Language-specific Insights

making implicit plural form explicit (Exodus 37:1)

In many, if not most of the languages in the Philippines, proper nouns, such as personal names, are tagged with a marker that signals their grammatical role within a sentence. For Tagalog and the Visayan languages , this typically includes si to mark the proper noun as the actor or subject (nominative case), ni to mark the proper noun as an owner (genitive case), and kay to mark the proper noun as as an indirect object, i.e. the one to or toward whom an action is directed (dative case). All of these also have plural forms — sina, nina and kina respectively — and unlike in the biblical languages or in English, the plural form has to be used when only a single proper name is mentioned but implicitly that proper name includes more than just one.

In this verse, where English translates “Bezalel (made the ark),” the Tagalog translation translates “nina Bezalel” because the context of the text makes clear that Bezalel did not work on the ark by himself (see Exodus 36:2). (Source: Kermit Titrud and Steve Quakenbush)

eternal life

The Greek that is translated in English as “eternal life” is translated in various ways:

Lloyd Peckham explains the Mairasi translation: “In secret stories, not knowable to women nor children, there was a magical fruit of life. If referred to vaguely, without specifying the specific ‘fruit,’ it can be an expression for eternity.”

See also eternity / forever and salvation.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Eternal Life in John .

gentle and quiet spirit

The phrase that is translated in some English versions with “gentle and quiet in spirit” was translated into Kahua with the idiom that verbatim says “be beautiful in your belly.” (Source: Daniel Clark)

In the Tagalog and Indonesian Common Language Translations it is translated as “gentle character” (source: Daniel Arichea in The Bible Translator 1983, p. 209ff. )

In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated as “the gentle and peaceful Holy Spirit.”

See also gentleness and spirit of gentleness.

Samson's riddle

Samson’s riddle in the form of a Hebrew poem is translated in the Tagalog Magandang Balita Biblia (rev. 2005) into a form of a traditional Tagalog riddle of two lines with internal rhymes (-kain and –kain; –kas and –bas) and an (almost) identical number of syllables (6+7, 7+7):

Mula sa kumakain ay lumabas ang pagkain;
at mula sa malakas, matamis ay lumabas.

It back-translates as:

“From the eater came out the food;
and from the strong, sweet came out”

(Source: Louis Dorn in The Bible Translator 1994, p. 301ff. )

Similarly, in the English Contemporary English Version (publ. 1995) a translation is used that mimics the style of English riddles:

Once so strong and mighty–
now so sweet and tasty!

(Source: Ogden / Zogbo 2019)

making implicit plural form explicit (Acts 15:41)

In many, if not most of the languages in the Philippines, proper nouns, such as personal names, are tagged with a marker that signals their grammatical role within a sentence. For Tagalog and the Visayan languages , this typically includes si to mark the proper noun as the actor or subject (nominative case), ni to mark the proper noun as an owner (genitive case), and kay to mark the proper noun as as an indirect object, i.e. the one to or toward whom an action is directed (dative case). All of these also have plural forms — sina, nina and kina respectively — and unlike in the biblical languages or in English, the plural form has to be used when only a single proper name is mentioned but implicitly that proper name includes more than just one.

In this verse, where English translates “he (went through),” the Tagalog translation translates “sina Pablo” because the context of the text makes clear that Paul was with Barnabas. (Source: Kermit Titrud and Steve Quakenbush)

making implicit plural form explicit (Exodus 17:13)

In many, if not most of the languages in the Philippines, proper nouns, such as personal names, are tagged with a marker that signals their grammatical role within a sentence. For Tagalog and the Visayan languages , this typically includes si to mark the proper noun as the actor or subject (nominative case), ni to mark the proper noun as an owner (genitive case), and kay to mark the proper noun as as an indirect object, i.e. the one to or toward whom an action is directed (dative case). All of these also have plural forms — sina, nina and kina respectively — and unlike in the biblical languages or in English, the plural form has to be used when only a single proper name is mentioned but implicitly that proper name includes more than just one.

In this verse, where English translates “Joshua (defeated),” the Tagalog translation translates “nina Josue” because the context of the text makes clear that Joshua and his men defeated Amalek and his people. (Source: Kermit Titrud and Steve Quakenbush)

making implicit plural form explicit (Luke 18:35)

In many, if not most of the languages in the Philippines, proper nouns, such as personal names, are tagged with a marker that signals their grammatical role within a sentence. For Tagalog and the Visayan languages , this typically includes si to mark the proper noun as the actor or subject (nominative case), ni to mark the proper noun as an owner (genitive case), and kay to mark the proper noun as as an indirect object, i.e. the one to or toward whom an action is directed (dative case). All of these also have plural forms — sina, nina and kina respectively — and unlike in the biblical languages or in English, the plural form has to be used when only a single proper name is mentioned but implicitly that proper name includes more than just one.

In this verse, where English translates “he (approached),” the Tagalog translation translates “sina Jesus” because the context of the text makes clear that Jesus approached together with his disciples. (Source: Kermit Titrud and Steve Quakenbush)