consecrate, consecration

The Greek and Hebrew that are translated as “consecration” or “consecrate” in English is translated in Poqomchi’ as “set apart” (when applying to a ritual not to a moral status). (Source: Robert Bascom)

In Newari it is translated as “make holy” (source: Newari Back Translation) and in Kwere as “put to holy work” when it refers to making someone or something suitable for priestly duties, when it refers to individual consecration outside of the priestly duty, “offer (yourselves) for my sake” is also used. (Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

See also holy / sacred / taboo.

high places

The Hebrew, Greek, and Ge’ez that is translated as “high places” in English is translated in Chitonga as malende. Ernst Wendland (1987, p. 57) explains: “The preceding expression [‘place for worship/sacrifice on top of hills’], though intelligible linguistically, sounds rather strange to the Tonga who live on the relatively flat plains of southern Zambia. There are ‘hills’ in their country, but normally no one would ever worship regularly there. For this reason the new translation will try out a cultural substitute (see below), malende, the ‘local shrine’ of Tonga traditional religion, where the ‘priest’ (clan head, who may be a chief as well) makes sacrifices to the spirits in time of corporate calamity, especially drought. This would seem to approximate quite closely the main elements of both form and function of the term ‘high places’ in the Old Testament, which were not always or even usually set upon hills, especially in the latter days of the monarchy (cp. 2 Kings 17:9, 29).”

In the Chichewa interconfessional translation (publ. 1999), it is translated as “shrines for worshiping images there.” (Source: Ernst Wendland in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 319ff. )

complete verse (1 Kings 13:33)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 13:33:

  • Kupsabiny: “Though those things happened that way, Jeroboam did not turn away from his evil/sin, but went ahead to appoint any person a priest so they could be working on the hills. Whoever liked that work would become a priest at the altar.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Even after this event Jeroboam did not abandon his evil behavior, but he chose priests from people of all kinds for places to do puja. He anointed as priests for the places to do puja anyone who wanted to be a priest.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Even after this happened, Jeroboam still did- not -change from his evil ways. He still chose men to serve as priests at the places-of-worship in the high places. Anyone who wants to serve as priest he ordained.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “But King Jeroboam still did not turn away from continuing to do evil things. Instead, he appointed more priests who were not descended from Levi. Anyone who wanted to be a priest, he appointed to be a priest, in order that he could offer sacrifices on the hills.” (Source: Translation for Translators)