naked

The Greek, Latin and Hebrew that is translated as “naked” in English is translated in Enlhet with a figure of speech: “(one’s) smoothness.” (Source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. )

In Elhomwe the word for “naked” is “shameful to use, and would never be used by a preacher in church.” Therefore “without clothes” is used. (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

In Cherokee it is translated as “being in a bodily state.” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 30)

In the Catholic Mandarin Chinese Sigao version and the Protestant Union Version, historical Chinese idioms are used: chìshēn lòutǐ (赤身露體 / 赤身露体) or chìshēn luǒtǐ (赤身裸體 / 赤身裸体): “bare and uncovered body.” (Source: Toshikazu S. Foley in Hong Kong Journal of Catholic Studies, 2011, p. 45ff.)

hungry

The Hebrew, Ge’ez, Latin, and Greek that is translated in English as “hungry” (or: “famished”) is translated in a number of ways:

  • Noongar: “without stomach” (koborl-wirt) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Kölsch translation (Boch 2017): nix zo Käue han or “have nothing to chew on” and singe Mage hät geknottert wie ne Hungk or “his stomach growled like a dog” (source: Jost Zetzsche)
  • German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999): Hunger überfiel ihn or “Hunger overtook (lit.: “attacked”) him” (in Matthew 4:2)
  • Kupsabiny: “hunger ate him” (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Mairasi: “feeling tuber pains” (tubers are the main staple) (source Enggavoter 2004)
  • Chechen: “blinded by hunger” (Source: David Clark in The Bible Translator 2015, p. 117ff. )

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

complete verse (2 Corinthians 11:27)

Following are a number of back-translations of 2 Corinthians 11:27:

  • Uma: “In my work that I do for the Lord, I exert-all-effort and work with all my ability. Many times I don’t-have-a-chance-to-sleep, I don’t-have-a-chance-to-drink, I don’t-have-a-chance-to-eat. Many times I am hungry, cold and don’t have enough clothes.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “My work is difficult and I always work hard. Often I cannot sleep at night. I endure hunger and thirst. Often I have little to eat. I endure cold because my clothes are few.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “I have labored hard; I am always going without sleep; I’m always hungry; I’m always thirsty; I’m always needing food and I’m always needing a place to stay and also clothing.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “I have worked until I was exhausted. Often I didn’t sleep. I have been hungry and thirsty. I have also been cold because my-clothes were insufficient. Often I have not eaten because of my work.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “I have really also experienced excessive hardship and exhaustion, being-always -kept-from-sleep, extremely hungry and thirsty, and excessively cold and not having any thing-to-wrap-around worth-speaking-of.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “I suffered much from the hard work I did. Many times I didn’t have enough time to sleep. I suffered from hunger. I suffered from thirst. Many times when I didn’t have enough food, I didn’t eat. Many times I suffered from cold in the country. Many times I suffered from not having enough clothing to wear.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on 2 Corinthians 11:27

It will be noted that Good News Translation starts a new sentence at the beginning of this verse, and this may serve as a good model in other languages.

The words translated toil and hardship occur also in 1 Thes 2.9, where Revised Standard Version renders them as “labor and toil.” Paul is referring to his hard work as a craftsman. One language has translated these two words by the following sentence: “I saw [or, experienced] pain in hard work.” Another says “I did hard work, and difficult labor wore me out.”

Through many a sleepless night translates the same expression as found in 6.5, but here the word for many is added. Paul does not mean that he had difficulty falling asleep at night. Rather he would often work late into the night at his trade in order to be free to preach the gospel during the day.

Often without food: It is unlikely that this expression refers to fasting. It is more likely another way of talking about hunger just mentioned.

In cold: the term used here is found only twice elsewhere in the New Testament (John 18.18 and Acts 28.2). Here it is taken by Good News Translation as referring to a lack of shelter. This provides the reason for Paul’s feeling cold.

Exposure is literally “in nakedness.” Though some translations take this quite literally (“naked” New International Version, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), the word occurs in Greek literature in reference to someone who has only one rough cloak. Knox translates this term “ill-clad,” while Translator’s New Testament has “without sufficient clothing.” A translation such as “without enough clothing to keep warm” is probably closer to the correct meaning than the word “naked” is. The Good News Translation translation “without enough … clothing” fails to preserve the idea that Paul suffered from the cold. Better is Contemporary English Version, which combines the last two items as follows: “I have been cold from not having enough clothes to keep me warm.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellingworth, Paul. A Handbook on Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 2 Corinthians 11:27

11:27a in labor and toil and often without sleep,

I labored and did tiring work, in which many times I ⌊voluntarily⌋ did not sleep,
-or-
I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. (New Living Translation (2004))

11:27b in hunger and thirst and often without food,

was hungry and thirsty, ⌊frequently⌋ skipped eating,
-or-
Sometimes I did not have ⌊enough⌋ ⌊food⌋ to eat or ⌊water⌋ to drink, and often I did not take time to eat.

11:27c in cold and exposure.

and was ⌊often⌋ cold and ⌊lacked⌋ warm clothes.
-or-
Sometimes I was cold and had no ⌊more/extra⌋ clothes to wear.

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