In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated colloquially as wie vernagelt or “obtuse” (in Mark 6:52 and 8:17).
While Moba has a rich metaphorical library using the concept of “heart” (pal) it follows very different paradigms compared to Greek, Hebrew and English concepts. The parallel expression of “hardened heart” means “courageous” or “encouraged” (see hearts burning) so in the 2008 Moba Yendu Kadapaaonn translation various constructs are used to translate “hardness of heart,” including “not willing to change one’s mind” (in Mark 3:5) or “make temptation into the heart” (John 12:40). (Source: Bedouma Joseph Kobaike in Le Sycomore 17/1, 2024, p. 3ff. )
Low German translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006: “steppe”
Yakan: “the lonely place” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “a land where no people lived” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “the place with no inhabitants” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Matumbi uses various term: lubele (desert, sandy place without water) — used in John 11:54, lupu’ngu’ti (a place where no people live, can be a scrub land, a forest, or a savanna) — used in Mark 1:3 et al.), and mwitu (a forest, a place where wild animals live) — used in Mark 1:13 et al.) (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
Chichewa Contemporary translation (2002/2016): chipululu: a place uninhabited by people with thick forest and bush (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Note that in Luke 15:4, usually a term is used that denotes pastoral land, such as “eating/grazing-place” in Tagbanwa (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).
The Greek and Ge’ez that is typically translated as “tempt” or “temptation” in English is translated in Noongar as djona-karra or “reveal conduct” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang) and in Tibetan as nyams sad (ཉམས་སད།), lit. “soul + test,” or in some cases as slu (སླུ།) or “lure / lead astray” (for instance in 1 Cor. 7:5 or Gal 6:1) (source: gSungrab website )
The Greek that is translated as “to harden” or similar in English is translated in Mwera as “to become stubborn.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Following are a number of back-translations of Hebrews 3:8:
Uma: “don’t harden your hearts like your grandparents long ago, whom the prophet Musa brought out of the land of Mesir. Your grandparents long ago repudiated/rejected God and tested/tempted him in the uninhabited prairie, to see how patient he was.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “don’t harden your liver like your ancestors of old (who) did not want to follow/obey God. In those times there in the lonely country they tested God if he could do (something) to/for them.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “it’s necessary that your breaths be not hard (it’s necessary that you be not stubborn) like your breaths were long ago when you resisted God at the time when you tested His endurance of you there in the land where no people live.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “don’t harden your minds like the way your ancestors did who opposed God when they were walking through the place with no inhabitants.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “hopefully don’t harden your heads like your ancestors did in that they opposed and tested him in that wilderness place (lit.place where-one-could-starve).” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Do not reject the word God speaks now. Do not do like the old-time people did in the desert when they rejected what God said, keeping on until they caused God to be angry.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
Revised Standard Version‘s literal “harden your hearts” suggests a cruel or unfeeling attitude, since in modern English the heart is associated with the emotions. For Hebrew thought, and generally in the New Testament, the heart was the center of the whole personality, including the intellect and will. Therefore “to harden one’s heart” is to refuse to listen to or understand what someone is saying. This is the basis for stubborn in Good News Translation; similarly Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Barclay, and Translator’s New Testament. Do not be stubborn is often rendered idiomatically; for example, “do not stop up your ears,” “do not shout ‘No’ to what is said,” or “do not close the door of your mind.”
Good News Translation fourth edition makes it clear from this verse that it is not the present generation of Israelites who rebelled against God, but your ancestors, as verse 9 implies. Earlier editions of Good News Bible had simply you. The psalmist assumes in verse 8 that the people of Israel are one group of people, disregarding the birth and death of individuals from generation to generation, and so he addresses them as “you.” However, since his message, like that of Hebrews, is that the present generation should behave differently from its ancestors, Good News Bible fourth edition brings out the meaning more clearly.
As your ancestors were may be rendered as “that is what your ancestors did.”
