The Greek that is translated as “propitiation” or “atoning sacrifice” in English is translated in South Bolivian Quechua as “putting out [as in putting out a fire] on account of our sins” (source: T.E. Hudspith in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 66ff. ).
In Chichewa, it is translated as nsembe yopepsera machimo athu or “a sacrifice for saying sorry for our sins” (interconfessional translation, publ. 1999) and in Chitonga as cipaizyo cakumanya mulandu or “the sacrifice for putting an end to the case/offense [of our sins].” (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 91)
Tzotzil: “[people who] are zealously doing what they think is God’s word”
Mezquital Otomi: “[people who] very much believe what they have been taught about God” (source for this and five above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Chichewa interconfessional translation, publ. 1999: “[people who] love God” (source: Wendland 1998, p. 90)
Uma: “[people who] submit to Lord God” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “very religious” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “[people who] are faithful in carrying out the commands of God” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “[people who] are serving God” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “[people who] are indeed devout-worshipers of God” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Bariai: “[people who] respect God” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
Kupsabiny: “[people who] have dedicated themselves to God” (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
German: “God-fearing” (gottesfürchtig) or “pious” (fromm)
Low German translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006: “[people who] take their faith very seriously” (source for this and above: Zetzsche)
HausaCommon Language Bible: “owners of worshiping God” (source: Hausa Common Language Bible Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “godly” (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
The Hebrew that is translated in English as “Rahab” is translated in the interconfessional Chichewa translation (publ. 1999) as chilombo cha m’nyanja or “beast of the sea.” (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 96)
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated literally as “horn of salvation” and less metaphorically as “mighty savior” in some English versions is translated along those lines in many languages as well:
Una “a very powerful Person to us who will rescue people” (source for this ans above: Dick Kroneman)
Elhomwe “powerful savior” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Mairasi: “the strong One Who will save us” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Bariai: “this man came to retrieve us back” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
In Uab Meto, however the term for “horn” is also used metaphorically for “hero” and in Balinese the term for “tusk,” which suggests “champion/hero” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel).
In Chichewa (interconfessional translation, 1999) it is translated as “our mighty Saviour.” Ernst Wendland (1998, p. 155f.) explains: “A literal rendering of the Greek ‘horn of salvation’ causes real problems in Chichewa due to the strong association that an animal ‘horn’ has with the local practice of sorcery (e.g. a ‘sorcerer’ is referred to as wanyanga ‘person of a horn’). Since the horn was a symbol of strength in biblical times, [we] translated this metonym as ‘our mighty Saviour.'”
The interconfessional Chichewa translation (publ. 1999) uses the ideophone phu (“poof”) to emphasize calamities like death or exposure in these verses. (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 105)
Philip Noss (in The Bible Translator 1976, p. 100ff. ) explains the function of an ideophone: “The ideophone may be identified with onomatopoeia and other sound words frequently seen in French and English comic strips, but in [many] African languages it comprises a class of words with a very wide range of meaning and usage. They may function verbally, substantively, or in a modifying role similar to adverbs and adjectives. They describe anything that may be experienced: action, sound, color, quality, smell, or emotion. In oral literature they are used not only with great frequency but also with great creativity.”
The Greek and Hebrew that is typically translated as “covenant” or “testimony” in English and refers to the stone tablets that Moses brought down from Mount Sinai are translated in Kupsabiny as “two stones (that are flat-and-thin) on which the law is written,” in Hiligaynon as “the wide stone on which is-written the Law.” (Source: Kupsabiny and Hiligaynon Back-Translations), and in the interconfessional Chichewa translation (publ. 1999) as miyala iŵiri ija yolembedwapo mau a chipangano or “those two stones on which are written the words of the agreement” (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 110).
In the EnglishTranslation for Translators it is translated as stone slabs and in the New English Bible as Tokens (source: Elizabeth Lewis).
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “most holy place” or similar in English is translated in Tsafiki as “God’s best room.” (Source: Bruce Moore in: Notes on Translation 1/1992, p. 1ff.)
In the interconfessional Chichewa translation (publ. 1999) it is translated as Malo Opatulika Kopambana or “Especially Sacred Place.” (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 105)
