The Hebrew that is translated as “rock badger” (or: “rock hyrax”) in English is translated in a West African language as “boulder goat.” (See this blog entry )
In Hiligaynon it is translated as “animals which chews again their cud/food/what-they-ate but their hooves do-not-have splitting, just-like a camel and a rabbit” (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation).
The Greek in Luke 15:25 that is translated in English as “music” is translated in Muna as “the sound of the gong and the drum.” René van den Berg explains: “There is no abstract word for ‘music’ (the footnote has the loan musik).”
Mairasi: “the sound of songs” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Hiligaynon: “sounds” (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Burmese: “the sound of beating-blowing” (“‘Beating blowing’ is a general term for instrumental music and covers the sound of percussion instruments, wind and brass instruments which are blown, and some stringed instruments which are also ‘beaten.'” — source: Anonymous)
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)
“God our Father, you are our Boss, the biggest” Tataltepec Chatino (source for this and all above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
“Lord, Owner of All Power” in Hausa (source: Hausa Common Language Bible Back Translation)
“Lord who is mightier than all” in Hiligaynon (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
EnglishTranslation for Translators: “show that I am innocent/have not done what is wrong” / Easy English Bible: “show that I am not guilty of wrong things”
Following are a number of back-translations of Ruth 2:1:
Noongar: “Now, a relative of Naomi, he was named Boaz. He was a relative of Naomi’s husband, famous in the tribe of Elimelech.” (Source: Bardip Ruth-Ang 2020)
Eastern Bru: “Naomi had a person from the clan of her husband Elimelech. That person was named Boaz, and he was a person who had great authority, and he was also rich.” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: (verses 1-3) “One day, Ruth said to Noemi, ‘Allow me to go to the field to glean the heads-of-grain of a man who will-allow me to do it.’ Noemi said to her, ‘Okay child, you(sg) go.’ So Ruth went-out and gleaned the heads-of-grain that were-left-behind by the harvesters. And it-so-happened that she gleaned there at the field of Boaz the relative of Elimelec. Boaz was a wealthy and famous man.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “There was a man in Bethlehem who belonged to the clan of Naomi’s dead husband, Elimelech. He was rich and well-known/influential. His name was Boaz.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
