Translation Insights and Perspectives
The Greek that is translated as “the ends of the earth (or: world)” is translated in Bilua as “the bottom of the sky” (= horizon) (source: Carl Gross) and in Western Highland Purepecha as “beyond the horizon” (source: Nida 1947, p. 158).
The Greek that is translated into English as “comfort from love” or “consolation of love” is translated into Navajo as “if by loving your minds can be put to that place of refuge.” (Source: Nida 1964, p. 228)
In Western Highland Purepecha “consolation” in this verse is translated as “God takes sadness from our hearts” and in Aymara as “preparing the heart.” (Source: Nida 1952, p. 131)
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “praise (God)” in English is translated as “make-great” / “make-great the name of” (Tae’), “to speak well of” (Western Highland Purepecha), “lift up the name of” (San Blas Kuna, Kpelle), “to sing the name of” (Huehuetla Tepehua), “to make good” (Highland Totonac), “to say good about” (Tzeltal), or “to make known something good about” (Navajo). (Source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
In Dan a figurative expression for praising God is used: “pushing God’s horse.” “In the distant past people closely followed the horses ridden by chiefs, so ‘pushing’ them.” (Source: Don Slager)
The Hebrew and Greek that are translated as “fear (of God)” (or: “honor,” “worship,” or “respect”) is translated as “to have respect/reverence for” (Southern Subanen, Western Highland Purepecha, Navajo, Javanese, Tboli), “to make great before oneself” (Ngäbere), “fear-devotion” (Kannada — currently used as a description of the life of piety), “those-with-whom he-is-holy” (those who fear God) (Western Apache) (source for this and above: Reiling / Swellengrebel), “obey” (Nyanja) (source: Ernst Wendland), or with a term that communicates awe (rather than fear of an evil source) (Chol) (source: Robert Bascom).
The Greek that is often translated as “honor” in English is translated as “say my name” (Huehuetla Tepehua), “make me great” (Highland Totonac), “good what is said about me” (Tzeltal), “speak well of me” (Western Highland Purepecha), “lift up my name” (San Blas Kuna and Kpelle).
(To view the different translations of this term in a simplified graphical form on a new page, click or tap here.)
The Greek terms that are typically translated as “mercy” (or “compassion”) in English are translated in various ways. Bratcher / Nida classify them in (1) those based on the quality of heart, or other psychological center, (2) those which introduce the concept of weeping or extreme sorrow, (3) those which involve willingness to look upon and recognize the condition of others, or (4) those which involve a variety of intense feelings.
Here are some (back-) translations:
The Greek that is translated as “justify” in English is translated into Tzotzil in two different ways. One of those is with Lec xij’ilatotic yu’un Dios ta sventa ti ta xc’ot ta o’ntonal ta xch’unel ti Jesucristoe (“we are seen well by God because of our faith in Jesus Christ.”) (Source: Aeilts, p. 118)
Other (back-) translations include:
(To view the different translations of this term in a simplified graphical form on a new page, click or tap here.)
The Greek that is often rendered in English as “to be converted” or “to turn around” is (back-) translated in a number of ways:
(To view the different translations of this term in a simplified graphical form on a new page, click or tap here.)
The Greek that is often translated as “disciple” in English typically follows three types of translation: (1) those which employ a verb ‘to learn’ or ‘to be taught’, (2) those which involve an additional factor of following, or accompaniment, often in the sense of apprenticeship, and (3) those which imply imitation of the teacher.
In Luang several terms with different shades of meaning are being used.
Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.
The Greek term that is translated as “apostle(s)” in English is (back-) translated in the following ways: