Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 12:2:
Uma: “Don’t follow the character of people who don’t know God. Allow God to change your character by making your thoughts new. For if it is like that, you will really know God’s purpose in your life. You will know that his purpose is good, that which pleases his heart and that which has no lack/deficiency.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Don’t do like most (people)/the masses here in the world do. But let God renew your thinking/mind in order that your livers be changed. So-then you really know what God wants/wishes. His will/wish is what is good and what pleases him and what has no fault.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Don’t you imitate the behavior of those people who are enemies of God, but rather, you allow God to change you by means of making your minds new; and then you will understand at last the will of God, which is to say, you will understand what is righteous behavior which God likes and He will not rebuke.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Don’t take-after the behavior/customs of non believers but rather continue to let-God -make-your minds -new so that your way-of-life will be made-new. Because if you do that, you will come-to-know and agree-with what God wants you to do which is what is good and what pleases-him and is exactly right.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “And now change your thinking. Do not do like the sinners do here on earth. Do that you live in a new way. Therefore you can know well what the will of God is. Concerning the good God wants you to live in, that is what you will do.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Kuwaataay: “Do not imitate the ways of those on this earth; let God give you new thinking, so that you may be new people. If you do so, you may understand what he wants. It’s what’s good, what’s pleasing to him, and what’s very pure.” (Source: Kuwaataay Back Translation)
Bariai: “You can’t be following the practices of the people of the earth and so become like them. But you must yield yourselves to God, in order that he cause your heads and your interiors to become new. And so by this way, your actions also will change and become new. When it’s like that, you will be able to evaluate well what thing(s) God likes/wants, and know well what thing(s) are very upright and cause him to be happy.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
Mairasi: “Then do not live like ordinary people here in this world! But change your throats [minds] with the result that you have new throats. By doing this you will definitely come to know: ‘This is definitely what is Above-One’s throat’ you will say. That throat of His is good, in Above-One’s vision, and definitely straight. ” (Source: Enggavoter 2004)
Low German translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006: “And then don’t do as they in the world do! No, you shall become a different kind of people. You shall look at everything with different eyes, so that you know exactly what is God’s will, what is truly good and what he likes and what is perfect.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 4:8:
Uma: “After that the King of Evil-ones again carried Yesus going to the top of a very tall mountain, and he showed him all the kingdoms on earth and all of their wealth.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “After that he was taken/brought by the leader of demons on top of a very high mountain. The leader of demons showed him all the countries of the world and their wealth/riches and the power of their leaders.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Then Satan took Jesus to a very high mountain, and he showed him all the kingdoms of all the world and what was the extent and power of each one.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When that was done, then the Diablo directed him to a very-high mountain and showed him all the nations in this world and their richness.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When Satanas observed that, the summit of a very high mountain is where he next took Jesus. And then he caused him to view all the kingdoms of the world and their praiseworthiness/glory.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “The devil then took him to where there was a large mountain. He caused him to look upon all the nations there are all over the world. And he looked at all the good things there were in them.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Bariai: “And when it was done, then the bad man took him so that he went and then they ascended a very high mountain. And then he showed him the big areas of all the great chiefs of the earth and their good things.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
Kupsabiny: “That Enemy again took Jesus to the top of a certain mountain and showed him the wealth in all the nations.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Mairasi: “And then also the malevolent spirit taking Yesus went to the top of a very tall mountain and then showed Him all the power of the kings here in this world and then all their good things” (Source Enggavoter 2004)
Amele: “And then Seten again took Jisas and took (him) and went up and put him on a big mountain. He put him and while showing him the wonderful things of all the kingdoms of the ground told him,” (Source: John Roberts in this article )
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 15:2:
Mairasi: “Farisi people and the people who explain and write Great Above One’s prohibitions already got angry. They themselves said: ‘Yi [Yuck], this person calls bad people to come to Him, then also he eats things together with them!'” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Noongar: “The Pharisees and Law Men, they began criticising Jesus. ‘This man welcomes bad people. He also eats together with them.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “The Parisi people and the religion teachers disparaged them, they said: ‘Ii, that person there is befriending sinners and eating with them.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Then the Pariseo and the teachers of the religious law grumbled, they said, ‘This person goes along-with/keeps company with sinful people and even eats together with them.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And this disgusted very much some Pharisees and some teachers of the Law who were there also, and they said, ‘As for this Jesus, he runs around with people who are breakers of our Law, and he eats also with them.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “So the Pharisees and the teachers of the law grumbled/muttered saying, ‘Now look at this person! Why does he like to converse-with sinful people and even eat-with them!'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “But the Pariseo and explainers of law talked-among-themselves. They were saying, ‘Really as for this fellow, he gathers-around-himself sinners and even joins-in-eating with them.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Thessalonians 5:18:
Uma: “and say thank you to God no matter what happens, for that is the desire of God for us (incl.) who are connected with Kristus Yesus.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Whatever comes to you (happens) you should thank God because that is what God wants you to do, because you are already one with Isa Almasi.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Since you have become one with Jesus Christ, what God wants you to do is: always rejoice; always pray; always give thanks to God no matter what happens to you.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Whatever also happens to you, give-thanks to God, because these are what he wants you who are joined-to Cristo Jesus to follow.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And no matter what your situation, always give thanks also. Because as for these things, they really are the will of God for your lives in your being united/tied-together with Cristo Jesus.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Always thank God, whatever you are going through. Because concerning God, he wants that this be done by all who follow Christ.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Mairasi: “Regarding everything you guys must say to Great Above One “That’s good”, because Great Above One desires that, because you guys are already living in the palm of Kristus Yesus’ hand.” (Source: Enggavoter 2004)
The Greek that is translated as “Son of Man” is mostly used by Jesus to refer to himself as well as in the prophecies of Daniel and Enoch (see Enoch 17:34 et al). It is translated in the following languages as (click or tap for details):
Tzotzil: “I who am equal with men” or “The Older Brother of Everybody” (“expressing the dignity and authority of the Messiah and the universality of his work”)
Tenango Otomi: “The Man Appointed” (i.e. the man to whom authority has been delegated) (source for this and preceding: Beekman, p. 189-190, see also Ralph Hill in Notes on Translation February 1983, p. 35-50)
Aguaruna: “One who was born becoming a person” (source for this and two above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Older Sibling of Mankind” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Child of a Person” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “One From Heaven Born of Man/human?” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Man who came from heaven” (source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Yatzachi Zapotec: “One who God sent, who was born a human” (a direct translation would have suggested “that the father is unknown due to the indiscretions of the mother” and where “he is the son of people” is used when one wants to disclaim responsibility for or relationship with a child caught in some mischief — source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Kâte: Ŋic Fâri Wâtuŋne or “the man who is a true support” (source: Renck, p. 106)
Mezquital Otomi: “The son who became a person” (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
Alekano: “The true man who descended from heaven” (source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation June 1986, p. 36ff.)
Central Tarahumara: “One who has been stood up to help” (“This suggests that Christ has been given authority to some appointed task. A very generic word, help, was selected to fill in the lexically obligatory purpose required by the word which means to appoint or commission. Usually this word is used of menial tasks but not exclusively. The choice of this generic term retains the veiled reference to the character of Christ’s work which He intended in using the ‘Son of Man’ title.”)
Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “He who is relative of all people.” (“The Triqui word for relative is a rather generic term and in its extended sense sometimes is diluted to neighbor and friend. But the primary meaning is relative.”)
Tepeuxila Cuicatec: “The Person who Accompanies All People” (“The literal equivalents ‘son of man’ and ‘son of people’ were both rejected because of the false inference of natural birth involving a human father. Furthermore, it was necessary to expand any translation of the Bible by the addition of the pronoun ‘I’ so as to clarify the fact that Jesus is using the third person in referring to Himself. A common expression used by the Cuicatecos when difficulties befall someone, is to say to that one, ‘don’t worry, we are accompanying you.’ By this they mean they share that person’s sorrow. When wedding guests arrive at the home of a son who has just been married, they say to the father, ‘We have come to accompany you.’ By this they mean that they have come to share the father’s joy. These expressions do not refer to ordinary physical accompaniment, which is expressed by a set of different verbs. For example, visits are always announced by some such greeting as, “I have come to visit you,’ ‘I have come to see you,’ or ‘I have come to ask you something.’ The desire to accompany a friend on a journey is expressed by saying, ‘I will go with you.’ Translation helpers used the verb ‘accompany’ in constructing the phrase ‘I, the Person who Accompanies All People.'(…) It reflects the fact that Jesus closely identified Himself with all of us, understands our weaknesses, shares our burdens, rejoices with us in times of gladness, etc.”) (source for this and the three preceding: Beekman in Notes on Translation January 1963, p. 1-10)
Guhu-Samane: “Elder-brother-man” (“Since the term denotes an elder brother in every way such as honor, power, leadership, representation of the younger, etc. it is a meaningful and fitting — though not ostentatious — title.” Source: Ernest Richert in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 198ff. )
Navajo (Dinė): Diné Silíi’ii — “Man he-became-the-one-who” (“This terra presented a difficulty not only in Navajo but also one peculiar to all the Athapaskan languages. It lies in the fact that all these languages, so far as we know, have a word phonetically similar to the Navajo diné which has three meanings: ‘man, people in general,’ ‘a man,’ ‘The People’ which is the name the Navajos use for themselves. (The name Navajo was first used by the Spanish explorers.) Although it seemed natural to say diné biye’ ‘a-man his-son,’ this could also mean ‘The-People their-son’ or ‘a-Navajo his-son,’ in contrast to the son of a white man or of another Indian tribe. Since the concept of the humanity of Christ is so important, we felt that diné biye’ with its three possible meanings should not be used. The term finally decided on was Diné Silíi’ii ‘Man he-became-the-one-who.’ This could be interpreted to mean ‘the one who became a Navajo,’ but since it still would impart the idea of Christ’s becoming man, it was deemed adequate, and it has proven acceptable to the Navajos.”) (Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )
Toraja-Sa’dan: “Child descended in the world” (“using a poetic verb, often found in songs that [deal with] the contacts between heaven and earth”) (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Obolo: Gwun̄ Ebilene: “Child of Human” (source: Enene Enene).
Mairasi: Jaanoug Tat: “Person Child” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Costa Rican Sign Language: “It was impossible to translate the expression ‘Son of Man.’ The son-man sign simply means ‘male child.’ The Costa Rican Sign Language (LESCO) team opted for an interpretation of the term and translated it ‘Jesus.'” (Source: Elsa Tamez (in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 59ff. )
Lokạạ: wẹẹn wạ ọnẹn or “son of a person.” “This translation is symbolic in that it uses indigenous Lokạạ words. However, since the publication of the New Testament in 2006, this phrase has gained popularity within contemporary Lokạạ society as an expression to describe an important person whose career is going well. In the New Testament, the phrase ‘son of man’ is used to describe Jesus as prototypically human, but the Lokạạ phrase is now being used to describe an exceptional person in Lokạạ society.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
In many West African languages, using a third person reference as a first person indicator is common practice with a large range of semantic effects. Languages that use the exact expression “son of man” as a self-reference or reference to another person include Lukpa, Baatonum, Mossi (“son of Adam”), Yoruba (“son of person”), Guiberoua Béte, or Samo. (Source: Lynell Zogbo in: Omanson 2000, p. 167-188.)
In Swahili the expression Mwana wa Mtu or mwana wa mtu or “son/daughter of human person,” which is used by several Bible translations, also has “the idiomatic meaning of ‘a human being’” (source: Jean-Claude Loba-Mkole in An Intercultural Criticism of New Testament Translations 2013, see here). The same is true for the Lingala expression Mwana na Moto — “son/daughter of human person.” (Ibid.)
In Balinese “we are again bordering on theological questions when we inquire as to which vocabulary shall be used to translate the texts where Jesus speaks of himself as ‘the Son of man.’ One of the fixed rules governing the use of these special vocabularies is that one may never use the deferential terms in speaking of oneself. This would be the extreme of arrogance. Now if one considers the expression ‘Son of man’ primarily as a description of ‘I,’ then one must continually indicate the possessions or actions of the Son of man by Low Balinese words. In doing this the mystery of the expression is largely lost. In any case the vocabulary used in most of the contexts would betray that Jesus means the title for himself.
“However, a distinction can actually be made in Balinese between the person and the exalted position he occupies. For example, the chairman of a judicial body may employ deferential terms when referring to this body and its chairman, without this being taken as an expression of arrogance. Considered from this standpoint, one may translate in such a way that Jesus is understood as using such deferential words and phrases in speaking of himself. The danger is, however, that the unity between his person and the figure of “the Son of man” is blurred by such usage.
“On request, the New Testament committee of the Netherlands Bible Society advised that ‘the sublimity of this mysterious term be considered the most important point and thus High Balinese be used.'”
“One of the first things that we did in working through the earlier part of the New Testament was to decide on how we would translate some of the more difficult technical terms. It was immediately obvious that something must be done with the translation of ‘the Son of Man,’ since the literal rendering anak manusia (literally ‘child of a man’) held absolutely no meaning for Malay readers. We felt that the title should emphasize the divine origin and authority of the one who used this title, and at the same time, since it was a title, we decided that it should not be too long a phrase. Finally, a phrase meaning ‘the One whom God has ordained’ was chosen (yang dilantik Allah). It is interesting to note that the newly-begun Common Indonesian (Alkitab Kabar Baik, published in 1985) has followed a similar route by translating ‘the One whom God has chosen’ (yang depilih Allah).”
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 1:12:
Uma: “After that, the Holy Spirit took Yesus to the wilderness [lit., empty field].” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “So-then immediately Isa was brought by the Holy Spirit into the lonely place.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And immediately then, Jesus was caused by the Holy Spirit to go into a place where nobody lived.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Right-then the Holy Spirit directed Jesus to the place that had no inhabitants.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well after Jesus was baptized, he was at once taken by that Espiritu Santo who had-entered-to-indwell him, where he was taken to being a wilderness place.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Bariai: “And suddenly, the Straight Spirit sent Iesus so that he went to the desolate area.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
Kupsabiny: “The Holy Spirit immediately drove Jesus to the wilderness where there were also animals of the bush.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Mairasi: “From-that-happening Great Above One’s Spirit sent Yesus to the place where noisiness stops.” (Source Enggavoter 2004)
Balinese: “That had just happened. then Jesus, by the might of the Holy Spirit, went forth to the barren field.” (Source: J.L. Swellengrebel in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 75ff. )
English translation by Michael Pakaluk (2019): “So right away, the Spirit carries him out into the desert.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 19:33:
Noongar: “They began untying the donkey. The people who owned the donkey, they asked, ‘Why are you untying the donkey?'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “While they were untying that donkey, its owner asked: ‘Why are you untying that donkey?'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “While they were untying the child of the donkey, it’s owner said to them, ‘Hoy, why are you untying that child of a donkey?'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when they untied that donkey, the owner of it said, ‘Why are you untying that?” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Upon their untying its rope (lit. tie), the owner said, ‘Why are you untying that?'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Just as they were untying the tether, the owners said, ‘Why are you untying the tether of that asno?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Bariai: “It came about that they untied its rope, and the donki’s owners asked them, ‘Why is it that you’re untying its rope?’” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
Kupsabiny: “It came about that they untied its rope, and the donki’s owners asked them, ‘Why is it that you’re untying its rope?’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Mairasi: “They themselves were untying the small keledai [donkey], the owner said to them: ‘Why are you untying this keledai ?’ said he. ” (Source: Enggavoter 2004)
Hiligaynon: “While they are-untying the young ass they are asked by the owner, ‘Why are-you(pl) untying that?’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
