The Hebrew that is rendered in English as “peace offering” or “sacrifice (or “offerings”) of well-being” or similar is translated into Pökoot as pöghisyö: “gift of peace/fellowship.” This term has the connotations of fellowship, wholeness, restored relationships, etc. The word pöghisyö is also used as a common greeting (much like Shalom in Hebrew).
In the ItalianTraduzione interconfessionale in lingua corrente (2014) it is translated as “sacrificio per il banchetto sacro” (“sacrifice for the holy banquet”), in the Contemporary Russian Version (2nd ed., 2015) as “banquet offering,” or in Tatar as “sacrifice of reconciliation.” (Source: Lénart de Regt in The Bible Translator 2017, p. 131ff. )
The German Jewish translation by Buber and Rosenzweig has “peace meal slaughter” (Friedmahlschlachtung).
Bura-Pabir: “sacrifice mound” (source: Andy Warrren-Rothlin)
Kalanga: “fireplace of sacrifice” (source: project-specific notes in Paratext)
Cherokee: “fire nurturing place” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 26) (note that the Jewish priest is “fire feeder” in Cherokee)
The Ignaciano translators decided to translate the difficult term in that language according to the focus of each New Testament passage in which the word appears (click or tap here to see the rest of this insight
Willis Ott (in Notes on Translation 88/1982, p. 18ff.) explains:
Matt. 5:23,24: “When you take your offering to God, and arriving, you remember…, do not offer your gift yet. First go to your brother…Then it is fitting to return and offer your offering to God.” (The focus is on improving relationships with people before attempting to improve a relationship with God, so the means of offering, the altar, is not focal.)
Matt. 23:18 (19,20): “You also teach erroneously: ‘If someone makes a promise, swearing by the offering-place/table, he is not guilty if he should break the promise. But if he swears by the gift that he put on the offering-place/table, he will be guilty if he breaks the promise.'”
Luke 1:11: “…to the right side of the table where they burn incense.”
Luke 11.51. “…the one they killed in front of the temple (or the temple enclosure).” (The focus is on location, with overtones on: “their crime was all the more heinous for killing him there”.)
Rom. 11:3: “Lord, they have killed all my fellow prophets that spoke for you. They do not want anyone to give offerings to you in worship.” (The focus is on the people’s rejection of religion, with God as the object of worship.)
1Cor. 9:13 (10:18): “Remember that those that attend the temple have rights to eat the foods that people bring as offerings to God. They have rights to the meat that the people offer.” (The focus is on the right of priests to the offered food.)
Heb. 7:13: “This one of whom we are talking is from another clan. No one from that clan was ever a priest.” (The focus in on the legitimacy of this priest’s vocation.)
Jas. 2:21: “Remember our ancestor Abraham, when God tested him by asking him to give him his son by death. Abraham was to the point of stabbing/killing his son, thus proving his obedience.” (The focus is on the sacrifice as a demonstration of faith/obedience.)
Rev. 6:9 (8:3,5; 9:13; 14:18; 16:7): “I saw the souls of them that…They were under the table that holds God’s fire/coals.” (This keeps the concepts of: furniture, receptacle for keeping fire, and location near God.)
Rev. 11:1: “Go to the temple, Measure the building and the inside enclosure (the outside is contrasted in v. 2). Measure the burning place for offered animals. Then count the people who are worshiping there.” (This altar is probably the brazen altar in a temple on earth, since people are worshiping there and since outside this area conquerors are allowed to subjugate for a certain time.)
In the Hebraic English translation of Everett Fox it is translated as slaughter-site and likewise in the German translation by Buber / Rosenzweig as Schlachtstatt.
In Gbaya, the notion of early morning is emphasized with the ideophone sút as in the referenced verses.
Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Judges 21:4:
Kupsabiny: “And/But the next morning, (they) went out early and built there an altar for God. (They) made sacrifices that were burnt completely and those of fellowship at that place.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “First thing on the morning of the next day they built an altar and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “In-the-morning, they made/built an altar and offered burnt offerings and offerings which is for good relationship.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Early the next morning the people built an altar. Then they completely burned some sacrifices on the altar, and also offered other sacrifices to maintain fellowship with God.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Following the day of weeping and praying, the people of Israel decide to act.
And on the morrow the people rose early is literally “And it was on the next day and the people rose early.” This verse begins with the Hebrew word wayehi (“And it was”), which often indicates that there is some kind of turning point in the story, and here the audience can feel the Israelites’ determination to move ahead to remedy the situation. There is also a change of time and activity here, so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, and New International Version insert a paragraph break. On the morrow may be rendered “the next morning” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) or “the next day” (New International Version). The Hebrew word for people (ʿam) is the general term used frequently to refer to the Israelites (see verse 2.4; verse 21.2). For rose early, see verse 6.28. We might say “Early the next morning, when the people woke up” or “The next day the people woke up early.”
And built there an altar: See the comments on verse 6.24. The adverb there refers to Bethel, where the people were assembled, but in some languages this may be obvious.
And offered burnt offerings and peace offerings: See the comments on verse 20.26.
Translation models for this verse are:
• Early the next morning the people got up and built an altar, where they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
• The people got up early the next day, built an altar in that place, and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings [to the LORD].
Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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