The Greek that is translated as “barren” in English is translated with two different terms in Sranan Tongo: “unable to get a child” (used in Luke 1:7) and “closed womb/belly” (because of old age) (used in Luke 1:36). (Source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)

For the translation into Upper Guinea Crioulo, it was not possible to translate with a purely descriptive term. David Frank (in this blog post ) explains:

“The [translation] team is doing a great job, but there were some challenges. Luke 1:7 is supposed to say that Elizabeth was barren, but they said that while their word for barren might be used for animals, it would not be polite to use for people. They translated it as Deus ka da Isabel bambaran, which means ‘God hadn’t given Elizabeth a bambaran,’ which refers to the cloth a woman uses to carry an infant on her back.”

See also heal (from infertility).

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Barrenness .