sheave

The phrase in Amos 2:13 that is rendered in English translations as “as a cart presses down when it is full of sheaves” is translated into Afar as qari elle qilsa faras-gaari innah: “as heavy as a horse cart with a house on it.” (Pastoral economy has no sheaves, houses are normally torn down and loaded on camels for migration.)

humble (verb)

The Greek that is translated as “humbled” in English is rendered in Gumuz as “become small” (source: Loren Bliese), in Uma as “make hearts low” (“proud,” the opposite is translated as proud “make hearts high”) (source: Uma Back Translation), and in Cherokee as “prayerful” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 38).

worthless men

The Hebrew in 1 Samuel 2:12 that is often translated in English as “worthless men” is translated in Anuak as “people (with) their heads bad” (i.e., rascals).

house (descendants)

The Hebrew in 1 Samuel 25:28 that is translated as “house” in many English versions is translated into Anuak as “mouth of your house” (= descendants). (Source: Loren Bliese)

foreskin

The Hebrew that is translated in English as “foreskin” is translated into Anuak with the euphemism “tree of their bodies.” (Source: Loren Bliese)

In Rundi, “penis-skin” is used. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

harden heart

The Hebrew that is translated into English as forms of “(to not) harden heart” is translated into other languages with their own vivid idioms; for example, Thai uses “black-hearted” (source: Bratcher / Hattoon, p. 272), Pökoot uses makany kwoghïghitu mötöwekwo: “do not let become hard your heads” (source: Gerrit van Steenbergen), Anuak has “make liver strong” (source: Loren Bliese), and The Hebrew that is translated as “divination” or similar in English is translated in Elhomwe has “dried heart” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext).

See also hardness of heart, harden, and see Seat of the Mind for traditional views of “ways of knowing, thinking, and feeling.”