Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 9:5:
Noongar: “If people do not want you, leave that place and shake the dust from your feet, like a sign to them.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “If you arrive in a town, and you are not received, thus when you leave that town, shake off/knock off the dust that is sticking to the soles of your feet, a sign that God will punish them.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “And if there is a village you come to but the people don’t treat you according-to-custom, leave that village. Shake off the dust of your feet first as a sign that you are through/finished with them, and then leave (through with them – no more responsibility for them).'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And if there is a town where no one welcomes you, you leave that town and you shake off the dust from your feet, which will be a sign that they will be punished by God.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “But if there is a town where you go and they don’t receive you, leave them, and as you leave, brush-off your soles (of feet) so they will thereby-know that they are responsible for their punishment.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “However supposing you aren’t received in whichever place you come to, don’t stay around. On your leaving there, brush off the dust from your legs/feet, which is a sign that, as for the people there who didn’t believe, God no longer regards them as his people.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 5:2:
Uma: “I saw, there was a strong angel, he called loudly, he said: ‘Who is fitting/worthy to open this letter? Who is fitting/worthy to open the seals so that this letter can be read?'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “And I saw a very strong angel who spoke loudly, he said, ‘Is there anyone here worthy to remove the seals of this roll of paper and open it?'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Then I saw a very strong angel of God, and he shouted saying, ‘Who is worthy to open this scroll? Who is worthy to remove these marks so that it might be read?'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “I also saw an angel whose power was large raise (lit. cause-to-be-strong) his voice saying, ‘Who is worthy to detach these things-that-are-affixed to unroll the paper?'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And I also saw a far-from-ordinary angel who called out loudly, saying, ‘Who is really acceptable/possible to remove these fastenings and open this rolled up writing?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “I saw an angel who was very powerful loudly make a question, saying: ‘Who will come forth who is supremely good so that he is able to open the seals which are on the paper in order that it be unrolled?’ he said.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 5:15:
Uma: “But the work of Adam and the work of Yesus are indeed different. The free gift [lit., dry gift] of God to us is bigger than the transgression of Adam. From the transgression of that one person, all mankind die. But indeed bigger is the goodness of God’s heart that he gave freely to mankind with the mediation of Yesus Kristus.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “But they are different because we (dual)/one cannot compare the sin done by Apu’ Adam and the love-gift of God. For because of the sin done by one person only, Apu’ Adam, the destiny of all men is to die. But much greater/important is the good done by one person also, Isa Almasi, for because-of what he did many people can receive the love-gift of God, that means his love and pity/mercy to them.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “But the two of them are not the same, because the transgression of the one is not like the becoming righteous which God makes possible. Adam was just one person, but because of his transgression all mankind die. And in spite of that, much greater was that which was made possible by means of the kindness of God; for because of the kindness of one man also, who is Jesus Christ, God gave righteousness and He made many people righteous.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “But admittedly the outcome of what they did was not the same, because what God gifted on account of Cristo is far different from what happened on account of Adan’s sin. Because due to the sin of that one, all people were condemned to die, but much-weightier is the outcome of God’s grace and what he gifted to all people because of the grace of the one who was Jesu Cristo.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Here is what happened because of Adam’s sinning and here is what happened because of the grace of God which was given us. Adam committed sin, and thus many people had brought on them that they die. But Jesus Christ is the one who brought us God’s grace and many people had brought on them that they will be saved. It is more powerful what Jesus did than what Adam did.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Central Mazahua: “What Adam gave us is not at all like what Jesus Christ gave us. Many people died because one person did sin, who is Adam. It was given to many people that God would look on them well, that they would live, because one person did good, who is Jesus Christ.”
