In Bauzi “swear” can be translated in various ways. In Hebrews 6:13, for instance, it is translated with “bones break apart and decisively speak.” (“No bones are literally broken but by saying ‘break bones’ it is like people swear by someone else in this case it is in relation to a rotting corpse’ bones falling apart. If you ‘break bones’ so to speak when you make an utterance, it is a true utterance.”) In other passages, such as in Matthew 26:72, it’s translated with an expression that implies taking ashes (“if a person wants everyone to know that he is telling the truth about a matter, he reaches down into the fireplace, scoops up some ashes and throws them while saying ‘I was not the one who did that.'”). So in Matthew 26:72 the Bauzi text is: “. . . Peter took ashes and defended himself saying, ‘I don’t know that Nazareth person.'” (Source: David Briley)
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “bed” or similar in English is translated in Noongar as maya-ngwoorndiny or “bark sleeping” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek terms that are often translated as “worship” (also, “kneel down” or “bow down”) are likewise translated in other languages in certain categories, including those based on physical activity, those which incorporate some element of “speaking” or “declaring,” and those which specify some type of mental activity.
Following is a list of (back-) translations (click or tap for details):
Obolo: itọtọbọ ebum: “express reverence and devotion” (source: Enene Enene)
Ngäbere: “cut oneself down before” (“This figure of speech comes from the picture of towering mahoganies in the forest which, under the woodman’s ax, quiver, waver, and then in solemn, thunderous crashing bury their lofty heads in the upstretched arms of the surrounding forest. This is the experience of every true worshiper who sees ‘the Lord, high and lifted up.’ Our own unworthiness brings us low. As the Valientes say, ‘we cut ourselves down before’ His presence. Our heads, which have been carried high in self-confidence, sink lower and lower in worship.)
Tzeltal: “end oneself before God.” (“Only by coming to the end of oneself can one truly worship. The animist worships his deities in the hope of receiving corresponding benefits, and some pagans in Christendom think that church attendance is a guarantee of success in this life and good luck in the future. But God has never set a price on worship except the price that we must pay, namely, ‘coming to the end of ourselves.'”) (Source of this and the one above: Nida 1952, p. 163)
Folopa: “die under God” (“an idiom that roughly back-translates “dying under God” which means lifting up his name and praising him and to acknowledge by everything one does and thanks that God is superior.”) (Source: Anderson / Moore, p. 202)
Chokwe: kuivayila — “rub something on” (“When anyone goes into the presence of a king or other superior, according to native law and custom the inferior gets down on the ground, takes a little earth in the fingers of his right hand, rubs it on his own body, and then claps his hands in homage and the greeting of friendship. It is a token of veneration, of homage, of extreme gratitude for some favor received. It is also a recognition of kingship, lordship, and a prostrating of oneself in its presence. Yet it simply is the applicative form of ‘to rub something on oneself’, this form of the verb giving the value of ‘because of.’ Thus in God’s presence as king and Lord we metaphorically rub dirt on ourselves, thus acknowledging Him for what He really is and what He has done for us.”) (Source: D. B. Long in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 87ff. )
In the German New Testament translation Fridolin Stier (1989) it is consistently translated as “bow (to someone) deeply” (tief verneigen)
In Luang it is translated with different shades of meaning:
For Mark 15:19 and Matt. 2:8 and 2:11: “uh’idma-rrama llia’ara” — “to kiss the fingernail and lick the heel”
For Acts 16:14: ra’uli-rawedi — “to praise-talk about”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 47:31:
Kankanaey: “Then Jacob said, ‘Swear that you (sing.) will fulfill-it.’ And Jose swore, then Jacob knelt at the head-end of his bed and thanked God.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Newari: “Once more Israel said — ‘Give me [your] promise.’ Joseph gave [his] promise. Then Israel bowed down over the head of his bed.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Then Jacob said, ‘[You (sing.)] swear to me that you (sing.) will- surely -fulfill-it.’ So Jose swore to him. Then Jacob knelt down on his thing-to-lay-down-on to give-thanks to God.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Jacob said, ‘Swear/Solemnly promise to me that you will do it!’ So Joseph swore to do it. Then Jacob turned over in bed, bowed his head, and worshiped God.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
In verse 29 Jacob instructed Joseph how to take the oath. In verse 30 Joseph promises to do as Jacob has said, but in this verse Jacob insists that Joseph affirm his promise by taking the oath as given in verse 29.
He said: that is, “Jacob said.”
Swear to me: that is, “Swear an oath to me,” “Take the vow,” or “Promise [in God’s name] that you will do it.”
And he [Joseph] swore to him [Jacob]: we may translate this, for example, “Then Joseph swore an oath [took the vow, made the solemn promise]” or “Then Joseph did as his father commanded him to do.”
Then Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed: Driver says Jacob “apparently turned himself over on his bed, and bent his head down towards its head—in imitation, as far as possible, of actual prostration.” For the account of David doing something similar in his old age, see 1 Kgs 1.47.
The purpose of bowing in his bed is to give thanks, although translations do not agree on the one being thanked. Therefore some translators do not express the gesture but only its purpose. See Good News Translation. Others retain both the gesture and its function. For example, Bible en français courant says “Then Jacob thanked him by inclining deeply at the head of his bed,” and Revised English Bible says “And Israel bowed in worship by the head of his bed.”
Heb 11.21 records this event as “He leaned on the top of his walking stick and worshiped God” (Good News Translation). The reason for saying “walking stick” is that the Hebrew words for “bed” and “walking stick” are very similar, and the Septuagint, which says “walking stick,” is the basis for the translation in Heb 11.21. However, the Septuagint is not to be translated in this verse.
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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