manger

The Greek that is typically translated in English as “manger” is translated in Mbe as édzábri, the term used for “old worn-out baskets that isn’t usable anymore, except to feed the animals.”

John Watters (in Wycliffe Bible Translators 2016, p. 19) tells the story how this word was chosen:

“In Nigeria, the Mbe translation team was translating the Gospel of Luke. They came to chapter 2, verse 7, which says, ‘She [Mary] gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.’

“The translators took the time to ponder how to to translate some of the words, but not ‘manger.’ They immediately used the word ókpáng.

“As their translation consultant, I asked them, ‘What’s an ókpáng? Tell me what it looks like.’ One of the translators drew a picture on the whiteboard. It was essentially a cradle hung by ropes so that the newborn could be laid in it and swung.

“I suggested they check the collection of notes and commentaries we were using to help the translators whose first language isn’t English. The Mbе translators saw that ‘manger’ referred to animal feeding trough.

“Even as the Mbe team read the notes, they objected. ‘We have always used the word ókpáng. We have used it for years, and that’s what we should use.’ I pointed out to them that it wasn’t just a matter of tradition. God expects us to find the words that express the original meaning as accurately as possible. Furthermore, this word tells us something profound about God.

“‘When he came to live among us and bring salvation to us, he came in the lowliest way possible. He did not come and sleep in a nice ókpáng like every Mbe mother wants for her newborn. Instead, he showed us his unbelievable humility,’ I told them. ‘So we need to find your best word for an animal-feeding trough.’

“Suddenly the person who had argued most loudly for the traditional term offered, ‘We feed our animals out of an old worn-out basket that isn’t usable anymore, except to feed the animals. We call it édzábri!’

“‘Then try that term,’ I said.

As the Mbe people listened, they were visibly moved. Picturing the newborn baby lying in the animals’ feeding basket, they recognized in a new way that Jesus was willing to do whatever it took to reach them. As an adult, he would humble himself by washing the disciples’ feet and then by dying on the cross. And this humility started right from birth, when he was born to a young peasant woman under questionable social conditions and laid in an animal-feeding trough.”

See also Bethlehem.

cloth

The Greek that is translated as “cloth” or “swaddling clothes” in English is translated in Noongar as bwoka or “kangaroo skin.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)

See also cloak / shawl and clothes.

firstborn

The Greek that is translated as “firstborn” in English is translated in a number of ways:

  • “he/she that opens the gown” in Batak Toba (because formerly a woman stopped wearing a gown and started using a bodice after the birth of her first child)
  • “he/she that damages the stalk (i.e. the body)” in Uab Meto (source for this and above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • “the oldest son of all” in Mezquital Otomi
  • “oldest child” in Isthmus Zapotec (source for this and one above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • “firstborn child, who was a boy” in Elhomwe (to make clear, without ambiguity, that Mary did not have daughters before) (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

In Bawm Chin, the term can imply the existence of younger siblings, so a translation is needed that brings out the fact that Jesus is superior to all else, not just the first of a series. (Source: David Clark)

See also only begotten son / (one and) only son and firstborn.

in the inn

The Greek that is often translated as “laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn” in English versions is translated quite differently in Pintupi-Luritja. Carl Gross explains: “It was explained to the translators that it was not an inn or motel to which they were going, but rather the guest room of their relatives, and there were so many people in town that all their relatives had already allowed other relatives to sleep in their guestrooms. But one of their relatives said they could use the downstairs stable in which the animals sheltered from the cold of the night. In response, the translators came up with: ‘Those two asked in vain their relatives in the town of Bethlehem to lie inside a house. Because many other people had entered and were lying in the houses, those two asked in vain. Having asked in vain, those two lay down on the windbreak-side of a house in a place that belonged to bullocks.'”

bear child / give birth

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “bear (a child)” or “give birth to” is translated in Mairasi as “go to the forest,” reflecting the traditional place of childbirth for Mairasi women. (Source: Enggavoter 2004)

In Spanish it is translated as dar a luz, literally “to give to light.” Likewise, in Portuguese (dar à luz) and Italian (dare alla luce). (Source: Mark Terwilliger)

See also in childbirth / travail and birth.

chronological order (Luke 2:7)

In many languages, “events which are implied in a chrono­logical sequence need to be inserted in the translation (…) In Luke 2:7 , after describing the birth of Jesus and his being laid in a manger, the text says, ‘because there was no room for them in the inn;’ in Enga the events were placed in chronological order and the words ‘she entered the cattle place and’ inserted before mentioning the birth, to account for Mary getting from the inn to the place of Jesus’s birth.”

The text of the verse in Enga: Dokopa Matiame baanya wane mupa ane doko mandea-pyaa. Mandipala lapalapame ambo pyapala mena pulumakawanya nee nenge tapoko mendenya setapala isoo petea-pyaa. Endakali opone palenge anda dokonya palipenge panda nasiamosa dopa pia-pyaa.

Jesus' human vs. divine nature in modern Burmese translation

There are three different levels of speech in Burmese: common language, religious language (addressing and honoring monks, etc.), and royal language (which is not in active use anymore). Earliest Bible translations used exclusively royal and religious language (in the way Jesus is addressed by others and in the way Jesus is referred to via pronouns), which results in Jesus being divine and not human. Later editions try to make distinctions.

In the Common Language Version (publ. 2005) the human face of Jesus appears in the narrative of the angel’s message to Joseph and what Joseph did in response (Matthew 1:21-25). The angel told Joseph that Mary was going to give birth to a son, not a prince.

Likewise in Luke 2:6-7 the story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem is told simply using the Common language. Again in the description of the shepherds’ visit to the baby Jesus (Mark 1:21-25), in the story of Jesus’ circumcision (Luke 2:6-2:7), and in the narrative of the child Jesus’ visit to Jerusalem (Luke 2:46-51), the human face of Jesus comes to the forefront.

On the other hand, the child Jesus is clearly depicted as a royal or a divine child in the story of the wise men (Matthew 2:9-12), the story of the flight to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-14), and the return to Nazareth (Matthew 2:20-21).

(Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )

See also Mary (mother of Jesus).