The Greek, Ge’ez, and Hebrew that is translated as “fox” in English is translated in Mam as “weasel.” Ron Ross explains: “Foxes is often a difficult concept to express in this part of the world. The Mayas don’t seem to know them. In the Mam project we finally put ‘weasel’ rather than ‘coyote,’ which were basically our choices.”
In Toraja-Sa’dan it is translated as sindallung or “civet cat.” H. van der Veen (in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 21 ff. ) explains: “This animal is a real chicken thief, and is a type of cat with a head resembling that of a fox.”
In Noongar, it is translated as mokiny or “dingo” (in Luke 9:58) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang) and in Newari as “small jackal” (source: Newari Back Translation).
In Sümi Naga, the replacement of “fox” with “dog” was cited in 2026 as one of the reasons for the rejection of a new “Easy-to-Read” Bible in that language (see this article ).
The Hebrew that is translated as “snuffer” or similar in English is translated in Newari as “implement for extinguishing the lamp of the lampstand” (source: Newari Back Translation).
The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “widow” in English is translated in West Kewa as ona wasa or “woman shadow” (source: Karl J. Franklin in Notes on Translation 70/1978, pp. 13ff.) and in Newari as “husband already died ones” or “ones who have no husband” (source: Newari Back Translation).
In Cherokee the term is gender neutral and translates to “one who has lost someone.” (Source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 100)
The etymological meaning of the Hebrewalmanah (אַלְמָנָה) is likely “pain, ache,” the Greekchéra (χήρα) is likely “to leave behind,” “abandon,” and the Englishwidow (as well as related terms in languages such as Dutch, German, Sanskrit, Welsh, or Persian) is “to separate,” “divide” (source: Wiktionary).
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “cried out the Lord (or: Lord)” in English is translated in Newari as “took the name of the Lord (or: Lord)” (source: Newari Back Translation).
The Hebrew in Genesis 31:35 that is translated in English as “the way of women (is upon me)” or similar, referring to menstruation, is translated in Newari as “I am not to be touched.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 15:24:
Kupsabiny: “(A) wise man heads for (a/the) path of life, so that (he) may not fall headlong into the world of the dead.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “The road followed by those who have wisdom moves them upwards towards life, and it takes [them] far away from death.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “A wise man follows the path that leads to life so-that he can-avoid death.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “The path-taken-by the wise is the path that leads to life which is not the path that leads to death.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
English: “Wise people walk on a road that leads up to a long life; they do not walk on a road that leads down to the place where dead people are.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Tuvan: “The wise man, in order to avoid the lower world, will tread the heights on the road leading to life.”
Kalmyk: “The wise man, in order to avoid death, in order to live long and happily, goes up.” (Source for this and one above: Alexey Somov in The Bible Translator 2017, p. 51ff. )
The Greek and Hebrew that is usually translated with “with all (one’s) heart” in English is translated in Newari as “from (one’s) inmost heart” (source: Newari Back Translation)
The Hebrew and Ge’ez that is translated in English as “light” is translated in Newari as “white light.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
In Tenharim the translation is mytuêa or “open/clear space.” LaVera Betts (in: Notes on Translation, September 1971, p. 16ff.) explains: “According to Catarina, the chief’s wife, the moon is a woman and the stars, also considered snails, are her children. In Gen 1:14, therefore, ‘the lights in the firmament of heaven’ is translated literally ‘the lamps/illuminating things on the heaven’ to eliminate the idea of the moon, etc. being animate. To express the idea of light (Gen. 1:3), then, without the presence yet of the sun, moon, or stars, the term open/clear space: mytuêa, was used. Neither the heavenly bodies nor artificial lights nor their obvious rays have to be seen in order for this term to be appropriate. It is a term indicating merely the opposite of no light, that is, the opposite of darkness; and since there were no objects to fill in the space, it still is true in the other sense of the term. Other terms meaning light involved the presence of the sun, moon, stars, or artificial lighting.”
In Idoma, the normal word for “light” is “fire,” so ofíajɛ or “shining” was used instead (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
