The Greek, Ge’ez, and Aramaic that is translated as “mystery” in English is translated as “wisdom which was hidden” in Mezquital Otomi, as “that was not possible to be understood before” in Huehuetla Tepehua, as “which was not known in time past” in Central Tarahumara (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), and in Newari as “hidden meaning” or “hidden matter” (source: Newari Back Translation).
principalities / rulers
The Greek that is translated as “principalities” or “rulers” in English is translated in various ways:
- North Alaskan Inupiatun: “evil spirits”
- Hopi: “those who are first”
- Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “one who is prominent in heaven”
- Yatzachi Zapotec: “important bad angels”
- Isthmus Zapotec: “spirits who have power”
- Central Tarahumara: “other great spirits”
- Huehuetla Tepehua: “big angels”
- Highland Totonac: “the ones who control things” (source for this and above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
- Mairasi: “powerful ones” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
- Bariai: “the bad bush-spirits and various kinds of tambaran spirits of the earth” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “those supernatural beings who are in the very deep places” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
ambition, goal
The term that is rendered as “my ambition” or “my goal” in English is translation into Hakha Chin with an appropriate idiom drawn from the language of hunting in the forest: “the animal I kill” (source: David Clark)
It is translated as “put heart into” in Tzeltal and “very desirous,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), and in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with Ehrenpflicht or “honorary obligation” (in Romans 15:20)
envy / envious
The Greek, Latin and Hebrew that is translated as “envy” or “envious” in most English translations is, according to Nida (1952, p. 134), translated into Tzeltal and Tabasco Chontal in the following manner:
“Envy is bred of covetousness and self-centeredness. The Tzeltals, who recognize a covetous man as having a ‘small heart,’ say that an envious person has ‘a greedy heart.’ ‘Small hearts’ and ‘greedy hearts’ go together, and the soul shrinks in direct proportion to its greediness. The envious person is never satisfied, for he can never keep step with his own insatiable ego.
“The Chontal Indians, living in the low, swampy delta land of Tabasco in southern Mexico, regard envy in a more subtle way. They say of the man who is envious of his neighbor, ‘He did not want to see his neighbor.’ This describes the end result of envy. People cannot bear to see others enjoying the privileges which they insist should be their own. The envious man has acquired such a self-directed stare that he cannot take his eyes off self to see another’s enjoyment.”
Other translations include:
- Central Mazahua: “jealous of each other, their fellow people”
- Sayula Popoluca: “hate those who have something” (source for this and above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
- Chol: “resent the well-being of others” (source: John Beekman & Harwood Hess in Notes on Translation, March 1963, p. 1ff.)
- Matumbi: sukya, which means “envy” but also “hate” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
- Kupsabiny: “blackstomached” (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
See also envy.
despise
The Greek that is translated as “despise” in English is translated as
- “not think anything of” in Huehuetla Tepehua
- “he is of no account to you” in Tzeltal
- “say you are better” in Chicahuaxtla Triqui
- “hate” in Yatzachi Zapotec
- “speak evil of” in Sayula Popoluca
- “reject” in Highland Totonac, as “not respect” in Central Tarahumara
- “act superior to” in Isthmus Zapotec (source for this and above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
- “their eyes mocked them” in Bariai (source: Bariai Back Translation)
dishonorable passions, shameful acts
The Greek in Romans 1:26 that is translated as “dishonorable passions” or “shameful acts” in English is translated in Manikion as “actions that make people spit.” (Source: Daud Soesilo)
In Sierra de Juárez Zapotec it is translated as “their own filthy cravings” and in Yatzachi Zapotec as “doing shameful things and unclean things as their head-hearts desired.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
firstborn
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “firstborn” in English is translated in a number of ways:
- “he/she that opens the gown” in Batak Toba (because formerly a woman stopped wearing a gown and started using a bodice after the birth of her first child)
- “he/she that damages the stalk (i.e. the body)” in Uab Meto (source for this and above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
- “the oldest son of all” in Mezquital Otomi
- “oldest child” in Isthmus Zapotec (source for this and one above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
- “firstborn child, who was a boy” in Elhomwe (to make clear, without ambiguity, that Mary did not have daughters before) (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
In Bawm Chin, the term can imply the existence of younger siblings, so a translation is needed that brings out the fact that Jesus is superior to all else, not just the first of a series. (Source: David Clark)
See also only begotten son / (one and) only son and firstborn.
arrogant, proud
The Greek and Ge’ez that is translated in English as “proud” or “arrogant” is translated in Chimborazo Highland Quichua as “making yourself chief.” (Source: Julia Woodward in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 140ff. )
In Isthmus Zapotec it is translated as “snobby” and in Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “thinking they are the people of worth.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
In Elhomwe it is “to lift oneself up,” i.e. “to be pompous.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
For “proud” also see humble / lowly and pride.