angry

The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is translated as “(was or became) angry” in English is translated in Kwere as “saw anger.” In Kwere, emotions are always paired with sensory verbs (seeing or smelling or hearing). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

In Bariai it is “to have grumbling interiors” (source: Bariai Back Translation).

See also anger and feel (terror, pain, suffering, anxiety).

Saul

The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Saul” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign that depicts “sword in chest” (referring to 1 Samuel 31:4 and 1 Chronicles 10:4) and also “self-centered.” (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Saul” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about King Saul (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Saul .

feel (terror / pain / suffering / anxiety / thirst)

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “feel (terror, pain, suffering, anxiety, thirst)” or similar in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) in association with the verb kumva or “hear,” “as if the feeling is heard in the ear.”

In Psalm 115:7 the stand-alone “feel” is also translated as “hear.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

See also angry

cried out the LORD (Lord)

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “cried out the Lord (or: Lord)” in English is translated in Newari as “took the name of the Lord (or: Lord)” (source: Newari Back Translation).

regret

The Hebrew in 1 Samuel 15:11 that is translated as “regret” or similar in English is translated in Vidunda as “have sadness.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (1 Samuel 15:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 15:11:

  • Kupsabiny: “‘I am disappointed because I made Saul to be a king, now that he is not doing what I tell him to do.’ When Samuel heard like that, he was angry/sad and he cried to God throughout that day.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “I regret a lot for making Saul king, because he has gone far from me, and he has not obeyed my commands. Samuel was at a loss to know what to say [lit. "what to say what to say" happened to Samuel], and weeping all night he prayed to the LORD.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘I regret/am-sorry that I made Saul king, because he has-turned-away from me and he has- not -followed/obeyed my commands.’ When Samuel heard this, he (was) very troubled/disturbed, so he prayed to the LORD the whole/entire night.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘I am sorry that I appointed Saul to be your king, because he has turned away from me and has not obeyed what I commanded him to do.’ Samuel was very disturbed/upset when he heard that, and he cried out to Yahweh all that night.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.