Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 2:11:
Uma: “For God does not discriminate [lit., look-at the face/appearance of people].” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Because God does not treat differently human beings; they are all the same in his sight no matter what his tribe is.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “for God, He does not show favorites to anybody.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Because there is no person whom God will favor in his judging of them.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Because God will judge each and every person very well.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Teutila Cuicatec: “That’s how it will be because God judges the same for all.” (Source for this and three above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 2:15:
Uma: “From that behavior of theirs we clearly know that there are commands from the Lord’s Law written in their heart. From their thinking also we know that there are laws in their heart, for they say in their hearts: ‘That action is wrong,’ or they say: ‘That action is good.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “It is seen by their deeds that they know in their livers as to what is said in the law of Musa. They know in their minds whether their deeds are good or bad. Sometimes they think that their deeds are bad and sometimes also they think that their deeds are good.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “By means of their good works, we can tell that their breath teaches them what is commanded by the Law. They know in their minds what is good and what is bad to do. For there are times when they say that their behavior is good, and times when they say that it’s bad.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Thus they show by what they do that the commands of the law are stored/put-away in their minds. Their minds also confirm that that is true, because their minds are the very-thing that tells them whether what they are doing is good or bad.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “By how they live it is apparent that they know in their thoughts the good which the law says to do. They know whether it is good or not good what they do.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Central Mazahua: “Those who aren’t Jews, when they do good, it is seen that they know in their hearts what the law says. They know in their hearts when they do good, when they do bad. Their thoughts, sometimes they think, Why did I do bad? Sometimes they know that they did good.”
Hopi: “For he who walks that way shows that he has a law in his heart. And he knows quickly when he has sinned. And he knows when he has done right.”
Isthmus Zapotec: “In this way they show they already have the law in their hearts. All by themselves they realize what is right and their minds make them understand if they are erring or if they are doing right.”
Central Tarahumara: “And they thus show that they obey well a commandment which is written like there in their hearts. And they know well in their own hearts that they are thus ordered, because they are accused by their own thoughts when they do evil. And they are not thus accused when they do good.” (Source for this and two above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 6:14:
Uma: “For as for us, we are no longer controlled by sin. For we are no longer bound/tied to the Lord’ Law. Now we hope in the grace [lit., white insides] of God.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “You (pl.) ought/must not be defeated by your sin, because God helps you because of his love and pity/mercy to you and the law has no longer authority over you.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “For it is no longer necessary that that which controls us are evil desires, because we are no longer trusting in obedience to the Law but rather, we are trusting the help and the favor of God to us.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Because (reassurance particle) sin will not again rule us, because now, the basis of our salvation is not our obedience to the law but rather God’s grace.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Concerning the sin which grabbed our hearts to rule us, now no longer will it rule us. The law which judged concerning our sins now no longer judges us. Because God by his grace saved us.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “Because it is not necessary that you do sin any more because the word of the law no longer orders you about, rather the word of favor orders you about.”
Central Tarahumara: “And evil deeds shall no longer have power over you, because you are no longer commanded like Moses’s writing commanded you. Only God lovingly commands you.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 7:15:
Uma: “I don’t understand the value/use of this character of mine. The good behavior that I want to do, I don’t end up doing. Behavior that I hate, that’s what I end up doing!” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “I don’t really understand my behavior. Because the good which I want to do I do not do. But that is what I do, the bad which I do not want/like/desire.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And I don’t understand why I do things like this, because the good which I want to do, I can’t do. And the bad things that really disgust me, that’s what I do.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “I am surprised at what I do, because what I want to do, that’s what I don’t do, and at-the-same-time what I don’t-want to do, that’s what I am doing.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “I do not understand how it is what I did, in that concerning the good I wanted to do, I didn’t do it. That which I didn’t look well upon is just what I did.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Yatzachi Zapotec: “I do not do what I want to do. Instead, what I do not want to do is what I do. I am not aware of why I do that way.”
Central Tarahumara: “And I do not know why I do thus, because I do not do good as I desire to do good. I only do the kinds of deeds that I hate very much.”
