Sabbath

The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “Sabbath” in English is rendered as “day we rest” in Tzotzil, in Mairasi as “Jew’s Rest Day,” in Quiotepec Chinantec as “day when people of Israel rested,” in Shilluk as “day of God,” in Obolo as Usen Mbuban or “Holy Day,” and in Mandarin Chinese as ānxírì (安息日) or “rest day” (literally: “peace – rest – day”). (Sources: Tzotzil: Marion Cowan in Notes on Translation with Drill, p. 169ff; Mairasi: Enggavoter 2004; Quiotepec Chinantec: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.; Shilluk: Nida 1964, p. 237; Obolo: Enene Enene; Chinese: Jost Zetzsche)

In Matumbi it is translated as Sabato ya Ayahudi or “Sabbath of the Jews,” to distinguish it from the Islamic Sabbath (which is Friday) or the Christian Sabbath (which is Sunday). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

In the old Khmer version as well as in the first new translation this term was rendered as “day of rest” (Thngai Chhup Somrak / ​ថ្ងៃ​ឈប់​សំរាក). Considered inadequate to convey its religious meaning (not only about cessation of work, but also in honor of Yahweh as the Creator), the committee for the Today’s Khmer Version (publ. 2005) decided to keep the Hebrew word and use its transliterated form Thgnai Sabath (​ថ្ងៃ​សប្ប័ទ). “The Buddhist word Thngai Seil ‘day of merits’ used by some Catholics was once under consideration but was rejected because it did not receive unanimous support.” (Source: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 233ff. )

In Spanish, the translation is either día de reposo (“day of rest”) or sábado (usually: “Saturday,” derived from the Greek and Hebrew original). Nida (1947, p. 239f.) explains that problem for Spanish and other languages in its sphere of influence: “In translation ‘Sabbath’ into various aboriginal languages of Latin America, a considerable number of translators have used the Spanish sábado, ‘Saturday,’ because it is derived from the Hebrew sabbath and seems to correspond to English usage as well. The difficulty is that sábado means only ‘Saturday’ for most people. There is no religious significance about this word as the is with ‘Sabbath’ in English. Accordingly the [readers] cannot understand the significance of the persecution of Jesus because he worked on ‘Saturday.’ It has been found quite advantageous to use the translation ‘day of rest,’ for this accurately translated the Hebrew meaning of the term and resolves the problem in connection with the prohibitions placed upon some types of activities.”

In the Nueva traducción viviente translation (2010) it día de descanso al mantenerlo santo (“day of rest to keep it holy”). (Source: Lénart de Regt in The Bible Translator 2017, p. 131ff. )

In French Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts closing of the blinds of a store:


“Sabbath” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Sabbath .

scribe

Click here to view graphically

The Greek that is usually translated as “scribe” in English “were more than mere writers of the law. They were the trained interpreters of the law and expounders of tradition.”

Here are a number of its (back-) translations:

  • Yaka: “clerk in God’s house”
  • Amganad Ifugao: “man who wrote and taught in the synagogue”
  • Navajo (Dinė): “teaching-writer” (“an attempt to emphasize their dual function”)
  • Shipibo-Conibo: “book-wise person”
  • San Blas Kuna: “one who knew the Jews’ ways”
  • Loma: “educated one”
  • San Mateo del Mar Huave: “one knowing holy paper”
  • Central Mazahua: “writer of holy words”
  • Indonesian: “expert in the Torah”
  • Pamona: “man skilled in the ordinances” (source for this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Sinhala: “bearer-of-the-law”
  • Marathi: “one-learned-in-the-Scriptures”
  • Shona (1966): “expert of the law”
  • Balinese: “expert of the books of Torah”
  • Ekari: “one knowing paper/book”
  • Tboli: “one who taught the law God before caused Moses to write” (or “one who taught the law of Moses”) (source for this and 5 above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Noongar: Mammarapa-Warrinyang or “law man” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Mairasi: “one who writes and explains Great Above One’s (=God’s) prohibitions” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Chichewa: “teacher of Laws” (source: Ernst Wendland)
  • North Alaskan Inupiatun: “teachers of law”
  • Huehuetla Tepehua: “writer”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “person who teaches the law which Moses wrote”
  • Alekano: “man who knows wisdom” (source for this and four above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
  • Saint Lucian Creole French: titcha lwa sé Jwif-la (“teacher of the law of the Jews”) (source: David Frank in Lexical Challenges in the St. Lucian Creole Bible Translation Project, 1998)
  • Chichimeca-Jonaz: “one who teaches the holy writings”
  • Atatláhuca Mixtec: “teacher of the words of the law”
  • Coatlán Mixe: “teacher of the religious law”
  • Lalana Chinantec: “one who is a teacher of the law which God gave to Moses back then”
  • Tepeuxila Cuicatec: “one who know well the law” (Source for this and four above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Huixtán Tzotzil: “one who mistakenly thought he was teaching God’s commandments”(Huixtán Tzotzil frequently uses the verb -cuy to express “to mistakenly think something” from the point of view of the speaker; source: Marion M. Cowan in Notes on Translation 20/1966, pp. 6ff.)
  • Sumau: “law-knowing men” (source: this blog post by Todd Owen)
  • German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022): “theologian” and the 1998 translation by Walter Jens: “interpreter of scriptures” (Schriftausleger)
  • English translation by Scot McKnight (The Second Testament, publ. 2023): Covenant Code scholar

