The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “barren” in English is translated with two different terms in Sranan Tongo: “unable to get a child” (used in Luke 1:7) and “closed womb/belly” (because of old age) (used in Luke 1:36). (Source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
For the translation into Upper Guinea Crioulo, it was not possible to translate with a purely descriptive term. David Frank (in this blog post ) explains:
“The [translation] team is doing a great job, but there were some challenges. Luke 1:7 is supposed to say that Elizabeth was barren, but they said that while their word for barren might be used for animals, it would not be polite to use for people. They translated it as Deus ka da Isabel bambaran, which means ‘God hadn’t given Elizabeth a bambaran,’ which refers to the cloth a woman uses to carry an infant on her back.”
In Southern Zazaki it is translated as “blind chimney.” (Source: Werner 2012, p. 128)
The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “widow” in English is translated in West Kewa as ona wasa or “woman shadow” (source: Karl J. Franklin in Notes on Translation 70/1978, pp. 13ff.) and in Newari as “husband already died ones” or “ones who have no husband” (source: Newari Back Translation).
In Cherokee the term is gender neutral and translates to “one who has lost someone.” (Source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 100)
The etymological meaning of the Hebrewalmanah (אַלְמָנָה) is likely “pain, ache,” the Greekchéra (χήρα) is likely “to leave behind,” “abandon,” and the Englishwidow (as well as related terms in languages such as Dutch, German, Sanskrit, Welsh, or Persian) is “to separate,” “divide” (source: Wiktionary).
They feed on the barren childless woman: verses 18-20 describe the unhappy fate of the wicked person. Verse 21, however, speaks of the evil things such a person does. To make a connection with the previous verse, Good News Translation supplies “That happens because…,” which is not in the text but helps relate verse 21 to the previous context. Feed translates a verb form derived from a root meaning “to graze,” or to another verb meaning “to associate with.” Both verbs are written alike, and so only the context can determine which verb is meant. The Septuagint has “mistreat,” and this is followed by Good News Translation and others. The reference seems to be again to the wicked man who oppresses the weak and unfortunate. Line a has barren childless woman, and line bwidow. Good News Translation shifts the more specific term to line a for style and clarity. There is a difference between being a childless woman and a barren childless woman. The latter is to be pitied even more than the former, because in the Old Testament view God withholds children from her. The line may also be rendered, for example, “He also made the widow who could have no children to suffer” or “He oppressed the barren, childless widow.”
And do no good to the widow: the sense of the verb translated do no good is “treat unkindly, ungraciously, fail to behave well toward.” The widow has a right to special care, as she has no husband to protect her. This line may also be expressed “and was unkind to her” or “and behaved badly to her.”
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, Wiliam. A Handbook on Job. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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