The Greek that is translated as “saint” in English is rendered into Highland Puebla Nahuatl as “one with a clean hearts,” into Northwestern Dinka as “one with a white hearts,” and into Western Kanjobal as “person of prayer.” (Source: Nida 1952, p. 146)
Chichewa “(person with a) white heart” since “white” is the word that is used in Chichewa for the translation of “holy.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
The Greek that is translated as “was raised from the dead” is translated as “rose from the dead” (Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac), “came up again from where he was buried” (Huehuetla Tepehua) or “returned from among the dead” (Ojitlán Chinantec). (Source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Corinthians 1:8:
Uma: “Relatives, so that you know, the difficulties that hit us (excl.) in the propinsi of Asia were so severe. The difficulties were very heavy, more than our (excl.) ability, with the result that our (excl.) hearts became discouraged [lit., lessened], we (excl.) said there’s no way we (excl.) are going to live. [Uma idiom that cannot be translated literally]” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “My brothers, we (excl.) want to tell you about the trouble that we (excl.) experienced there in the place Asiya. We (excl.) were really in very great difficulty (tight) we (excl.) almost could not endure it. We (excl.) did not expect to live.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “We want you to know, brothers, about the big trouble that we had when we were in the province of Asia. We suffered a very severe testing which we thought we could not endure; that’s why we thought it would be the death of us.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “You brothers, we (excl.) want you to know the excessive hardship/difficulty/suffering (same range of meaning throughout book) that we (excl.) experienced in the province Asia. We (excl.) were extremely burdened by that hardship until we (excl.) were not able-to-endure it and we (excl.) already had no hope that we (excl.) would live.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Siblings in believing, we (excl.) will tell you about the hardships that we (excl.) experienced in Asia. What we (excl.) experienced was really horrendous (lit. truly very-far-from-ordinary). We (excl.) really no longer had any assurance that we would still be alive.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Listen my brothers, concerning the places in the land of Asia, I want that you know that I suffered much there. Very much did I live in suffering, I thought that I couldn’t endure all the suffering I was going through. Because I was about to be killed.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Highland Totonac: “Brethren, because we do not want you not to understand the reason for our sufferings which came upon us there in Asia. It was terrible what we bore; we were no longer able to bear it, to the point of thinking we would die.” (Source: Herman Aschmann in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 171ff. )
Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Corinthians 1:9:
Uma: “We (excl.) said: ‘We (incl.) are certainly going to die now.’ But this happened so that we (excl.) would not trust/hope in our (excl.) own strength, we (excl.) would trust/hope only in God, for he is the one who causes-to-live again the dead [people].” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “We (excl.) thought-mistakenly that that was already our (excl.) death. But the reason why that was sent to us (excl.) was so that we (excl.) would not trust in ourselves but so that we (excl.) would trust only in God, the one who makes the dead alive.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “It seemed as if that would be the end of our life, but the reason this happened to us was so that we might not trust our own wisdom, but rather we might trust God, the one who raises dead people.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “The truth of it is that we (excl.) thought that our (excl.) time-of-death had already arrived. But that happened so it would not be ourselves (excl.) in which we (excl.) trusted, but rather God who is-able to make-alive those who die.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “We (excl.) mistakenly-thought that our allotted-life-span had ended. Apparently, we (excl.) only had like that happen to us so that we would not trust in our own ability, but rather only in the supernatural-power of God, he who is the raiser-to-life of even the dead.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “What I thought was that it was decided that I was to be killed. But concerning what I suffered, it was so that I could even more search for God to save me. Because God is able even to resurrect the dead. I am not able to search how to save myself.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Highland Totonac: “But that finally we were expecting death in order that we might not trust in ourselves but in God who makes the dead to live again.” (Source: Herman Aschmann in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 171ff. )
“Hope is sometimes one of the most difficult terms to translate in the entire Bible. It is not because people do not hope for things, but so often they speak of hoping as simply ‘waiting.’ In fact, even in Spanish, the word esperar means both ‘to wait’ and ‘to hope.’ However, in many instances the purely neutral term meaning ‘to wait’ may be modified in such a way that people will understand something more of its significance. For example, in Tepeuxila Cuicatec hope is called ‘wait-desire.’ Hope is thus a blend of two activities: waiting and desiring. This is substantially the type of expectancy of which hope consists.
