enemy / foe

The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “enemy” or “foe” in English is translated in the Hausa Common Language Bible as “friends of front,” i.e., the person standing opposite you in a battle. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

In North Alaskan Inupiatun it is translated with a term that implies that it’s not just someone who hates you, but one who wants to do you harm (Source: Robert Bascom), in Tarok as ukpa ìkum or “companion in war/fighting,” and in Ikwere as nye irno m or “person who hates me” (source for this and one above: Chuck and Karen Tessaro in this newsletter ).

Translation commentary on 1 Maccabees 15:33

But Simon gave him this reply: The connector but is a better introductory word than “and” in Good News Bible, since it gives the reader notice that Simon’s reply was not what Athenobius wanted to hear.

We have neither taken foreign land nor seized foreign property: Good News Bible translates this well.

But only the inheritance of our fathers: Again Good News Bible has a good model here, saying “On the contrary, we have simply taken back property that we inherited from our ancestors.”

Which at one time had been unjustly taken by our enemies may be expressed as “This is land that our enemies stole from us earlier.”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.