hypocrite

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The Greek and Hebrew terms that are translated as “hypocrite” in English typically have a counterpart in most languages. According to Bratcher / Nida (1961, p. 225), they can be categorized into the following categories:

  • those which employ some concept of “two” or “double”
  • those which make use of some expression of “mouth” or “speaking”
  • those which are based upon some special cultural feature
  • those which employ a non-metaphorical phrase

Following is a list of (back-) translations from some languages:

  • Highland Totonac, Huautla Mazatec, Lacandon, Cuicatec, Highland Puebla Nahuatl: “two-faced”
  • Obolo: ebi isi iba: “double-faced person” (source: Enene Enene)
  • Tzeltal, Chol: “two hearts”
  • Pame: “two mouths”
  • San Miguel El Grande Mixtec: “two heads”
  • Kekchí: “two sides”
  • Shipibo-Conibo: “double (or “forked”) tongue”
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “double talk”
  • Huehuetla Tepehua: “talk false”
  • Copainalá Zoque: “lie-act”
  • Kituba, Amganad Ifugao, Chuukese: “lie”
  • Toraja-Sa’dan: “someone whose lips are fair” (i.e. “gracious”)
  • Mossi: “have a sweet mouth”
  • Mazahua: “have a swollen mouth” (from too much speaking)
  • Tai Dam: “have a straight mouth and a crooked heart”
  • Kongo: “the bitterness of white” (an idiom based on the fact that white-wash looks nice but tastes bitter)
  • Merina Malagasy: “spread a clean carpet” (an expression used in Madagascar to describe one who covers up the dirt of an unswept floor just before the arrival of guests)
  • Zanaki: “those who make themselves out to be good”
  • Tetelcingo Nahuatl: “those who deceive” (this and all examples above acc. to Bratcher / Nida 1961, p. 225)
  • Kafa: “one who makes as if his belly is clean” (source: Loren Bliese)
  • Agatu: ɔcɛ gigbefu — “disguised person acting a part” (source: Mackay in The Bible Translator 1962, 211f. )
  • Mairasi: “deceiver person” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Bauzi: “good on top person” (source: David Briley in Kroneman (2004), p. 502)
  • Tibetan: kha chos pa (ཁ་​ཆོས་​པ།), lit. “mouth + religion + person” (used for instance in Matt. 7:5) or sgyu zog can (སྒྱུ་​ཟོག་​ཅན།), lit. “deception + fraud + person” (used for instance in Matt. 24:51) (source: gSungrab website )
  • Low German: “actor in a comedy” (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006)
  • Kölsch (Boch 2017): falscher Fuffzijer, literally “counterfeit 50-pfennig coin” (source: Jost Zetzsche)
  • German: “pretender” (Heuchler) (most versions), “wanna-be saint” (Scheinheiliger) (Gute Nachricht), “dazzler” (Blender) (translation by Fridolin Stier [1989])
  • Lélé: ne kub so or “make mouth two” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

The Latvian term liekulis was likely coined by the Bible translation of Ernst Glück (1654–1705) in the late 17th century and is still being used today (source ).

The English version of Sarah Ruden (2021) uses “play-actor.” She explains (p. li): “A hupokrites is fundamentally an actor. The word has deep negativity in the Gospels on two counts: professional actors were not respectable people in the ancient world, and traditional Judaism did not countenance any kind of playacting. I write ‘play-actor’ throughout.”

See also hypocrisy.

Theophilus

The Greek that is transliterated in English as “Theophilus” is translated in the Bavarian translation by Sturmibund (publ. 1998) as “Gottlieb.” “Gottlieb” is a popular name in Bavarian-speaking Germany and Austria and has the same meaning than “Theophilus”: “friend (or ‘lover’) of God.” (Source: Jost Zetzsche)

In Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) with a sign that signifies “friend of God.” (Source: Missão Kophós )


“Theophilus” in Libras (source )

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way to do this is through the usage of appropriate suffix title referred to as keishō (敬称) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017 by either using -san or –sama with the latter being the more formal title.

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see this article in Christianity Today .

In these verses, Theophilus is addressed in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as Teofilo-sama (テオフィロ様), combining the transliteration for “Theophilus” and the suffix title –sama. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

The German translation by Walter Jens (publ. 1991, 1998) uses “Theophilus” throughout the Gospel of Luke to remind the reader of the nature of the Gospel as a report to Theophilus. See for instance in Luke 2:21 were he translates: “And then, my dear Theophilus, eight days passsed…” or in Luke 2:25: “I’m telling the truth, Theophilus: It was the time when a man named Simon…” and many others.

