The Greek in John 1:13 that is translated in English as “will of the flesh” or similar is translated in Tepuxila Cuicatec as “desire of the human body.” A direct translation “is a well-known expression, but it refers to prostitution.” (Source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1975, p. 201ff. )
hardness of heart
The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “hardness of heart” in English is translated as “large heart” has been translated in many ways:
- San Mateo Del Mar Huave: “large heart”
- Shilluk: “tightness of heart”
- Copainalá Zoque: “blind in thoughts”
- Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “hard heads”
- Shipibo-Conibo: “ears without holes”
- Tzotzil and Tzeltal: “no pain in heart” (source for this and above: Bratcher /Nida 1961)
- Pwo Karen: “with thick ears and horns” (source: David Clark)
- Enlhet: “innermosts are deaf”
- Woun Meu: “stiff thinking” (source for last two: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 169ff. )
- Thai: “black-hearted” (source: Bratcher / Hatton, p. 272)
- Anuak: “make liver strong” (source: Loren Bliese)
- Elhomwe: “dried heart” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
- Welsh Beibl Cymraeg Newydd Diwygiedig 2004: “darken(ed) understanding” (source: Iwan Rhys Jones in The Bible Translator 2003, p. 240ff. )
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated colloquially as wie vernagelt or “obtuse” (in Mark 6:52 and 8:17).
While Moba has a rich metaphorical library using the concept of “heart” (pal) it follows very different paradigms compared to Greek, Hebrew and English concepts. The parallel expression of “hardened heart” means “courageous” or “encouraged” (see hearts burning) so in the 2008 Moba Yendu Kadapaaonn translation various constructs are used to translate “hardness of heart,” including “not willing to change one’s mind” (in Mark 3:5) or “make temptation into the heart” (John 12:40). (Source: Bedouma Joseph Kobaike in Le Sycomore 17/1, 2024, p. 3ff. )
See also stubborn / hardness of heart.
wind (Proverbs 11)
The Hebrew in Proverbs 11:29 that is translated as “(inherit the) wind” in many English versions is translated in the Mandarin Chinese Union Version as xūkōng (虚空) or “void.” (Source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1975, p. 201ff. )
sorrow
The Greek, Latin and Hebrew that is translated in English as “painful” or “sorrow” is translated in Huba as “cut the insides.” David Frank explains: “Huba has just one expression that covers both ‘angry’ and ‘sad.’ They don’t make a distinction in their language. I suppose you could say that the term they use means more generically, ‘strong emotional reaction’ (source: David Frank in this blog post ). Similarly, in Bariai it is “the interior is severed/cut” (source: Bariai Back Translation).
In Noongar it is translated as koort-warra or “heart bad.” (Source: Bardip Ruth-Ang 2020)
In Enlhet it is translated as “going aside of the 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. )
See also grieving / sorrowful.
in abundance
The Greek in 1 Peter 1:2 that is translated as “abundance” or “multiplied” in English is translated in Enlhet as “goes past top.” (Source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. )
For other constructs with “go past” see rich, orphan, faithful.
In Low German it is translated with the alliteration in Hüll un Füll or “enough and to spare (i.e. abundant)” (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1937, republ. 2006).
See also plenty.
faithful
The Greek, Hebrew, and Ge’ez that is rendered as “faithful” in English is (back-) translated in various ways:
- Toraja-Sa’dan: “honest/straight”
- North Alaskan Inupiatun: “unchangeable”
- Highland Totonac “one who fulfills” (source for this and above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
- Tsou: “actively following closely” (source: Peng Kuo-Wei)
- Mende: “doesn’t turn this way and that” (source: Rob Koops)
- Sinasina: “following well” (source: Paratext Consultant Notes)
- Enlhet “doesn’t go past his word” (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. )
- Kituba “put one’s heart into it” (source: Donald Deer in The Bible Translator 1973, p. 207ff. )
- Noongar: hkoort-karni or “heart true” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
See also faith / believe.
soldier
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “soldier” in English didn’t have a direct equivalent in Enlhet so it was translated with “those that bind us” (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. ) and in Noongar it is mammarapa-bakadjiny or “men of fighting” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
wine
The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that are translated as “wine” in English is translated into Pass Valley Yali as “grape juice pressed long ago (= fermented)” or “strong water” (source: Daud Soesilo). In Guhu-Samane it is also translated as “strong water” (source: Ernest L. Richert in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 198ff. ), in Noongar as “liquor” (verbatim: “strong water”) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), in Hausa as ruwan inabi or “water of grapes” (with no indication whether it’s alcoholic or not — source: Mark A. Gaddis), in sar as kasə nduú or “grape drink” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin), or in Papantla Totonac and Coyutla Totonac as “a drink like Pulque” (for “Pulque,” see here ) (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 169ff. ).
In Swahili, Bible translations try to avoid local words for alcoholic drinks, because “drinking of any alcohol at all was one of the sins most denounced by early missionaries. Hence translators are uncomfortable by the occurrences of wine in the Bible. Some of the established churches which use wine prefer to see church wine as holy, and would not refer to it by the local names used for alcoholic drinks. Instead church wine is often referred to by terms borrowed from other languages, divai (from German, der Wein) or vini/mvinyo (from ltalian/Latin vino/vinum). Several translations done by Protestants have adapted the Swahili divai for ‘wine,’ while those done by Catholics use vini or mvinyo.” (Source: Rachel Konyoro in The Bible Translator 1985, p. 221ff. )
The Swahili divai was in turn borrowed by Sabaot and was turned into tifaayiik and is used as such in the Bible. Kupsabiny, on the other hand, borrowed mvinyo from Swahili and turned it into Finyonik. (Source: Iver Larsen)
In Nyamwezi, two terms are used. Malwa ga muzabibu is a kind of alcohol that people specifically use to get drunk (such as in Genesis 9:21) and ki’neneko is used for a wine made from grapes (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
In some Hindi translations (such as the Common Language version, publ. 2015 ), one term (dākharasa दाखरस — grape juice) is used when that particular drink is in the focus (such as in John 2) and another term (madirā मदिरा — “alcohol” or “liquor”) when drunkenness is in the focus (such as in Eph. 5:18).
In Mandarin Chinese, the generic term jiǔ (酒) or “alcohol(ic drink)” is typically used. Exceptions are Leviticus 10:9, Numbers 6:3, Deuteronomy 29:6, Judges 13:4 et al., 1 Samuel 1:15, and Luke 1:15 where a differentiation between weak and strong alcohol is needed. The Mandarin Chinese Union Version (2010) translates that as qīngjiǔ lièjiǔ (清酒烈酒) and dànjiǔ lièjiǔ (淡酒烈酒), both in the form of a Chinese proverb and meaning “light alcohol and strong drink.” (Source: Zetzsche)
Click or tap here to see a short video clip about wine in biblical times (source: Bible Lands 2012)
See also proceeds from the vine / anything that comes from the grapevine, wine (Japanese honorifics), filled with new wine, and wine (Gen 27:28).