Huehuetla Tepehua: “In my life I don’t understand what I do. The good that I want to do, that is not what I do. Rather, I do that which I detest.” (Source for this and two above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 10:11:
Uma: “In the Holy Book is written like this: ‘All people who believe in him will not be-made-to-fall.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “The holy-book says, ‘Everyone who believes him will really, really not regret (it).'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “For there is a written word of God which says, ‘Anyone who trusts him, where he ends up will be very good.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Because there is that which God caused-to-be-written which says, ‘All those who believe in him, they will have absolutely no cause-for-regret.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “There in the Holy Book is written the word which says: ‘Everyone who believes in him never will have reason to say that it was bad for him to believe.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Highland Totonac: “For the writings, they say it: All who believe in him will not be sorry for it afterward.”
Central Tarahumara: “And then there in the writing of God’s word this is written thus: No one shall be made ashamed whoever believed well on the Lord.” (Source for this and above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
The Greek that is translated as “Son of Man” is mostly used by Jesus to refer to himself as well as in the prophecies of Daniel and Enoch (see Enoch 17:34 et al). It is translated in the following languages as (click or tap for details):
Tzotzil: “I who am equal with men” or “The Older Brother of Everybody” (“expressing the dignity and authority of the Messiah and the universality of his work”)
Tenango Otomi: “The Man Appointed” (i.e. the man to whom authority has been delegated) (source for this and preceding: Beekman, p. 189-190, see also Ralph Hill in Notes on Translation February 1983, p. 35-50)
Aguaruna: “One who was born becoming a person” (source for this and two above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Older Sibling of Mankind” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Child of a Person” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “One From Heaven Born of Man/human?” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Man who came from heaven” (source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Yatzachi Zapotec: “One who God sent, who was born a human” (a direct translation would have suggested “that the father is unknown due to the indiscretions of the mother” and where “he is the son of people” is used when one wants to disclaim responsibility for or relationship with a child caught in some mischief — source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Kâte: Ŋic Fâri Wâtuŋne or “the man who is a true support” (source: Renck, p. 106)
Mezquital Otomi: “The son who became a person” (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
Alekano: “The true man who descended from heaven” (source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation June 1986, p. 36ff.)
Central Tarahumara: “One who has been stood up to help” (“This suggests that Christ has been given authority to some appointed task. A very generic word, help, was selected to fill in the lexically obligatory purpose required by the word which means to appoint or commission. Usually this word is used of menial tasks but not exclusively. The choice of this generic term retains the veiled reference to the character of Christ’s work which He intended in using the ‘Son of Man’ title.”)
Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “He who is relative of all people.” (“The Triqui word for relative is a rather generic term and in its extended sense sometimes is diluted to neighbor and friend. But the primary meaning is relative.”)
Tepeuxila Cuicatec: “The Person who Accompanies All People” (“The literal equivalents ‘son of man’ and ‘son of people’ were both rejected because of the false inference of natural birth involving a human father. Furthermore, it was necessary to expand any translation of the Bible by the addition of the pronoun ‘I’ so as to clarify the fact that Jesus is using the third person in referring to Himself. A common expression used by the Cuicatecos when difficulties befall someone, is to say to that one, ‘don’t worry, we are accompanying you.’ By this they mean they share that person’s sorrow. When wedding guests arrive at the home of a son who has just been married, they say to the father, ‘We have come to accompany you.’ By this they mean that they have come to share the father’s joy. These expressions do not refer to ordinary physical accompaniment, which is expressed by a set of different verbs. For example, visits are always announced by some such greeting as, “I have come to visit you,’ ‘I have come to see you,’ or ‘I have come to ask you something.’ The desire to accompany a friend on a journey is expressed by saying, ‘I will go with you.’ Translation helpers used the verb ‘accompany’ in constructing the phrase ‘I, the Person who Accompanies All People.'(…) It reflects the fact that Jesus closely identified Himself with all of us, understands our weaknesses, shares our burdens, rejoices with us in times of gladness, etc.”) (source for this and the three preceding: Beekman in Notes on Translation January 1963, p. 1-10)