More information under Theophilus (biblical) .

male prostitutes, sodomites

The Greek in 1 Corinthians 6:9 that is translated by English versions with a wide range of translations, including “male prostitutes, sodomites” or some terminology involving “homosexuality” is translated in Ixcatlán Mazatec as “feminine men and men who sleep with feminine men” since the typically-used term for “homosexual” is the passive or feminine partner, while here both passive and active partners are specified. (Source: Robert Bascom)

in Low German it is translated as Lüd, de an lütte Kinner sich vergaht oder mit Jungns wat vörhebbt or “people who abuse little children or who have [nefarious] plans with boys” (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006). In the German Protestant Luther translation and the Catholic Einheitsübersetzung it says Lustknaben und Knabenschänder, literally “boys to be abused for lust and abuser of boys”. In the Pennsylvania Dutch translation it is adda dee vo shanda dreiva, mennah mitt mennah un veibsleit mitt veibsleit or “all those who sin, men with men and women with women.” (Source: Zetzsche)

In the Dutch NBV21 it is translated as “men who prostitute themselves or those who abuse other men,” in Mairasi as “people who sell/discard themselves and play bad games/dances, and those who turn sides bad [act shamefully] with just men, just women [homosexuals]” (source: Enggavoter 2004), and in the English First Nations Version as weak men who let other men use them for sex, or any who abuse the sacred gift of sex with each other.

See also sodomites and this 2010 article in The Bible Translator by Linda l. Belleville.

And what you hate - do not do to anyone

The Greek in Tobit 4:15 that is translated as “And what you hate, do not do to anyone” or similar in English is translated in the German Luther revision of 2017 with the rhyme and often-used idiom “Was du nicht willst, dass man dir tu, das füg auch keinem anderen zu!” (Source: Zetzsche)

fruit of the Spirit

The Greek that is translated as “fruit of the Spirit” in English is translated in British Sign Language with a sign that depicts the Spirit coming in to a person and then the person giving out. (Source: Anna Smith)


“Fruit of the Spirit” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)

In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated wer sich vom Heiligen Geist leiten lässt, der kann… or “whoever is guided by the Holy Spirit is able to… .”

The following is a stained glass window from John Hardman Powell (1827–1895) in the Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, depicting the fruit of the Spirit:

Photo and accompanying text by Andreas F. Borchert, hosted by Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Germany license

“In its centre is the Lord as Good Shepherd along with the Fruit of the Spirit, namely Love (inscription in centre), Joy & Peace (top inscription), and in clockwise direction: Longsuffering, Faith, Gentleness, Goodness, Meekness, Temperance in reference to Galatians 5:22-23, surrounded by medaillons, depicting an angel carrying a scroll with the inscription Gloria in excelsis deo (top, representing joy & peace), and then in clockwise direction: Job (upper right, representing longsuffering), Jonathan (lower right, representing faithfulness), Ruth (bottom, representing goodness and gentleness), Moses (lower left, representing meekness), and John the Baptist (upper left, representing temperance, see Matthew 3:4).”

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )

The Latin Vulgate translation added three “fruits”: “forbearance” (longanimitas), “courtesy” (modestia), and “chastity” (castitas). This meant that all Catholic translations before app. 1950 that were based on the Latin version also had those additional attributes (English Douay-Rheims: longanimity, modesty, chastity; Spanish Biblia Torres Amat: longanimidad, modestia, castidad etc.)

Ronald Knox writes in his translation of the Vulgate (1946): “The Greek only mentions nine of the Twelve Fruits; viz. the first six, together with gentleness, faith, and temperateness. It is possible that the Latin version has accidentally included, in some cases, two renderings of the same Greek word.” Note that neither earlier Latin versions (Vetus Latina) nor the revision of the Vulgate of 1979 / 1986 (Nova Vulgata) have these attributes. (Source: Jost Zetzsche)

See also self-control.

put on sackcloth and ashes and went

The commonly-used German idiom in Sack und Asche gehen (literally “to walk about in sackcloth and ashes”), which today is primarily used meaning “do penance,” but not limited to religious penance, was made popular in 1534 in the German Bible translation by Martin Luther (in the form “einen Sack und Asche anlegen und gehen” or “to put on sackcloth and ash and walk about”) (Source: Zetzsche)

For other idioms or terms in German that were coined by Bible translation, see here.

seer

The Hebrew that is translated as “seer” in English is translated in Newari as “one who will say what will happen in the future” (source: Newari Back Translation).

In Mandarin Chinese it is translated as “one who sees beforehand” (xiānjiàn / 先见) compared to “prophet” as “one who knows beforehand” (xiānzhī / 先知). (Source: Zetzsche and Alex Shum)

In Wolof in these verses as boroom peeñu or “possessor of visions.” In contrast, “prophet” is translated with the established term Yonent (app. “Send one”). (Source: Marilyn Escher)

See also prophet.