The Greek that is translated as “serve” in English is translated in Quetzaltepec Mixe as “obey.”
mistreat and stone
The Greek that is translated into English as “mistreat them and stone them” or something similar is is translated in Quetzaltepec Mixe with the existing idiomatic expression “whip and stone.”
on a cushion
The Greek that is translated as “on a cushion” in English had to be more specific in Quetzaltepec Mixe and is translated as “with his head on the cushion.”
“Cushion” is translated in Acoli as laten-wic and in Lango as aten wic, both meaning “head support” or “pillow.” (Source: Mildred Brown in The Bible Translator 1960, p. 31ff.)
established, instituted, put in place
The Greek that is translated as “instituted (or: put in place, established) by God” is translated in Quetzaltepec Mixe as “permitted by God” (since to say that God placed them there would mean he is in favor of whatever they do, no matter how unjust.)
spit and touched
The Greek that is translated as “(then he) spit and touched” is translated in Quetzaltepec Mixe in (linguistically required) greater detail as “Jesus spit on his own fingers and then put his fingers on the eyes of the blind man (or: the tongue of the mute man).”
old (commandment)
The Greek that is translated as “old (commandment)” in English is translated in Quetzaltepec Mixe as “this is not the first time this commandment has been told to you…” because “old” has the connotation of “obsolete.”
scold
The Greek that is often translated as “scolded her” in English is translated in Quetzaltepec Mixe as “scolded her directly to her face.”
blindfold
The Greek that is translated as “blindfold” in English cannot be translated in some languages without specifying the object that the blindfolding is done with. In Quetzaltepec Mixe it says “blindfold him with a cloth.”
bind (him)
The Greek that is translated as “bind” or “bound” in English cannot be translated in some languages without specifying what is bound. In Quetzaltepec Mixe it says “bound him by the hands.”
swear (promise)
The Hebrew that is translated as “swear” in English versions has been rendered in Quetzaltepec Mixe as “promise me using the name of God.”
what each should take
The Greek that is typically translated as “what each should take” is translated in Quetzaltepec Mixe as “what each one that won would take” (assuming there were more soldiers than garments).
God's anger, wrath of God
What is translated into English as “the wrath of God” (Good News Translation: “God’s anger”) has to be referred to in Bengali as judgment, punishment or whatever fits the context. In Bengali culture, anger is by definition bad and can never be predicated of God. (Source: David Clark)
In Kikuyu the whole phrase that is translated in English as “storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath” or similar is translated as “you are increasing for yourself God’s wrath.” (Source: Jan Sterk)
In Quetzaltepec Mixe it is translated with a term “that not only expresses anger, but also punishment.” (Source: Robert Bascom)
See also anger.