In British Sign Language it is translated with a sign that combines the signs for “expert” and “law.” (Source: Anna Smith)


“Scribe” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL , used with permission)

complete verse (Acts 8:33)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 8:33:

  • Uma: “He is disparaged and punished, yet he had no guilt. There is no-one who tell-the-account that he has descendants, because he was killed.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “He was put down/criticized and he was not judged with righteous/straight judgment. Who will be able to tell about his descendants? No one. For his life in this world has ended.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “They shamed him and their punishing him was not righteous. He has no descendants which can be related (in a geneology) because very short is his life here on earth.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “They shamed him and they didn’t try him fairly/properly. Neither will anyone relate concerning his descendants, because they cut-short (lit. did-intentionally) his life on this earth.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “He was caused to experience great shame and sentenced with an unfair-sentence. No-one can tell how big was the evil of his contempories for they severed his life/breath.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Lalana Chinantec; “‘They mistreated him shamefully. The people who judged did not do well. They are not supposed to do as they did. How is it possible that we will say that he has people followers? They killed him. He no longer lives in this earth.’ That is what the word of Isaiah is like which the Ethiopia person was looking at.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Huixtán Tzotzil: “… They mistakenly think that he does not have any children because when he was killed here in the world, once and for all he was eradicated they mistakenly think.” (Huixtán Tzotzil frequently uses the verb -cuy to express “to mistakenly think something” from the point of view of the speaker — source: Marion M. Cowan in Notes on Translation 20/1966, pp. 6ff.)

For the Old Testament quotes, see Isaiah 57:8 (from the Greek Septuagint).

complete verse (1 Corinthians 1:27)

Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Corinthians 1:27:

  • Uma: “For God purposely chose / chooses people who are stupid in mankind’s sight, in order that the clever people become ashamed. He chose them who are weak, so that strong people become ashamed.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But God purposed to choose those that the people think that they have no knowledge in order that the people who have knowledge will be put to shame/made ashamed. And God also chose those that people think/consider that they have no strength/power so that the people who have strength/power are made ashamed.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “But in spite of that, God chose you so that you might be set free. For the people are not wise, they’re the ones God chose so that those who think they are wise, might be ashamed. And those people whom the majority suppose can’t do very much, He chose them also so that those who think they have power may be ashamed.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Because God chose those who were not educated or wise in the estimation of people in order that the educated would be shamed. He chose the weak in the estimation of people so that the strong would be shamed.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Because those whom the world regards as not knowledgeable, those are the ones God chose in order to shame those who are reportedly knowledgeable. And those whom the world regards as weak, he chose in order to shame those who are reportedly strong.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “So God chose people who do not have wisdom here on earth in order to make ashamed the people who say they have wisdom. God chose the people who are not strong here on earth in order to make ashamed the people who say they are strong.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
  • Huixtán Tzotzil: “God chose those who are mistakenly thought to be unlearned, of no use, to shame those who mistakenly think they are wise. God chose those who are mistakenly thought to not have strength to shame those who mistakenly think they are strong.” (Huixtán Tzotzil frequently uses the verb -cuy to express “to mistakenly think something” from the point of view of the speaker. (Source: Marion M. Cowan in Notes on Translation 20/1966, pp. 6ff.)

complete verse (James 1:20)

Following are a number of back-translations of James 1:20:

  • Uma: “For people who are angry, they do not follow God’s desire/will.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “For if a person is angry he is not able to do the straight/righteous things that God wants.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “For when we are angry, we cannot by that means obey what God wants.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “because anger, it does not of course lead to the righteous manner-of-life that God likes.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Because as for the anger of man, it achieves nothing which is righteous/straight in the sight of God.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Because the person who is angry does not do the good God wants him to do.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
  • Huixtán Tzotzil: “Don’t let us mistakenly think that we have done what God wants when we became angry.” (Huixtán Tzotzil frequently uses the verb -cuy to express “to mistakenly think something” from the point of view of the speaker — source: Marion M. Cowan in Notes on Translation 20/1966, pp. 6ff.)