Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 10:26:
Kupsabiny: “Laziness of a person who drags his feet pains the one who sends him like how smoke disturbs the eyes, or like when bitter fruits are eaten.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Getting lazy people to work is like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “As vinegar can-cause- the teeth -to-set-on-edge and smoke can-cause- the eyes -to-become-bitter, the lazy man can-cause-vexation to the one who commands him.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “The lazy-one in the viewpoint of his master can-be-compared to vinegar that tastes-sour/tart and smoke that is-sour/bitter to the eyes.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Shilluk: “Sending a lazy person is bad like chewing boiled sorghum that has small stones in it, it is like smoke in the eyes of the person who sent him.” (Vinegar is not known in the culture so a substitute had to be found. “Small stones may get into the sorghum flour during the harvesting process. Biting on a stone while eating the porridge is a very painful experience.” — Source: Cynthia Miller in The Bible Translator 2005, p. 129ff. )
English: “We do not like a lazy person who refuses to do the job that he is given to do, just like we do not like vinegar in our mouths or smoke in our eyes.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 12:23:
Kupsabiny: “A wise person does not show how big his knowledge is, but the fool tells out/exposes his foolishness.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Wise people do not show off their skill and learning. But fools display their foolishness.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “A wise man does not boast what he knows, but a fool man he surely shows his foolishness.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “The careful/circumspect, he does not relate what he knows, but the foolish-one, he talk-loudly-about what is useless.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Shilluk: “A person whose head is present (i.e., a wise person) speaks thoughtfully, but the person whose head is small (i.e., a fool) just gurgles.” (“Here the wise person speaks thoughtfully or deliberately. In contrast, the person who is a fool is vividly described using a powerful metaphor-in the same way that a pot of porridge boils over into the fire, so a foolish person’s words gurgle out of his mouth. His speech is neither deliberate nor controlled.” — Source: Cynthia Miller in The Bible Translator 2005, p. 129ff. )
English: “Those with good sense do not reveal all that they know; foolish people show clearly by what they say that they are ignorant/have not learned much.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 27:17:
Kupsabiny: “Friends make one another understand/realize as how one iron sharpens another.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Like iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a friend.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “As iron can-be-sharpened by iron also, a man can-learn from his fellowman.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “A person is taught by his fellow person, like the way iron is sharpened by its fellow iron.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Shilluk: “A person learns from a person who walks with him like sharpening a spear with another spear.” (“In considering this proverb, the Shilluk translators found that in their culture ‘iron’ has the connotation of raw material, not an implement that could sharpen something. They chose instead to substitute a specific iron implement in order to have a more powerful image.” — Source: Cynthia Miller in The Bible Translator 2005, p. 129ff. )
English: “We can use one iron tool to sharpen another iron tool; similarly , when one person shares what he is thinking, it can help other people to think more clearly.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