The rest of this verse can scarcely be understood, however clear the translation, without references and notes. The Hebrew of Psalm 95.8 refers to Meribah and Massah, which footnotes in New English Bible translate as “Dispute” and “Challenge,” and in Jerusalem Bible “dispute” and “temptation.” The Septuagint replaced the names Meribah and Massah by common nouns having a similar meaning. Good News Translation replaces these nouns by verbal expressions. The reference is to Exodus 17.7, where, during the journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, the Israelites grumbled about Moses’ leadership and provoked or tested God by asking “Is the LORD with us or not?”
They rebelled against God may be rendered as “they refused to do what God had told them to do,” “they refused to be led by God,” or “they refused to listen to God.”
That day … when they put him to the test is literally “on the day of testing in the wilderness.” In the light of this verse and also Exodus 17.1-7, it is clear that “testing,” not “tempting” (see King James Version), is intended. In some languages it may be better to employ a phrase such as “that time” or “on that occasion,” rather than merely that day, since a reference to day might imply merely one particular occasion of 24 hours.
Desert is rough scrubland on which little or nothing will grow, rather than an expanse of sand.
They put him to the test may be rendered as “they decided to see what God would do.” In some instances the concept of “putting to the test” is expressed idiomatically: “they pushed God hard” or even “they tried to make God fall.”
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
do not harden your hearts: The clause do not harden your hearts is figurative. It means “do not be obstinate” or “do not refuse to listen.” Some other ways to translate the clause are:
do not be stubborn (Good News Translation) -or-
do not rebel -or-
do not refuse ⌊to do⌋ ⌊what he says⌋
your hearts: The Jews speak of their hearts as the part of a person that thinks, feels, and makes decisions. This word occurs eleven times in Hebrews, four of which are in this chapter. It also occurs often in quotations from the Old Testament.
In many languages, people use a different part of the body, such as the stomach or the liver, as the part of a person that thinks and feels. In other languages people do not use a part of the body to refer to the source of feelings or thoughts. They may use a different idiom or no idiom at all. Other ways to translate “harden your hearts” are:
make your ears hard/dull -or-
refuse to listen/obey
Use a natural expression in your own language. For more information, see heart, sense 1(b) in Key Biblical Terms.
3:8b–c
as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness: The phrases in 3:8b and 3:8c refer to a time when the ancestors of the Hebrews rebelled against God. After God took them from slavery in Egypt, they rebelled against him as he led them through the wilderness.
There are two different views about which rebellion and day of testing the author referred to:
(1) He referred to the rebellion at Kadesh Barnea. There the Israel people refused to enter the land of Canaan that God promised to give them (Numbers 14:22).
(2) He referred to the rebellion at the place that was later named Meribah and Massah. There the people of Israel complained that they had no water. They made God angry by their attitude and by what they said (Exodus 17:1–7).
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). It fits well with the theme of a resting place in Hebrews 4. Your translation should indicate that rebellion and day of testing refer to the same event. For example:
when they continually rejected what I said until they caused me to become angry -or-
where your ancestors challenged my authority and tried my patience
rebellion: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as rebellion refers here to a revolt against God. The ancestors of the Hebrews rebelled against God and refused to enter the land, as he told them to do. They refused to believe that God would help them conquer the land that he promised them.
Some other ways to translate rebellion are:
your ancestors rebelled against God -or-
they refused to do what God told them to do
the day of testing in the wilderness: The phrase the day of testing in the wilderness refers to the same occasion as “the rebellion.” It implies that the Israelites tested God when they rebelled against him.
testing: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as testing can refer either to a test or to a temptation. It is an action that a person does to see what someone else will do (or not do). The word may also refer to tempting someone to sin or to become angry. The choice between these meanings depends on the context where the word is used. In this context the people tested God to see what he would do.
Some ways to translate testing in this context are:
as they were that day in the desert when they put him to the test (Good News Translation) -or-
when they tested God’s patience in the wilderness (New Living Translation (2004))
in the wilderness: The word wilderness means an uninhabited place. Some ways to translate this word are:
in the land where no people live -or-
the uninhabited place
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