Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 2:14:
- Noongar: “‘Great, great thanks to God, high in his Holy Country, and peace on our Earth. Peace to all good people. God is happy with them.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
- Uma: “‘Come let us worship God who is in heaven! and on earth, people whom he likes receive goodness of life.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “‘God is worthy to be praised in heaven and on earth may the people who please God be in peace/have peace.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “they said, ‘Let us (inc.) praise God who is in Heaven. And here on the earth may the situation become peaceful of all those people with whom God is pleased.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “‘God in heaven is honored/praised. The people on earth who make-him-happy will-be-at-peace.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “‘Praise God who is in the high-part of the sky/heaven. And here under the heavens, peace/protection of mind/inner-being is what he will give to people who are pleasing to him.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
- Kupsabiny: “God is big/great in heaven/up | peace is coming | to people who please/love God.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
- Bariai: “Let’s lift up Deo’s name who is living very high up! | And the people on earth whom Deo is happy with, his action of peace (lit. “of a smooth interior”) remains with them.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
- Mairasi: “‘We who are in the Heaven, we must honor Great Above One [God]! And then you guys, you who live in the world, you who are in Above-One’s vision [who are pleasing to Him], good peace is intended to be yours!’ said they.” (Source: Enggavoter 2004)
- Hausa Common Language Bible: “’Glory to God over there in heaven! | On earth let peace it remain | together with those whom God he feels pleasure of them!’” (Source: Hausa Common Language Back Translation)
- Pfälzisch translation by Walter Sauer (publ. 2012): “Honor belongs to God in heaven | and peace shall reign on earth | among the people | because he loves them.”
- Low German translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006: “Praise and honor for God the Lord above | and peace down here on earth for people who mean it with all their heart and have the favor.”
- Hawai’i Creole English: “Up in heaven where God lives, | may he continue to be awesome! | And here on earth | If God likes what people are doing | He’ll make their hearts rest within them.” (Source for this and two above: Zetzsche)
- English: “‘God is great! He lives in the highest place above. | He will bless the people on earth who please him. | They will have peace in their minds.’” (Source: EasyEnglish Bible)
- English: “‘May all the angels in the highest heaven praise God! And on the earth may the people to whom God has shown his favor have peace with him!’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 10:6:
- Uma: “But there are other words of Musa that say we can become straight in God’s sight because of our faith. They sound like this: ‘Don’t say in your (sing.) heart: ‘Who is able to climb up to heaven? Who can go down to the dwelling of the dead?’ ‘ Its meaning: it is not necessary for us to climb up to heaven to search for goodness [i.e., salvation], because Kristus has already come down here to us. Nor is it necessary for us to go down to the dwelling of the dead to search for goodness, because Kristus, has risen from the dead to give us goodness.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “But just one thing must/ought be done by us (dual) so that we (dual) are considered straight by God, we (dual) must trust Isa Almasi. And about this there is also (something) written in the holy-book, it says, ‘Don’t say (pl.), ‘There should be first someone going to heaven,’ ‘ (that means to get Almasi to bring him here to earth.)” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “However, concerning the regarding people that can be means of faith, there’s also a written word which says, ‘You must not suppose that we (incl.) can only be considered righteous by God if someone goes to Heaven to get Christ.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “But there is also that which God caused-to-be-written which makes-known to us that the righteousness based on faith is not difficult to gain/enjoy. It/He says, ‘Don’t say to yourselves (lit. with your minds) that someone needs to go to heaven to go call Cristo to come-down here.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tenango Otomi: “But there is the word about how God clears our sins. He clears our sins because we believe in Jesus Christ. Because it is written ‘Therefore let no one say that is necessary to go to heaven to bring back Christ to save him. Because he has already come.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
- Huehuetla Tepehua: “But this is what the word of God says about those who have put their confidence in Christ and because of that they are seen as if their life was straight before God. He said: Don’t say in your heart, Who can go up to heaven so that he could bring Christ here to this world to help us?”
