Berger, Klaus & Christiane Nord (translators and commentators). Das Neue Testament und frühchristliche Schriften: Vollständige Sammlung aller ältesten Schriften des Urchristentums. Frankfurt: Insel, 1999.
Translation approach: functional translation approach
Translation by committee or single individual: team of one New Testament theologian (Klaus Berger) and one translation scholar (Christiane Nord)
Dates of publication: 1999
Publisher: Insel Verlag, Frankfurt
Translator statement: Christiane Nord, Functions in Bible Translation (Part 1 of 3)
The Greek that is usually translated as “the sun’s light failed (or: darkened)” in English is translated by the predominant US Catholic English New American Bible (1970, 1986) as eclipse of the sun. (Source: Jost Zetzsche)
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated idiomatically with die Sonne versagte ihren Dienst or “the sun refused to be of service.”
The Greek that is translated in English with “remove the roof” is translated into Avaric with an existing term: t’ox bichize. “Demolishing a roof in order to reach the interior of a house is an entirely familiar action, used, for example, in assaults on strongholds and fortified buildings in wartime; there is even a special phrase for this in Avaric (t’ox bichize).” (Source: Magomed-Kamil Gimbatov and Yakov Testelets in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 434ff. .
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated with the professional term Dach abdecken or “unroof.” In Luke 5:19, the Greek text only implies the removing of the roof but Berger / Nord add deckten einige Ziegel ab or “remove some roof tiles” for clarification.
See also Mark 2:1-12 in Russian Sign Language.
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Is there precedent for coming in through the roof in Mark 2:1-12 .
The Greek that is translated as “angel with a golden censer” or similar in English in Revelation 8:3 is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) as ein Engel füllte Feuerbrand in sein goldenes Räucherfass or “an angel filled fire into his golden censer.”
In Revelation 8:5, what is translated in English as “the angel took the censer and filled it with fire” is translated as der Engel nahm das leergebrannte Räucherfass [und] füllte es erneut mit Feuerbrand or “the angel took the burnt-out censer and filled it once again with fire.”
The translators are attempting to close a logical gap in the text (i.e., there can only be smoke in Revelation 8:3 if there is fire in the censer).
The Greek that is translated as “cross” or similar in English when metaphorically or actually referring to what needed to be carried to the place of crucifixion is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) as Querbalken des Kreuzes or “crossbar of the cross.” Berger/Nord (p. 432) explain: “The cross consisted of a vertical pole that was tightly anchored in the ground, on which a crossbar had to be fastened. The crossbar had to be carried to the place of execution by the delinquents themselves.”
See also cross and take up their cross.
The Greek in 1 Peter 1:12 that is translated as “into which angels long to look” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) as “even the angels lean forward from heaven with great longing to catch a glimpse of it.”
The Greek that is translated as “tomb” in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) as Felsengrab or ” tomb hewn out of rock” at every first mention in each of the gospels.
The Greek that is often translated in English as “the Way,” referring to the young church in Acts, is translated in a number of ways:
In the Mandarin Chinese Union Version, the most commonly used Protestant Chinese Bible, it is translated as zhèdào (这道) or “this way.” Note that dào (道) or “way” is the same word that is also used for Logos (usually “Word” in English) in John 1:1 and elsewhere (see Word / Logos).
The Greek in John 20:11 that is translated as “As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) as (Maria) weinte bitterlich, von Kummer und Schmerz gebeugt or “(Mary) cried bitterly, bent over with grief and pain.”
Berger/Nord (p. 24) explain: “The open question with [the traditional] translations is why a woman who cries suddenly bends over so that she can see through the low-set opening of the tomb, deep into the interior of the tomb where the two angels sit. We know that the bent back was part of the mourning ritual of antique Judaism and therefore [the translation above] makes the connection between the mourning and seeing the angels anatomically understandable.”