The Greek in Acts 3:20 that is translated as “times of refreshing” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with Zeit des Aufatmens or “time to breath again freely.”
In Morelos Nahuatl it is translated as “in times of heart-joy,” in Central Pame as “a time when God alone is going to cool you, you will be strengthened,” in Lalana Chinantec as “your hearts will be refreshed as the heart of a person who does work in the hot sun is refreshed when he drinks water,” and in Highland Popoluca as “like the corn is refreshed by rain after drought, so the Lord will refresh you.” (Source for this and above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
The Greek in Acts 21:8 that is translated as “we left and came to” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with wir wanderten nach or “we hiked to.”
The Greek that is translated as “the house” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) as “his house.” Note that Jesus is in Capernaum, his home base, at any of these mentions. (See Capernaum and Capernaum (iterative verbs).
In Matthew 17:25, this translation uses “the shared house” (das gemeinsame Haus).
The English translation of Pakaluk (2025) also uses “his house” in Matthew chapter 13 (verses 1 and 36).
The Greek in 1 John 5:12 that is translated as “whoever has the Son has life” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with wer sich an den Sohn hält, der hat Anteil am Leben or “whoever abides (or: “is lead”) by the Son has a share in life.”
The Greek in Hebrews 7:12 that is translated as “there is necessarily a change in the law as well” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with muss sich zwangsläufig auch die Kultordnung, das Gesetz, ändern or “the order of rites, the law, must also inevitably change.”
The Greek in John 10:9 that is translated in English typically as “I am the door (or: gate)” is translated in Lak as “I am the entrance.”
Vitaly Voinov tells this story:
“Field testing showed that some readers might find it hard to understand how a person could say about themselves that they are a door or gate. What exactly this metaphor means in this context was not well understood and caused what linguists call ‘processing difficulty.’ Even when it was explicated by ‘I am the door/gate for the sheep,’ it still caused problems in understanding. In other languages that have experienced a similar problem with this metaphor, translators have sometimes resorted to turning it into a simile, ‘I am like a door/gate.’ But in the Lak case, this would still leave unanswered the basic question of what the exact point of similarity is between Jesus and a door/gate. After much discussion, the team decided to try a different synonym, ‘I am the entrance.’ Further field testing should show whether this has solved the problem or not.”
Likewise, in Chichewa, “‘door’ is ‘that which shuts in,’ so naturally no one is going to be able to ‘enter by’ it. The solution in this case is not too hard to find: Christ is the ‘doorway,’ or entrance, to the house, building, stockpen, or whatever. When ‘open,’ he allows free passage; when ‘closed,’ one’s entry is barred.” (Source: Wendland 1987, p. 121)
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated as Ich bin das Gatter, using the term that is used for a gate in an animal pen.
The Greek in Acts 21:3 that is translated as “filled with new wine” in English is translated in Elhomwe as evonille ottheka or “drunk,” literally “to be full of beer.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) is is translated with zuviel Süßwein gesoffen or “boozed on too much sweet wine.”
The Greek in John 15:25 that is translated as “word that is written in their law” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) as der Satz aus ihrem Gesetz or “the sentence in their law.”