Teutila Cuicatec: “Adam’s sin was not the same as God’s mercy for us. Because of that one person all people owed sin but that’s not how it was with God’s mercy. He sent our Lord Jesus Christ and that one person in all love saved a great many people.” (Source for this and above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 9:37:
Noongar: “Next day, Jesus and the three disciples went down the mountain and many people came to Jesus.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “The next day they descended from the top of the mountain, and many people met Yesus.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “The next day when they had come down from the mountain, great crowds of people came to meet Isa.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “On the next day, they went down the mountain and there were very many people who came to meet Jesus.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “On the next day, plural Jesus descended the mountain, and many people met him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Next morning, Jesus and company went down (the mountain). They were met by very many people.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 7:3:
Uma: “‘Do not yet strike the sea and the shore/land and the forest with plagues/tortures, before we (excl.) put this sign on the foreheads of the slaves/servants of God our [inc] Lord so they will not be hit by those plagues .'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “The angel said to them, ‘Don’t destroy yet the earth and the sea and the trees as long as the servants of our (incl.) God have not yet been marked/sealed on their foreheads.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as for the four angels to whom are entrusted the destruction of the earth and sea, He spoke to them. He raised His voice and said, ‘Don’t yet destroy the earth and sea and trees until we have placed the mark on the foreheads of the servants of our God.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “‘Don’t destroy the earth or the ocean or the trees until we (excl.) mark the foreheads of those who serve our God.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “He said, ‘Don’t yet destroy the ground/earth, the ocean and the forest. Wait until the foreheads have been marked of the servants of our God.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “He said to them: ‘Do not do any damage on the land nor on the sea nor on any tree while I am marking the people who are God’s workers, putting a seal on their foreheads,’ he said.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The Greek Christos (Χρηστός) is typically transliterated when it appears together with Iésous (Ἰησοῦς) (Jesus). In English the transliteration is the Anglicized “Christ,” whereas in many other languages it is based on the Greek or Latin as “Kristus,” “Cristo,” or similar.
When used as a descriptive term in the New Testament — as it’s typically done in the gospels (with the possible exceptions of for instance John 1:17 and 17:3) — Christos is seen as the Greek translation of the Hebrew mashiaḥ (המשיח) (“anointed”). Accordingly, a transliteration of mashiaḥ is used, either as “Messiah” or based on the Greek or Latin as a form of “Messias.”
This transliteration is also used in the two instances where the Greek term Μεσσίας (Messias) is used in John 1:41 and 4:25.
In some languages and some translations, the term “Messiah” is supplemented with an explanation. Such as in the GermanGute Nachricht with “the Messiah, the promised savior” (Wir haben den Messias gefunden, den versprochenen Retter) or in Muna with “Messiah, the Saving King” (Mesias, Omputo Fosalamatino) (source: René van den Berg).
In predominantly Muslim areas or for Bible translations for a Muslim target group, Christos is usually transliterated from the Arabic al-Masih (ٱلْمَسِيحِ) — “Messiah.” In most cases, this practice corresponds with languages that also use a form of the Arabic Isa (عيسى) for Jesus (see Jesus). There are some exceptions, though, including modern translations in Arabic which use Yasua (يَسُوعَ) (coming from the Aramaic Yēšūa’) alongside a transliteration of al-Masih, Hausa which uses Yesu but Almahisu, and some Fula languages (Adamawa Fulfulde, Nigerian Fulfulde, and Central-Eastern Niger Fulfulde) which also use a form of Iésous (Yeesu) but Almasiihu (or Almasiifu) for Christos.
In Indonesian, while most Bible translations had already used Yesus Kristus rather than Isa al Masih, three public holidays used to be described using the term Isa Al Masih. From 2024 on, the government is using Yesus Kristus in those holiday names instead (see this article in Christianity Today ).
Other solutions that are used by a number of languages include these:
Dobel: “The important one that God had appointed to come” (source: Jock Hughes)
Noongar: Keny Mammarap or “The One Man” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Mairasi: “King of not dying for life all mashed out infinitely” (for “mashed out,” see salvation; source: Lloyd Peckham)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “One chosen by God to rule mankind” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Bacama: Ma Pwa a Ngɨltən: “The one God has chosen” (source: David Frank in this blog post )
Binumarien: Anutuna: originally a term that was used for a man that was blessed by elders for a task by the laying on of hands (source: Desmond Oatridges, Holzhausen 1991, p. 49f.)