In Yucateco the dependence of hope is described by the phrase ‘on what it hangs.’ ‘Our hope in God’ means that ‘we hang onto God.’ The object of hope is the support of one’s expectant waiting. In Ngäbere the phrase “resting the mind” is used. This “implies waiting and confidence, and what is a better definition of hope than ‘confident waiting’.” (Source for this and above: Nida 1952, p. 20, 133)
Enlhet: “waitings of (our) innermost” (“innermost” or valhoc is a term that is frequently used in Enlhet to describe a large variety of emotions or states of mind — for other examples see here) (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. )
Kwang: “one’s future is restored to one’s soul like a fresh, cool breeze on a hot day.” (Source: Mark Vanderkooi right here )
Noongar: koort-kwidiny or “heart waiting” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Anjam: “looking through the horizon” (source: Albert Hoffmann in his memoirs from 1948, quoted in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 7)
Ron: kintiɓwi or “put lip” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
Alekano: “wait not hearing two ears” (meaning to “wait without being double-minded” — source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation June 1986, p. 36ff.)
In Mwera “hope” and “faith” are translated with the same word: ngulupai. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
C.M. Doke looks at a number of Bantu languages and their respective translations of “hope” with slightly varying connotations (in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 9ff. ):
Xhosa and Zulu: themba “hope, expect,” also “have faith in, rely upon”
Tswana: tsholofelo “hope, expect, look for confidently”
Southern Sotho: tshepo “trust, rely on, believe in, have confidence in”
“Unlike English, which uses the word hope broadly, the French language uses two words that derive from the word espérer (to hope): espoir and espérance. Both can first refer to something hoped for. In this sense, the word espoir usually refers to an uncertain object; that is, someone who hopes for something in this way does not have the certainty that it will happen (“I hope the weather will be nice tomorrow”). On the other hand, espérance describes what, rightly or wrongly, is hoped for or expected with certainty. It often refers to a philosophical or eschatological object (‘I hope in the goodness of human beings’; ‘I hope for the return of Jesus Christ’).
“When we speak of espoir or espérance, we then have in mind different types of objects hoped for. This difference matters, because both terms also commonly refer to the state of mind that characterizes the hopeful. And this state of mind will be different precisely according to the object hoped for.
“Having espoir for an uncertain yet better future in these difficult times may be a good thing, but it is not enough. Such hope can be disappointed and easily fade away when our wishes and expectations (our hopes) do not materialize.
“The opposite is true with espérance, which is deeper than our desire and wish for an end to a crisis or a future without pain and suffering. To face the trials of life, we need peace and joy in our hearts that come from expecting certain happiness. This is what espérance is: a profound and stable disposition resulting from faith in the coming of what we expect. In this sense, it is similar in meaning to the English word hopefulness.
“If we have believed in the Son of the living God, we have such a hope. It rests on the infallible promises of our God, who knows the plans he has for us, his children — plans of peace and not misfortune, to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). By using the two meanings of the word, we can say that the espérance that the fulfillment of his promises represents (the object hoped for) fills us with espérance (the state of mind).”
Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Corinthians 1:10:
Uma: “So, relatives, he did release us (excl.) from those severe difficulties yesterday, to the point that we (excl.) didn’t die after all. And he will also release us (excl.) from the difficulties that happen now. And we (excl.) trust/hope he will release us (excl.) from difficulties that will happen in the coming days.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “At that time we (excl.) were brought out/freed by him from the danger of almost being killed and he will also bring us (excl.) out in the future. We (excl.) just trust God that he will bring us (excl.) out/free us.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And God helped us and strengthened us, that’s why we escaped and we were not killed; and we know that He will continue to help us (excl.). Our trust is very great that He will not stop helping us.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “And he truly did save/rescue us (excl.) from our (excl.) fearful hardships, and he will save us (excl.) in-the-future. He is the one in-whom-we (excl.) continually -hope that he will continue to save us (excl.),” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “He really saved us (excl.) from the death that we were facing. And we (excl.) are absolutely certain that he will continue to save us from everything life-threatening that keeps happening.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “But God truly saved me at the time I was about to be killed. And until now he helps me. And I am assured that as I continue to suffer, he will continue to save me.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Highland Totonac: “The one who saved us from our troubles, will in the same way save us again. This is the one in whom we have confidence and hope that he will save us again.” (Source: Herman Aschmann in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 171ff. )
Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Corinthians 1:11:
Uma: “And you also, relatives, must hold-us (excl.)-up with your prayers. For if many people pray for us (excl.), God will bless us (excl.), with the result that many people will say thank you to God.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “And you can also help us (excl.) if you pray/request to God for us (excl.). If many of you pray/request to God for us (excl.) and when God gives what you ask, then many will give thanks to him because of his help to us (excl.).” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And it’s necessary that you also help us by praying, and then it will be possible that many will give thanks to God because of His favor toward us, because of the praying of many people.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “provided you help with your prayers. And if you do that, God will answer your many prayers and will bless us (excl.), and many will give-thanks to him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “But we (excl.) are asking that you will also continue your help to us in prayer. For if many are praying, after the answers, of course many will then praise and thank God because of his help to us.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “But it is necessary that you help me now by praying to God for me. If many people pray to God for me, then many people will thank God when they see how God blesses me.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Highland Totonac: “Help me with your prayers in order that thus many will give thanks to God because of the mercies which he would show toward us because of many.” (Source: Herman Aschmann in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 171ff. )
Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Corinthians 1:1:
Uma: “This letter is from me Paulus, whom God lifted to be an apostle/messenger of Kristus Yesus according to his desire, and from Timotius, our (incl.) one-faith relative, we (excl.) send it to you relatives who believe in God who are in the village of Korintus, including [lit., until] all the Kristen people in the province of Akhaya.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “This letter is from me, Paul and from Timoteo our (incl.) brother. From the will of God I was commissioned by Isa Almasi, commanded to proclaim his message. I send this letter there to the gathering belonging to God there in the town of Korinto and also (lit. including) to all of God’s people throughout the place of Akaya.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “I am Paul; I was given the title of an apostle by Jesus Christ because God wanted it. I and Timothy, our (incl.) brother, we write to all of you believers in God there in the town of Corinth, and also all of the people who belong to God within the province of Achaiya.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “I am Pablo who am an apostle of Cristo Jesus according to what God wants. My companion here is our brother Timoteo. Here is our (excl.) letter to you who are God’s people in Corinto and in-addition all his people in the province Akaya.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Corinthians (lit. those in/from Corinto) who are trusting and believing/obeying God, and others whom God has separated-out to be his people now there in the whole province of Acaya, there-with-you is our (excl.) letter, I Pablo who is an apostle of Cristo Jesus according to the determined-plan of God, and Timoteo who is our sibling in believing.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “I am Paul, whom God appointed to be Jesus Christ’s representative. I, with our brother Timothy, greet God’s people who gather there in the city of Corinth, and also those other people who are in God’s hand, who live in the places in the land of Acaya.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Highland Totonac: “I Paul am the one who is writing this, Jesus’ sent one, because that is God’s will. Then too, there is our brother Timothy, we send you this message, you who gather together at Corinth, as well as all those who are God’s chosen who live throughout the whole of Achaia.” (Source: Herman Aschmann in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 171ff. )
