The Greek in 1 Peter 3:2 that is translated in English as “pure conduct” (or “chaste behavior”) is translated in Balanta-Kentohe as “good walk” (source: Rob Koops), in Ojitlán Chinantec as “and will not think evil in their hearts,” in Sayula Popoluca as “walk clean,” in Tenango Otomi as “guard their hearts,” an in Isthmus Mixe as “not walk evilly” (source: John Beekman & Harwood Hess in Notes on Translation, March 1963, p. 1ff.)
The standalone term that is translated as “pure” is translated in Mezquital Otomi as “that which cleanses one’s thoughts,” and in Alekano as “making our insides white.” (Source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation July, 1967, p. 5ff.).
See also snow (color).
The Greek in Romans 12:2 that is translated in English as some form of “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind” is translated into Bilua as “you must not follow this generation’s behavior, but you must allow God in your heart that he make you new in your life and thinking.”
The first part of this phrase (“(don’t be) conformed to this world”) is translated as “live doing as other people do who live here in the world” in Central Tarahumara, as “do like mankind does, people who are here on the earth” in Yatzachi Zapotec, as “do like people in this sinful world” in Chicahuaxtla Triqui, and “the life of those who walk in sin” in Mezquital Otomi.
The second part (“be transformed by the renewal of your mind”) is translated as “let the way you think become new and changed” in Chicahuaxtla Triqui, as “change so that what you think may become new” in Sayula Popoluca, as “let God change your head-hearts in order that your thoughts will he changed” in Yatzachi Zapotec, as “be different since the Holy Spirit has made your mind new” in Huehuetla Tepehua, and as “in a different way think well” in Central Tarahumara. (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
The Greek that is typically translated as “show every courtesy to everyone” in English is translated in various ways:
- Sayula Popoluca: “they should walk humbly with all men”
- Tenango Otomi: “and to be seen to be humble before people”
- Isthmus Mixe: “let them respect the people anyone”
- Ojitlán Chinantec: “and their hearts big to all people”(source for this and three above: John Beekman & Harwood Hess in Notes on Translation, March 1963, p. 1ff.)
The Greek that is translated as “perverted” in English is translated in Sayula Popoluca as “has turned off the right road,” in Tabasco Chontal as “one’s mind is torn apart,” in Isthmus Mixe as “are lost,” and in Tenango Otomi as “have lost hearts.” (Source for this and three above: John Beekman & Harwood Hess in Notes on Translation, March 1963, p. 1ff.)
See also perversion / depravity.
The Greek that is translated as “despise” in English is translated as
The Greek that is translated as “to the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure” in English is translated in Sayula Popolucaas “but nothing is clean to those who think evil and who don’t believe,” in Tabasco Chontal as “those whose hearts are not washed and those who don’t believe, nothing falls good to their minds that God made,” and in Ojitlán Chinantec but everything is evil to those who have become contaminated, unbelieving.” (Source: John Beekman & Harwood Hess in Notes on Translation, March 1963, p. 1ff.)
The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “swear (an oath)” or “vow” in English is otherwise translated as:
- “God sees me, I tell the truth to you” (Tzeltal)
- “loading yourself down” (Huichol)
- “speak-stay” (implying permanence of the utterance) (Sayula Popoluca)
- “say what could not be taken away” (San Blas Kuna)
- “because of the tight (i.e. ‘binding’) word said to a face” (Guerrero Amuzgo)
- “strong promise” (North Alaskan Inupiatun) (source for all above: Bratcher / Nida)
- “eat an oath” (Nyamwezi) (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
- “drink an oath” (Jju) (source: McKinney 2018, p. 31).
- “cut taboos” (Mairasi (source: Enggavoter 2004)
- “putting one’s hand up to someone” (Cherokee) (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 16)
- “give one’s mouth” (Chuj)
- “tell as serious truth” (Central Pame (source for this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
In Bauzi “swear” can be translated in various ways. In Hebrews 6:13, for instance, it is translated with “bones break apart and decisively speak.” (“No bones are literally broken but by saying ‘break bones’ it is like people swear by someone else in this case it is in relation to a rotting corpse’ bones falling apart. If you ‘break bones’ so to speak when you make an utterance, it is a true utterance.”) In other passages, such as in Matthew 26:72, it’s translated with an expression that implies taking ashes (“if a person wants everyone to know that he is telling the truth about a matter, he reaches down into the fireplace, scoops up some ashes and throws them while saying ‘I was not the one who did that.'”). So in Matthew 26:72 the Bauzi text is: “. . . Peter took ashes and defended himself saying, ‘I don’t know that Nazareth person.'” (Source: David Briley)
See also swear / vow (by God), swear (promise), and Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’, or ‘No, No’.
The Greek in Romans 1:4 that is translated as “(he was) declared to be Son of God with power” or similar is translated into various languages as:
- Tzeltal: “by means of God’s power it was made evident that (Jesus) is the Son of God
- Sayula Popoluca: “God said that he is his Son and that he has strength”
- Hopi: “Thus God showed to the people that he was his Son, (Jesus) having received power from the Holy Spirit”
- Yatzachi Zapotec: “Shows that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that Jesus Christ is powerful”
(Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