Noongar: Keny Boolanga-Yira Waangki-Koorliny: “One God is Sending” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uab Meto: Neno Anan: “Son of heaven” P. Middelkoop explains: “The idea of heavenly power bestowed on a Timorese king is rendered in the title Neno Anan. It is based on the historical fact that chiefs in general came from overseas and they who come thence are believed to have come down from heaven, from the land beyond the sea, that means the sphere of God and the ghosts of the dead. The symbolical act of anointing has been made subservient to the revelation of an eternal truth and when the term Neno Anan is used as a translation thereof, it also is made subservient to a new revelation of God in Jesus Christ. The very fact that Jesus came from heaven makes this translation hit the mark.” (Source: P. Middelkoop in The Bible Translator 1953, p. 183ff. )
In Finnish Sign Language both “Christ” and “Messiah” are translated with a sign signifying “king.” (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
“Christ / Messiah” in Finnish Sign Language (source )
Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient GreekSeptuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew mashiah was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments (click or tap here to read more):
“Another important word in the New Testament that comes from the Septuagint is christos, ‘Christ.’ Christ is not part of the name of the man from Nazareth, as if ‘the Christs’ were written above the door of his family home. Rather, ‘Christ’ is an explicitly messianic title used by the writers of the New Testament who have learned this word from the Septuagint’s translation of the Hebrew mashiach, ‘anointed,’ which itself is often rendered in English as ‘Messiah.’ To be sure, one detects a messianic intent on the part of the Septuagint translator in some places. Amos 4:13 may have been one of these. In the Hebrew Bible, God ‘reveals his thoughts to mortals,’ but the Septuagint has ‘announcing his anointed to humans.’ A fine distinction must be made, however, between theology that was intended by the Septuagint translators and that developed by later Christian writers. In Amos 4:13 it is merely possible we have a messianic reading, but it is unquestionably the case that the New Testament writers exploit the Septuagint’s use of christos, in Amos and elsewhere, to messianic ends.”
Eugene Nida wrote the following about the translation of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek terms that are typically translated with “prophet” in English:
“The tendency in many translations is to use ‘to foretell the future’ for ‘prophesy,’ and ‘one who foretells the future’ for ‘prophet.’ This is not always a recommended usage, particularly if such expressions denote certain special native practices of spirit contact and control. It is true, of course, that prophets of the Bible did foretell the future, but this was not always their principal function. One essential significance of the Greek word prophētēs is ‘one who speaks forth,’ principally, of course, as a forth-teller of the Divine will. A translation such as ‘spokesman for God’ may often be employed profitably.” (1947, p. 234f.)
Following is a list of (back-) translations from other languages (click or tap for details):
Ayutla Mixtec: “one who talks as God’s representative”
Isthmus Mixe: “speaker for God” (source for this and two above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Mezquital Otomi / Paasaal: “God’s messenger” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff. and Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
Noongar: Warda Marridjiny or “News Traveling” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Kutu: mtula ndagu or “one who gives the prediction of the past and the future” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ebira: ọnịsẹ, a neologism that combines the prefix ọn for “a person” with ịsẹ for “prediction” (source: Scholz /Scholz 2015, p. 49)
French 1985 translation by Chouraqui: inspiré or “inspired one” (“someone in whom God has breathed [Latin: in + spiro]) (source: Watson 2023, p. 45)
Cherokee: adolehosgi (ᎠᏙᎴᎰᏍᎩ) or “discoverer of things,” a “term that was was traditionally applied to Cherokee medicine men or women who used divining.” (Source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 49)
In Ixcatlán Mazatec a term is used that specifically includes women. (Source: Robert Bascom)
“In some instances these spiritual terms result from adaptations reflecting the native life and culture. Among the Northern Grebo people of Liberia, a missionary wanted some adequate term for ‘prophet,’ and she was fully aware that the native word for ‘soothsayer’ or ‘diviner’ was no equivalent for the Biblical prophet who spoke forth for God. Of course, much of what the prophets said referred to the future, and though this was an essential part of much of their ministry, it was by no means all. The right word for the Gbeapo people would have to include something which would not only mean the foretelling of important events but the proclamation of truth as God’s representative among the people. At last the right word came; it was ‘God’s town-crier.’ Every morning and evening the official representative of the chief goes through the village crying out the news, delivering the orders of the chief, and announcing important coming events. ‘God’s town-crier’ would be the official representative of God, announcing to the people God’s doings, His commands, and His pronouncements for their salvation and well-being. For the Northern Grebo people the prophet is no weird person from forgotten times; he is as real as the human, moving message of the plowman Amos, who became God’s town-crier to a calloused people.” (source: Nida 1952, p. 20)
In British Sign Language it is is translated with a sign that depicts a message coming from God to a person (the upright finger) and then being passed on to others. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Prophet” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Following are a number of back-translations of John 1:14:
Aguaruna: “That word, when he arrived here, was born a human being, and in this way he lived with us. That completely good person was a speaker of the truth. And also we came to know his greatness because his Father, God, had said to his only Son, ‘You are great.'”