- Teutila Cuicatec: “As for God justifying those who believe, perhaps there are those who scoff and say as follows: ‘Just who has ever gone to heaven and seen if Jesus Christ came from there?'” (Source for this and above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
The Greek in Acts 7:38 that is translated as “living oracles” or “living words” or similar in English is translated in the following ways:
The Greek that is typically translated as “virtue” or “excellence” in English is translated in other languages in the following ways:
- Doondo / Bhele / Komo: “good behavior” (source: Madel M’Pandzou; Ung’i Atido)
- Bariai: “good behaviors” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
- Mairasi “improved lives/behavior” (Enggavoter 2004)
- Bali / Bila / Vanuma: “goodness” (source: Ung’i Atido)
- Ngiti (Ndruna): “doing good” (source: Ung’i Atido)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “good works” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “really good nature/ways” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
- Tenango Otomi: “earnestly live good” (source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
- Hausa: “character of goodness” (Hausa Common Language Back Translation)
- Mandarin Chinese: déxíng 德行 or “moral behavior” (Protestant) / yìlì 毅力 or “willpower” (Catholic)
- English EasyEnglish Bible (publ. 2018): “try to do what is good”
- Low German translation by Johannes Jessen (publ. 1937, republ. 2008): “stand your ground as a Christian”
- Pennsylvania Dutch: goot layva or “good life”
- Mukulu (Guerguiko): sooru ki diine or “walk in the middle” (source: Barnabas Al-Nadif Nidjei)
- Bokoto (Bhogoto): dɛɛmɔ nɛ riwarɛɛ or “behavior on the path (of life)” (source: Adam Huntley)
- Budu-Nita translation by CITBA (Centre Interconfessionnel de la Traduction de la Bible et Alphabétisation): mʉkyananakɨa wɔta uɗo or “good character” (source: François Anzabati)
- Ngiemboon : mà wembóŋo or “good habit,” i.e. something that is recognized as the right way to do things (source: Moise Yonta)
The Greek in Acts 3:15 that is translated as “author of life” in English is translated as
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “(man) after my (or: his) heart” in English is translated in a number of ways:
- Teutila Cuicatec. “(a man who) respects what I want”
- Eastern Highland Otomi: “whom I look well on”
- Chichimeca-Jonaz: “who pleases my heart”
- Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac: “thinks like I do”
- Tzotzil: “with his heart the same as mine (we think the same way)”
- Isthmus Mixe: “his heart and mine meet together”
- Morelos Nahuatl: “a good man whom I like”
- Shipibo-Conibo: “does what I desire in my heart” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
- Kupsabiny: “a person my stomach loves” (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
- Bariai: “a man who follows my mind (lit. interior)” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
- Mairasi: “one who has My throat and makes My liver good” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “I am very pleased with his customs” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “his ways/nature really please me for they are really in harmony with my ways” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The Greek in Luke 10:40 that is translated as something like “(Martha) was distracted by all the preparations” is translated by other languages as:
- “all kinds of work to do had gone to Martha’s heart” (Tzeltal)
- “Martha was wearing-herself-out how/the-way her feeding them” (Tboli)
- “because much work fell to Martha, her agitation flew/flared-up” (Marathi)
- “Martha’s mind was stirred up with excess of service” (Zarma)
- “she danced to and fro in serving” (Uab Meto)
- “much work overwhelmed Martha” (Sranan Tongo) (source for all above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
- “her face kept on getting turned with her work inside the house” (Mairasi) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
- “she was alone in the kitchen because she was making food for them, and there were many problems that she had with what she was doing” (Western Bukidnon Manobo) (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- “Marta’s eye was here and there with the doing of tasks” (Bariai) (source: Bariai Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 6:10:
- Uma: “He died one time only to defeat the power of sin forever. And at this time he lives on-and-on following the desire of God.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “He died and sin was really done away with by him. Now he is alive and all his deeds praise God.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “He died only once as a substitute for all people and that was sufficient and because of this His being troubled by our sins has now been removed from Him. And now He is raised from the dead and His life has become that which is the reason for God to be praised.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “Because his death was only once. He will not repeat his bearing of sin. And his living now/today is so that he will serve God.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tenango Otomi: “Because Christ one time only died for the sins of the people. Now that he lives, he is living to do the will of God.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