Guhu-Samane: “Elder-brother-man” (“Since the term denotes an elder brother in every way such as honor, power, leadership, representation of the younger, etc. it is a meaningful and fitting — though not ostentatious — title.” Source: Ernest Richert in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 198ff. )
Navajo (Dinė): Diné Silíi’ii — “Man he-became-the-one-who” (“This terra presented a difficulty not only in Navajo but also one peculiar to all the Athapaskan languages. It lies in the fact that all these languages, so far as we know, have a word phonetically similar to the Navajo diné which has three meanings: ‘man, people in general,’ ‘a man,’ ‘The People’ which is the name the Navajos use for themselves. (The name Navajo was first used by the Spanish explorers.) Although it seemed natural to say diné biye’ ‘a-man his-son,’ this could also mean ‘The-People their-son’ or ‘a-Navajo his-son,’ in contrast to the son of a white man or of another Indian tribe. Since the concept of the humanity of Christ is so important, we felt that diné biye’ with its three possible meanings should not be used. The term finally decided on was Diné Silíi’ii ‘Man he-became-the-one-who.’ This could be interpreted to mean ‘the one who became a Navajo,’ but since it still would impart the idea of Christ’s becoming man, it was deemed adequate, and it has proven acceptable to the Navajos.”) (Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )
Toraja-Sa’dan: “Child descended in the world” (“using a poetic verb, often found in songs that [deal with] the contacts between heaven and earth”) (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Obolo: Gwun̄ Ebilene: “Child of Human” (source: Enene Enene).
Mairasi: Jaanoug Tat: “Person Child” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Costa Rican Sign Language: “It was impossible to translate the expression ‘Son of Man.’ The son-man sign simply means ‘male child.’ The Costa Rican Sign Language (LESCO) team opted for an interpretation of the term and translated it ‘Jesus.'” (Source: Elsa Tamez (in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 59ff. )
Lokạạ: wẹẹn wạ ọnẹn or “son of a person.” “This translation is symbolic in that it uses indigenous Lokạạ words. However, since the publication of the New Testament in 2006, this phrase has gained popularity within contemporary Lokạạ society as an expression to describe an important person whose career is going well. In the New Testament, the phrase ‘son of man’ is used to describe Jesus as prototypically human, but the Lokạạ phrase is now being used to describe an exceptional person in Lokạạ society.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
In many West African languages, using a third person reference as a first person indicator is common practice with a large range of semantic effects. Languages that use the exact expression “son of man” as a self-reference or reference to another person include Lukpa, Baatonum, Mossi (“son of Adam”), Yoruba (“son of person”), Guiberoua Béte, or Samo. (Source: Lynell Zogbo in: Omanson 2000, p. 167-188.)
In Swahili the expression Mwana wa Mtu or mwana wa mtu or “son/daughter of human person,” which is used by several Bible translations, also has “the idiomatic meaning of ‘a human being’” (source: Jean-Claude Loba-Mkole in An Intercultural Criticism of New Testament Translations 2013, see here). The same is true for the Lingala expression Mwana na Moto — “son/daughter of human person.” (Ibid.)
In Balinese “we are again bordering on theological questions when we inquire as to which vocabulary shall be used to translate the texts where Jesus speaks of himself as ‘the Son of man.’ One of the fixed rules governing the use of these special vocabularies is that one may never use the deferential terms in speaking of oneself. This would be the extreme of arrogance. Now if one considers the expression ‘Son of man’ primarily as a description of ‘I,’ then one must continually indicate the possessions or actions of the Son of man by Low Balinese words. In doing this the mystery of the expression is largely lost. In any case the vocabulary used in most of the contexts would betray that Jesus means the title for himself.
“However, a distinction can actually be made in Balinese between the person and the exalted position he occupies. For example, the chairman of a judicial body may employ deferential terms when referring to this body and its chairman, without this being taken as an expression of arrogance. Considered from this standpoint, one may translate in such a way that Jesus is understood as using such deferential words and phrases in speaking of himself. The danger is, however, that the unity between his person and the figure of “the Son of man” is blurred by such usage.
“On request, the New Testament committee of the Netherlands Bible Society advised that ‘the sublimity of this mysterious term be considered the most important point and thus High Balinese be used.'”
