Language-specific Insights

ponder

The Greek in Luke 2:19 that is translated as “ponder” in English is translated as

  • “continually think-about” in Tboli
  • “turn around in the mind” in Batak Toba
  • “puzzle forth, puzzle back” in Sranan Tongo (source for this and above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • “constantly setting down her visions” in Mairasi (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • “carried all those words in her heart and then sat thinking” in Enga (source: Adam Boyd on his blog )
  • “moved them in her heart” (bewegte sie in ihrem Herzen) in the German Luther translation
  • “tied those words in her stomach” in Kupsabiny (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)

In Low German idiomatically as “let it pass through her heart again and again” (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006).

See also treasured all these things in her heart.

see a vision

The Greek in Luke 1:22 that is translated as “see(n) a vision” in English is sometimes translated generically, such as “to see something” (Sranan Tongo, Tae’), “something is made visible” (Western Apache), or “they knew, what he might have seen” (i.e. they knew that something had been seen but not what) (Shipibo-Conibo).

Elsewhere a specification is added, such as “to see a divine sight” (Kannada, Toraja-Sa’dan), “he had seen something supernatural, which had appeared to him” (Tboli) (source for this and all above: Reiling / Swellengrebel), or “something God showed” in Hiligaynon (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation).

See also vision.

the hand of the Lord was with him

The Greek in Luke 1:66that is often translated as “the hand of the Lord was with him” in English is often rendered by another metaphorical expression, such as “he was sheltered by the hand of the Lord” (Javanese), “the Lord carried him on the palm of his hand” (Toraja-Sa’dan), or “the eye of God was always on him” (Tboli).

is acceptable, is welcome

The Greek in Luke 4:24 that is translated as “is acceptable” or “is welcome” in English is translated as

  • “well received” (Sinhala)
  • “to be considered-good” (Tae’)
  • “to be liked” (Sundanese)
  • “to be cherished” (Chuukese)
  • “to be popular” (Pohnpeian)
  • “to be believed with respect” (Kele)
  • “to be listened to” (Tboli) (Source for this all above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • “is honored” (Uma) (source: Uma Back Translation)
  • “is not treated-according-to-custom” (Yakan) (source: Yakan Back Translation)

distracted by all the preparations

The Greek in Luke 10:40 that is translated as something like “(Martha) was distracted by all the preparations” is translated by other languages as:

  • “all kinds of work to do had gone to Martha’s heart” (Tzeltal)
  • “Martha was wearing-herself-out how/the-way her feeding them” (Tboli)
  • “because much work fell to Martha, her agitation flew/flared-up” (Marathi)
  • “Martha’s mind was stirred up with excess of service” (Zarma)
  • “she danced to and fro in serving” (Uab Meto)
  • “much work overwhelmed Martha” (Sranan Tongo) (source for all above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • “her face kept on getting turned with her work inside the house” (Mairasi) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • “she was alone in the kitchen because she was making food for them, and there were many problems that she had with what she was doing” (Western Bukidnon Manobo) (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • “Marta’s eye was here and there with the doing of tasks” (Bariai) (source: Bariai Back Translation)

betrothed, engaged

The Greek that is translated as “engaged” or “betrothed” in English is translated in Pampanga as “having-been-given-approval” and Tagalog as “having-been-brought-before-the authorities” (both implying a couple which has already applied to the local civil registrar or priest for a license to marry). Tboli uses “braceleted” (a figurative expression for the giving of property for the dowry, an act that finalizes the marriage contract) and Uab Meto has “publicly pledged to marry (lit. “reciprocally-bound”)” (a term indicating that an interchange of gifts as a pledge for marriage has taken place).

fear (of God)

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 (Dinė), 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), “revere God” (Lalana Chinantec), “worship God” (Palantla Chinantec) (source for this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), “obey” (Chichewa) (source: Ernst Wendland), “having/showing respect (for God)” (Makonde) (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext), or with a term that communicates awe (rather than fear of an evil source) (Chol) (source: Robert Bascom).

Bullard / Hatton (2008, p. 8) say the following about this concept: “As the writer of Proverbs states in 1:7, ‘The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.’ (…) ‘The fear of the Lord,’ that is, human fear of God, is an exceptionally difficult concept to express, at least in English. Other languages may have more appropriate terms. The idea probably is rooted in the most ancient days when people were indeed afraid of any deity. But in Israel the concept of fearing God was transformed by God’s revelation into a much fuller idea. Basically, as used in the Bible, the fear of God refers to the proper attitude of reverence and awe before the Holy One. To fear God is to recognize one’s own place as a mere mortal before the Creator, one’s place as a sinner before the Judge, one’s place as a child before the Father, one’s place as the recipient of God’s love. It thus involves submission, repentance, trust, and grateful love toward the One who is fearsome in holiness, in justice, in power that both protects and punishes, and in love. Using the word “fear” is sometimes as good as we can do, but often we will alternate that word with terms like ‘reverence’ or ‘awe.’”

See also fear of the LORD (Isa 11:2) and complete verse (Genesis 22:12) et al.