his servant”
  • Alekano: “if unworthy I should even carry his burden, it would not be right”
  • Tenango Otomi: “I don’t compare with him” (source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
  • Ayutla Mixtec: “I am too unworthy to perform even the lowliest of tasks for him” (“to avoid the wrong meaning of playing a trick by tying the sandals”)
  • Choapan Zapotec “I am not even important to carry his pack” (source for this and one above: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • Mairasi: “loosening the strap of His foot thing as His slave would do” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Bariai: “untie the string of his shoe, because he surpasses me very much” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “He is greater than I. I don’t compare with him.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
  • In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with auf Knien die Riemen seiner Sandalen zu lösen or “to loosen the straps of his sandals on my knees.”

    See also sandal (illustration)

the light

The Greek that is translated in English as “the light” is translated in John 1:8 in Alekano as “the father of light,” in Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac as “the true light,” and in Tenango Otomi as “that one who opens the hearts of the people.”

Matt Taylor (in The PNG Experience ) describes the process of finding the correct term for the presently prepared Nukna translation of John:

“We’ve been working on the Nukna translation of the book of John, and recently came to Jesus’ famous statement in John 8:12, ‘I am the light of the world.’ As we discussed how to best translate this metaphor, we realized that there was a problem. There is a Nukna word for light — yam — but it’s not possible to say just yam by itself. Light always has a source, and grammatically that source must be included, either by mentioning the actual source or by using a possessive pronoun — ‘its light,’ ‘their light,’ etc. It would be ungrammatical to just say ‘light.’ ( This grammatical feature is known as ‘inalienable possession.’) To literally translate ‘I am the light of the world’ into Nukna would lead to an unacceptable Nukna sentence.

“One idea we’ve had is to use a common source of light that the Nukna people are familiar with: the bamboo torch. The Nukna people live in a remote area without electricity. To see at night, they often light up a species of bamboo named kup. Kup burns with a blazing brightness, and a long piece can be held as a torch, enabling a person to walk at night around the otherwise pitch black village. So in Nukna, Jesus’ words would read, ‘I am like a bamboo torch [kup] that shines its light to the world.’

“Our translation team needs to do further testing to see if this figure of speech is communicating accurately and powerfully. Please pray for us, that God would guide us as we seek to communicate this concept, as well as many others, into the Nukna language in a dynamic and life-changing way. ‘It’s like the light of a bamboo torch shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.’ (John 1:5).”

Likewise, Mungaka also uses “torch” (source: Nama 1990).

See also torch and the light (John 3:19).