“One of the first things that we did in working through the earlier part of the New Testament was to decide on how we would translate some of the more difficult technical terms. It was immediately obvious that something must be done with the translation of ‘the Son of Man,’ since the literal rendering anak manusia (literally ‘child of a man’) held absolutely no meaning for Malay readers. We felt that the title should emphasize the divine origin and authority of the one who used this title, and at the same time, since it was a title, we decided that it should not be too long a phrase. Finally, a phrase meaning ‘the One whom God has ordained’ was chosen (yang dilantik Allah). It is interesting to note that the newly-begun Common Indonesian (Alkitab Kabar Baik, published in 1985) has followed a similar route by translating ‘the One whom God has chosen’ (yang depilih Allah).”
Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 14:12:
Uma: “So, every one of us must answer God’s questions about our behavior.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “So-then all of us (incl.) ought/must tell to God about what we (incl.) have done here in the world.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And at that time, we (incl.) will have to be before God and He will check up on us and we will have to tell Him about everything that we did here on the earth.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Therefore God is the one each one of us will face so that we will tell him what we have done.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Therefore at that time each one of us will give account to God concerning how we have lived.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Huehuetla Tepehua: “Each of us will really tell God what we have done here in this world.”
Central Tarahumara: “Thus it is very sure that each one of us will confess to God how we ourselves have done.”
Isthmus Zapotec: “That is the way it is: God is the one to show the deeds of each one.”
Teutila Cuicatec: “Because of this we knew that God will have to judge each one of us.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
“beg” or “ask,” (full expression: “ask with one’s heart coming out,” which leaves out selfish praying, for asking with the heart out leaves no place for self to hide) (Tzotzil)
“raise up one’s words to God” (implying an element of worship, as well as communication) (Miskito, Lacandon) (source of this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
“speak to God” (Shilluk) (source: Nida 1964, p. 237)
“talk together with Great Above One (=God)” (Mairasi) (source: Enggavoter, 2004)
“beg” (waan) (Ik). Terrill Schrock (in Wycliffe Bible Translators 2016, p. 93) explains (click or tap here to read more):
What do begging and praying have to do with each other? Do you beg when you pray? Do I?
“The Ik word for ‘visitor’ is waanam, which means ‘begging person.’ Do you beg when you go visiting? The Ik do. Maybe you don’t beg, but maybe when you visit someone, you are looking for something. Maybe it’s just a listening ear.
When the Ik hear that [my wife] Amber and I are planning trip to this or that place for a certain amount of time, the letters and lists start coming. As the days dwindle before our departure, the little stack of guests grows. ‘Please, sir, remember me for the allowing: shoes, jacket (rainproof), watch, box, trousers, pens, and money for the children. Thank you, sir, for your assistance.’
“A few people come by just to greet us or spend bit of time with us. Another precious few will occasionally confide in us about their problems without asking for anything more than a listening ear. I love that.
“The other day I was in our spare bedroom praying my list of requests to God — a nice list covering most areas of my life, certainly all the points of anxiety. Then it hit me: Does God want my list, or does he want my relationship?
“I decided to try something. Instead of reading off my list of requests to God, I just talk to him about my issues without any expectation of how he should respond. I make it more about our relationship than my list, because if our personhood is like God’s personhood, then maybe God prefers our confidence and time to our lists, letters, and enumerations.”
In Luang it is translated with different shades of meaning (click or tap here to read more):
For Acts 1:14, 20:36, 21:5: kola ttieru-yawur nehla — “hold the waist and hug the neck.” (“This is the more general term for prayer and often refers to worship in prayer as opposed to petition. The Luang people spend the majority of their prayers worshiping rather than petitioning, which explains why this term often is used generically for prayer.”)
For Acts 28:9: sumbiani — “pray.” (“This term is also used generically for ‘prayer’. When praying is referred to several times in close proximity, it serves as a variation for kola ttieru-yawur nehla, in keeping with Luang discourse style. It is also used when a prayer is made up of many requests.”)
For Acts 8:15, 12:5: polu-waka — “call-ask.” (“This is a term for petition that is used especially when the need is very intense.”)
Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.