Yatzachi Zapotec: “The Person who is the Word was born human and he was with us. He loved mankind very much and he taught mankind all the true words of God. We saw him and we realized that he is the Person of greatest worth because he is the only Son of our Father God.”
Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac: “And the One who is called Word, he became a Person, and he lived in our midst. And we saw how he had power. That power is that of the only Son of Father God. He is very kind and merciful and all which he says it is true.” (Source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
Uma: “That Word, he became man[kind], and he lived among us (incl.). We (excl.) saw his power. That power of his he received from his Father, for He is the Only Child. [It is] from him that we know God and his grace [lit., white insides] to us.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “So-then, the Word appeared/was-born here in the world having a human body and living among mankind. All love and truth was there with him. We (excl.) were-able to see his power and his brightness, and this his power and brightness were fitting for him for he is the only Son of God.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And the one called the Word of God became human and joined himself to us. He is very gracious and his words are very true. We saw his great high rank which is the high rank of the only child of God. And as for that high rank of his, it was given to him by his Father God.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “The Word, he became a person and stayed-with us (excl.). He was consistently-compassionate and what he said was all true. We (excl.) saw his godhood which was the godhood of the only Child of God who came-from his Father.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “This Jesus who is called Word, he became a human and then lived here in the world together-with us. His praiseworthiness/glory was experienced by our (excl.) eyes, this glory of his being the glory of the one-and-only Son/child of God the Father. We (excl.) also comprehended the big-size of his grace/mercy and that everything which he revealed/came-out-with is indeed truth.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “He who makes known how God is became a person. He lived here where we live. We saw that he is the greatest. He is the greatest because he is God’s only son. He spoke only what is true and he loves the people without limit.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “That which is-being-called the Word was-born and dwelt/joined-with us (incl.) here. We (excl.) have-seen his high-position as the only Child of the Father. He is very [intensifier] merciful and what he is-telling is pure truth.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Mairasi: “This Message lived as a person, and He lived among us and we saw the height of His shining Glory. This person is the only Child of Our Father, He Himself has good insides and gave us goodness which is tuberfully correct.” (Source: Enggavoter 2004)
Bariai: “And the Talk became human, and so he came living in our (excl.) midst. And so we saw his light and his great power, it’s the light of the one child whose Father sent him to come. He was full of the action/practice of a soft interior and true talk.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
Kupsabiny: “That word became a person, it came to live with us and we saw his greatness. That greatness is what a son who is only one, gets from where the father is. He loved people completely and brought the word of truth.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Anindilyakwa: “And that same one who revealed God who was hidden from us, he became a human being like us. He was born, he had flesh and bones and then he lived here and went around with us people. He is rich in love, he was very kind and he kept on and on speaking the truth. We saw that he was the leading powerful and beautiful one, the one who was his Father’s one and only Son, the one who came from his Father to here.” (Source: Julie Waddy in The Bible Translator 2004, p. 452ff.)
