The Greek that is usually translated as “scribe” in English “were more than mere writers of the law. They were the trained interpreters of the law and expounders of tradition.”
Tboli: “one who taught the law God before caused Moses to write” (or “one who taught the law of Moses”) (source for this and 5 above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Noongar: Mammarapa-Warrinyang or “law man” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Mairasi: “one who writes and explains Great Above One’s (=God’s) prohibitions” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Chichewa: “teacher of Laws” (source: Ernst Wendland)
Lalana Chinantec: “one who is a teacher of the law which God gave to Moses back then”
Tepeuxila Cuicatec: “one who know well the law” (Source for this and four above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Huixtán Tzotzil: “one who mistakenly thought he was teaching God’s commandments”(Huixtán Tzotzil frequently uses the verb -cuy to express “to mistakenly think something” from the point of view of the speaker; source: Marion M. Cowan in Notes on Translation 20/1966, pp. 6ff.)
Germandas Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022): “theologian” and the 1998 translation by Walter Jens: “interpreter of scriptures” (Schriftausleger)
English translation by Scot McKnight (The Second Testament, publ. 2023): Covenant Code scholar
In British Sign Language it is translated with a sign that combines the signs for “expert” and “law.” (Source: Anna Smith)
“Scribe” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL , used with permission)
The Greek that is translated “revel(ing)” or “orgies” in English is translated as “taking part in fiestas where there is disorderly conduct” in Yatzachi Zapotec, as “run around at night” in Isthmus Zapotec and as “go where they do bad things in fiestas” in Huehuetla Tepehua.
In Jamaican Creole it is translated as “going to wild parties.”
The Greek in John 6:60 that is translated as “difficult teaching” or “hard saying” or alike in English is translated as “speaking that which is unclean” in Aguaruna, “words that hurt” in Umiray Dumaget Agta, “difficult words” in Yatzachi Zapotec, or “perplexing talk” in Alekano. (Source: John Beekman in Notes on Translation 12, November 1964, p. 1ff.)
The English translation by Pakaluk (2021) has offensive language. He4 explains (p. 78f.): Sometimes translated as ‘This is a hard saying,’ but the word rendered ‘hard’ means dry, tough, and rough — thus, by implication, repulsive — and it is not any ‘saying’ that repels them, but the teaching itself.”
The Greek in Romans 1:18 that is translated as “suppress the truth” in English is translated as “will not permit other people to know what is true” in Yatzachi Zapotec as as “very much don’t want to hear the true words of God” in Huehuetla Tepehua. (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
The Greek in James 1:18 that is translated as “first fruits of his creatures” or similar in English is translates in Central Mazahua as “first of his people,” in Yatzachi Zapotec as “the first harvest which they gather to give to God,” or in Rincón Zapotec as “a first harvest of all that which God himself made.”
(Source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation July, 1967, p. 5ff.)
The Greek in Romans 1:21 that is translated as “senseless minds were darkened” or similar in English is translated as “stupid head-hearts became more stupid” in Yatzachi Zapotec, as “little by little their innermost came to sit dark” in Sierra de Juárez Zapotec, and as “now they walk in darkness” in Sayula Popoluca. (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
The Greek terms that are translated as “reconcile” and “reconciliation” in English are translated in various ways. Nida (1952, pp. 140) says this:
“The North Alaskan Inupiatun describe reconciliation in the simple terms of ‘making friends again.’ That is to say, ‘God was in Christ making friends again with the world.’ The Uduk in the Sudan express this same truth, but in the rather interesting phrase ‘meet, snapping fingers together again.’ This expression is derived from the Uduk’s practice of snapping fingers together when they meet each other. Instead of shaking hands, they extend their thumbs and middle fingers and snap fingers together, but only friends will do this. Men who have something against each other refuse to acknowledge each other in this way. And so it is that the natural man is an enemy of God; he refuses to snap fingers with God, but God has come to reconcile man to Himself and through Jesus Christ has brought man into fellowship with Himself. Man and God may now meet ‘to snap fingers together again.’
“The Tai Dam of Indo-China employ quite a different figure of speech. They say that reconciliation consists in ‘rubbing off the corners.’ This does not refer to social acceptability, but to rubbing off the corners so that two objects, meant for each other, will fit together. Man is regarded as being incapable of fitting into the plan and fellowship of God because of the sin which has deformed him and which stands out as an ugly growth on his personality. The corners of iniquity must be rubbed off so that man may be reconciled to God and made to fit into God’s eternal plan for the world.”
The Greek in John 21:15 that is translated as “feed my lambs” in English is translated as “teach my people my words, as if to say you will feed my little sheep” in Ojitlán Chinantec, “teach my word to the men who are like lambs” in Huehuetla Tepehua, “help those who believe in me” in Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac, “teach the people who have just begun to trust in me” in Yatzachi Zapotec and “now do like a shepherd does. Take care of the people who believe in me” in Tenango Otomi.
(Source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
