covenant

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The Hebrew, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that are translated as “covenant” in English are translated in a variety of ways. Here are some (back-) translations:

  • Mossi: “helping promise”
  • Vai: “a thing-time-bind” (i.e. “an arrangement agreed upon for a period of time”)
  • Loma (Liberia): “agreement”
  • Northwestern Dinka: “agreement which is tied up” (i.e. “secure and binding”)
  • Chol: “a word which is left”
  • Huastec: “a broken-off word” (“based on the concept of ‘breaking off a word’ and leaving it with the person with whom an agreement has been reached”)
  • Tetelcingo Nahuatl: “a death command” (i.e. “a special term for testament”)
  • Piro: “a promised word”
  • Eastern Krahn: “a word between”
  • Yaka: “promise that brings together” (source for this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Nabak: alakŋaŋ or “tying the knot” (source: Fabian 2013, p. 156)
  • Kâte: ʒâʒâfic or “tie together” (source: Renck 1990, p. 108)
  • Nyamwezi: ilagano: “agreement, contract, covenant, promise” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Bariai: “true talk” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Q’anjob’al: “put mouths equal” (representing agreement) (source: Newberry and Kittie Cox in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 91ff. )
  • Manikion, Indonesian: “God’s promise” (source: Daud Soesilo)
  • Natügu: nzesz’tikr drtwr: “oneness of mind” (source: Brenda Boerger in Beerle-Moor / Voinov, p. 164)
  • Tagalog: tipan: mutual promising on the part of two persons agreeing to do something (also has a romantic touch and denotes something secretive) (source: G. Henry Waterman in The Bible Translator 1960, p. 24ff. )
  • Tagbanwa: “initiated-agreement” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Cherokee: “that which is told” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 16)
  • Guhu-Samane: “The concept [in Mark 14:24 and Matthew 16:28] is not easy, but the ritual freeing of a fruit and nut preserve does afford some reference. Thus, ‘As they were drinking he said to them, ‘On behalf of many this poro provision [poro is the traditional religion] of my blood is released.’ (…) God is here seen as the great benefactor and man the grateful recipient.” (Source: Ernest Richert in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. )
  • Chichewa: pangano. This word can also be translated as a contract, agreement, or a treaty between two parties. In Chewa culture, two people or groups enter into an agreement to help each other in times of need. When entering into an agreement, parties look at the mutual benefits which will be gained. The agreement terms are mostly kept as a secret between the parties and the witnesses involved. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Law (2013, p. 95) writes about how the Ancient Greek Septuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew berith was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments (click or tap here to read more):

“Right from the start we witness the influence of the Septuagint on the earliest expressions of the Christian faith. In the New Testament, Jesus speaks of his blood being a kaine diatheke, a ‘new covenant.’ The covenant is elucidated in Hebrews 8:8-12 and other texts, but it was preserved in the words of Jesus with this language in Luke 22:20 when at the Last Supper Jesus said, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. Jesus’s blood was to provide the grounds for the ‘new covenant,’ in contrast to the old one his disciples knew from the Jewish scriptures (e.g., Jeremiah 31:31-34). Thus, the earliest Christians accepted the Jewish Scriptures as prophecies about Jesus and in time began to call the collection the ‘Old Testament’ and the writings about Jesus and early Christianity the ‘New Testament,’ since ‘testament’ was another word for ‘covenant.’ The covenant promises of God (berith in Hebrew) were translated in the Septuagint with the word diatheke. In classical Greek diatheke had meant ‘last will, testament,’ but in the Septuagint it is the chosen equivalent for God’s covenant with his people. The author of Hebrews plays on the double meaning, and when Luke records Jesus’ announcement at the Last Supper that his blood was instituting a ‘new covenant,’ or a ‘new testament,’ he is using the language in an explicit contrast with the old covenant, found in the Jewish scriptures. Soon, the writings that would eventually be chosen to make up the texts about the life and teachings of Jesus and the earliest expression of the Christian faith would be called the New Testament. This very distinction between the Old and New Testaments is based on the Septuagint’s language.”

See also establish (covenant) and covenant (book).

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Covenant in the Hebrew Bible .

establish (covenant)

The Hebrew and Greek that is most often translated as “establish” in English when mentioned in association with establishing a covenant is translated in Nyamwezi with a verb that means “erect.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

See also covenant.

complete verse (Genesis 6:18)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 6:18:

  • Kankanaey: “But as for you (sing.), there-is what I will promise you (sing.). When that-aforementioned ark is finished, you (sing.) who are a married-couple (lit. spouse-unit) will enter including your children and their spouses.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “But I will bind my covenant with you. You go and stay in the ship, taking along your wife, sons and daughters.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “But I will-make an agreement with you. Now, you enter/go-inside the ship with your wife and your children including their wives.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “But I will make an agreement with you(sg): You and your wife, your sons and their wives will enter the boat.” (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”.

Translation commentary on Genesis 6:18

Verses 18-21 give the second part of God’s instructions to Noah. Verse 18 tells which people are to be taken into the boat. Verses 19-20 concern the animals and birds to be saved in the boat. Verse 21 deals with the food to be stored in the boat.

But I will establish my covenant: But marks a strong contrast between the deaths of all living things announced in verse 17 and the promise of salvation to Noah. Establish is the causative form of a verb meaning to raise, and here it means to make or ratify an agreement. As Revised Standard Version indicates, the verb is future, and the actual details of the covenant between God and Noah are given in 8.20–9.17.

Covenant translates the Hebrew word that refers to a contract, treaty, agreement, pact, or alliance based upon a relationship that exists between two parties. A covenant is a formal agreement involving benefits and responsibilities for both parties to the agreement. In this verse God says he will make a covenant with Noah. So what Noah receives here is a promise of salvation. The covenant will take shape only after the flood in 8.20–9.17. Therefore a fuller discussion of covenant must be reserved for 9.9. See there for discussion.

And you shall come into the ark: you is singular and refers to Noah. Shall come into represents a point of view from inside the ark. In some languages it will be necessary to say with Good News Translation “go into the boat…” or to use some other expression that will place the speaker outside the boat. Like the verbs in verses 19 and 20, shall come into has a simple future form in Hebrew. There is considerable doubt as to whether this should be read as a command, as in Good News Translation “Go into the boat,” or as a statement about what will happen in the (near) future: “you will go into the ark” (Revised English Bible, and see also New International Version). See the comments at the end of verse 22 for the effect of a decision here on the story line.

You, your sons …: you (singular again) repeats the command for Noah to go into the boat as part of his family unit. Good News Translation avoids the repetition for reasons of style. In some languages it will be more natural to say, for example, “Take your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives and go into the boat.” Noah’s sons have been identified in 5.32 and 6.10. Your wife: see comments on 2.24. Sons’ wives is the final group named; in the composition of Noah’s immediate family (his wife and children), the wives of his sons would be included. In many languages your sons’ wives will be designated by special kinship terms on the order of “daughters-in-law.” Notice that Good News Translation has placed your wife before your sons in order to keep together “your sons and their wives.”

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 .