The different Greek words (agapaō and phileō) that are used in the conversation between Jesus and Peter and that are typically all translated “love” in English are differentiated in some translations.
The English translation by Blackwelder (1980) differentiate with love and have affection, Cassirer (1989) with love and hold dear, Pakaluk (2021) has cherish and love, and Ruden (2021) has love and close friend
A number of German translations (Luther 2017, Neue Genfer Übersetzung 2011, Menge 2010, BasisBibel 2021) use lieben (for agapaō) vs. lieb haben for phileō (“love” vs. “be very fond of”); the translation by Fridolin Stier (1989) has “love” and “be a friend”
Likewise, the FrenchBible Segond 21 (publ. 2007) uses aimer vs. avoir l’amour with a similar difference than the former German translations
The BurmeseMyanmar Standard Bible (2017) has hkyit (ချစ်) vs. hkyithkain (ချစ်ခင်), also “love” vs. “love / be fond of.”
Kayaw makes a distinction as well (source: Anonymous)
The Greek in John 1:16 that is translated as “grace upon grace” or similar in English is translated in Huichol as “He treats us with graciousness, and keeps increasing it.” (Source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
The English translation by Pakaluk (2021) has one gift in place of another (complete Verse: “Because we have all received of his fullness, and one gift in place of another.”) Compare Ruden (2021): “Out of what fills him to the full, we have all been given a share, joyful favor in exchange for joyful favor” and the German translation by Berger / Nord: “Because that was the only way — no matter before or after him — that we could draw from what was given to him in fullness, grace and yet more grace.”
The Greek that is traditionally translated as “carpenter” in English is translated in the English by Ruden (2021) as “builder.” “[The Greek word] tektōn means simply |skilled workman|. I choose builder because the likelihood that Jesus| family were among local artisans employed in rebuilding the new city of Sepphoris [which was destroyed in 4 BC], close to Nazareth.” (p. xliii)
In the Finnish translation of 2020 it is translated as rakennusmies, a generic term for a construction worker. (Source: Seppo Sipilä)
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:
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)
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)
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.”
The Greek in John 7:38 that is typically translated in English as “out of heart (or: “innermost”) shall flow rivers of living water” is translated by the English translations by Ruden (2021) and Pakaluk (2021) as “from his belly rivers of flowing water are going to run” (Ruden) and “rivers of flowing water will flow out from his belly” (Pakaluk).
Ruden explains her choice (p. 285): “The wordplay and symbolism involve the running or ‘living’ water of baptism, and possibly also the fluid that runs (here, literally) ‘from his abdominal cavity’ from the spear puncture at the crucifixion (John 19:34). There are several Hebrew Bible passages echoed here.”
Pakaluk says (p. 96): “It seems that John understands this language to be foreshadowing the pouring out of water, along with blood, from the lanced side of Christ on the cross, which John highlights (19:34) and which is understood in the tradition to represent the birth of the Church. It is indeed the language of birth.”
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “In the beginning” is translated in Lisu as ꓬꓲ ꓚꓰ ꓬꓲ ꓪꓴꓸ — yi tshe yi vu: “In very early times, when there were no people.” This construction follows a traditional four-couplet construct in oral Lisu poetry that is usually in the form ABAC or ABCB. The same phrase is also used as a title for the book of “Genesis.” (Source: Arrington 2020, p. 58)
In the most widely used Mandarin Chinese Bible translation, the Union Version, the term 太初 — tàichū is used in John 1:1 (but not for Gen. 1:1) — vice versa in the Yue Chinese (Cantonese)New Cantonese Bible of 1997, whereas in Hakka Chinese, 太初 — thai-chhû in Hakka — is used in both cases). Tàichū originally was used in early Daoist writings (Liezi, Zhuangzi — both 5th century BC) which is remarkable because of the connection with “dào” (道) in the same verse (see Word / Logos), suggesting connections between Chinese culture and John 1:1. (Source: Zetzsche)
Other translations include:
Jamaican Patois: “when time started” (wen taim did staat); similarly the English translation by James A. Kleist (1954): when time began or Knox (1949): at the beginning of time
Bariai: “prior to the coming forth of everything” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “When before still in the past” (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kölsch: “in the beginning of everything” (translation by Boch 2017)
German: “primordial beginning” (Urbeginn) (translation by Fridolin Stier, 1989)
English translation of the gospels of Sarah Ruden (2021, p. xlii): “inauguration” which “echoes similar connotations of a Hebrew word in Genesis”
The Greek πρασιαὶ πρασιαὶ (prasiai prasiai) that is typically not directly translated in English (the UBS Handbook says: prasia (only here in the N.T.) meant originally ‘a garden plot’; when used as here it means ‘in orderly groups,’ ‘in rows,’ ‘in ranks’) is translated as “looking like flower beds set side to side” by Pakaluk (2019) (the complete verse: And they sat down in groups of a hundred and groups of fifty, looking like flower beds set side to side).
Palaluk explains (p. 108f.): “These are fascinating lines [verses 39 and 40]. Mark uses two idioms that occur only here in recorded Greek literature: “dinner parties, side by side” and “looking like flower beds set side to side.” The phrase for the first is sumposia sumposia. A symposium is literally a drinking party, though we would say dinner party. The phrase for the second is prasiai prasiai. A prasia is a flower bed. Mark repeats each word so that the position of the words in the sentence, side by side, is like the position of the things represented by the words, side by side. It is very clever. But notice this. Jesus commands the disciples to seat everyone in groups like dinner parties. But in following the command, the disciples seat everyone in groups of fifty or one hundred, in rectangular formations. The first sentence records the Lord’s command; the second is Peter’s [Mark’s assumed source for the gospel] vivid description of how it looked after the fact. The contrast between the two expressions shows that Jesus would leave the details to the disciples’ discretion as they followed his command. The apostles are given scope to set down definite realizations of what the Lord intends.”
Wuest (1961) and Blakwelder (1980) offer similar translations. While Ruden (2021) does not, she explains in a footnote (p. 23): “To depict this unconventional feast, outdoor terms are whimsically combined with terms for an ordinary indoor social gathering. The arrangement of the diners here is literally ‘drinking parties drinking parties,’ ‘on the green greenery,’ and ‘garden plots garden plots.’ Two are expressions like the modern Greek plai plai for ‘side by side.'”
The Greek κύκλῳ (kuklo) that is typically translated in English as “about among” or similar is translated by the English translations of Ruden (2020) and Pakaluk (2019) as circuit (“he made a circuit through the villages”). Pakaluk (p. 102) comments: “We glimpse again Christ’s method. He liked to teach on the Sabbath in the synagogue. Perhaps he went to a new village each week, teaching there on the Sabbath, spending the following days healing the sick, visiting farming communities, going to isolated spots to pray, and instructing his disciples. After a couple of months, he could repeat the circuit to provide accountability and deeper instruction.”
