little ones

The Greek that is translated as “little ones” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with Christenkind or “child of Christ (= “Christian”).”

In Luke 17:2, it is translated as Schäfchen or “little sheep.”

cause to stumble, offend

“The word ‘offend’ as a translation of the Greek skandalizó seems to cause all sorts of trouble for translators. The difficulty is that the meaning of this word covers such a wide area. The basic meaning of the Greek is ‘to cause to stumble by putting some impediment in the way.’ The present central meaning of English ‘offend’ is often quite different. In some languages there is no metaphorical value in a translation ‘to cause someone to stumble.’ If the language permits no such metaphor, the translator should not attempt to force it. In Highland Totonac, the metaphor ‘to show the wrong road to’ is used in a manner almost exactly parallel to the Greek idiom.” (Source: Nida 1947)

In San Blas Kuna the translation is “spoil the heart” (source: Claudio and Marvel Iglesias in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 85ff. 1996.) and in Cherokee “trip someone up” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 39).

See also fall away, stumble.

millstone

The Hebrew, Ge’ez and Greek that is translated as “millstone” in English is illustrated for use in Bible translations in East Africa by Pioneer Bible Translators like this:

Image owned by PBT and Jonathan McDaniel and licensed with the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

In the German translation by Fridolin Stier (1989) is it translated as “donkey millstone” (Eselsmühlstein) and in Cherokee as nvya or “rock” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 16).

See also a mill or an upper millstone.

Mark 9:38 - 50 in Mexican Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 9:38-50 into Mexican Sign Language with back-translations into Spanish and English underneath:


© La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)

Juan dijo: “Maestro, nosotros, los doce discípulos vimos a otras personas que tenían adentro demonios y un hombre extraño habló en el nombre de Jesús y expulsó los demonios.

Nosotros, los discípulos, fuimos y dijimos: “Tú no estás junto con nosotros en el grupo, no puedes hablar en el nombre de Jesús, paralo.”

Jesús dijo: “No lo prohiban, dejanlo, las personas que hablan en mi nombre, en el nombre de Jesús, y hacen milagros ¿pueden después estar en contra de mi? No pueden, es imposible.

Si las personas no hablan en contra de mi es lo mismo como si fueran junto con nosotros.”

Jesús les advirtió: “Si uds, las personas que creen en Cristo, dan un vaso de agua a otra persona, les digo la verdad, seguramente Dios les dará un premio.”

Jesús les advirtió y les explicó otra cosa: “Los niños pequeños que crecen creyendo en mi, si otra persona insiste en tentarlos y los niños desvisan y pecan , huy, Dios lo castigará fuertemente.

Mejor que un piedra grande sea atado alrededor de su cuello y empujado en el mar y él se caiga en el agua, sería menos castigo.”

“Otro ejemplo: si las manos son una tentación a pecar, agarrando cosas, sería mejor cortar la mano y tener una mano tullida e ir al cielo.

Si rechazas que la mano sea cortado, porque la quieres conservar, es peor que vayas al fuego que no se puede apagar.

Otro ejemplo: si los pies son una tentación a pecar sería mejor cortar el pie y ser cojo e ir al cielo.

Si rechazas que tu pie sea cortado porque lo quieres conservar, es peor ser echado en el fuego que dura.

Otro ejemplo: si el ojo es una tentación a pecar, viendo cosas, sería mejor quitar el ojo y tirarlo y ser tuerto e ir al reino de Dios.

Si rechazas que el ojo sea tirado porque lo quieres conservar, es pero ser echado en el fuego con gusanos comiendo tu cuerpo, el fuego que dura y no se apaga jamás.

Mira, cuando el sacerdote mata un animal lo pone en el altar, agrega sal, y lo sacrifica para Dios, y Dios lo ve bien. En la misma manera las personas sufrirán para quitar el pecado y volver limpios.

Por ejemplo: sal que sabe rico, está bien, pero si otro sal es dejado por mucho tiempo y ya no sabe nada rico, no sabe de nada, ¿se puede otra vez hacer que el sal sepa rico? No, no sirve, ¿entienden?

Este sal es parecido a uds, a personas. Uds necesitan tener paz juntos.


John said: “Teacher, we, the twelve disciples, saw other people who had demons inside and a strange man talked in the name of Jesus and threw out the demons.

“We, the disciples, went up to him and said: ‘You are not in the group with us, you cannot talk in the name of Jesus, stop it.'”

Jesus said: “Don’t forbid it, leave him, the people who speak in my name, in the name of Jesus, and do miracles, can they later be against me? No they cannot, it’s impossible.

“If people don’t talk against me at all it’s the same as if they were with us.”

Jesus warned them: “If you, the people who believe in Christ, give a glass of water to another person, I tell you the truth, God will reward you.”

Jesus warned them and told them something else: “The little children who grow up believing in me, if another person insists on tempting them and they deviate and sin, wow, God will punish him severely.

“It would be better that a big stone were tied around his neck and pushed into the sea, and he would fall into the sea, it would be a lesser punishment.

˜Another example: if your hands are a temptation to sin, taking things, it would be better to cut off your hand and have an amputated hand and go to heaven.

“If you reject that your hand is cut off because you want to preserve it, it is worse if you are sent to the fire that cannot be extinguished.

“Another example: if your feet are a temptation to sin, it would be better to cut off your foot and be lame and go to heaven.

“If you reject the cutting off of your foot because you want to preserve it, it is worse being thrown into the lasting fire.

“Another example: if your eye is a temptation to sin, because of the things it sees, it would be better to take out your eye and be blind in one eye and go to the kingdom of God.

“If you reject your eye being thrown out because you want to preserve it, it is worse being thrown into the fire where worms eat your body, the fire that lasts and is never extinguished.

“Look, when the priest kills an animal and puts it on the altar, he adds salt and sacrifices it to God, and God sees that it is good. In the same way the people will suffer to take away the sin and become clean.

“For example, salt tastes good, it is good, but if there is other salt that has been left for a long time and does not taste good anymore, it does not taste of anything, can you then make the salt taste good again? No, it is of no use. Do you understand?

“This salt is like you, people. You need to have peace together.”

Source: La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

<< Mark 9:33-37 in Mexican Sign Language
Mark 10:1-12 in Mexican Sign Language >>

Mark 9:42-50 in Russian Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 9:42-50 into Russian Sign Language with a back-translation underneath:


Source: Russian Bible Society / Российское Библейское Общество

Jesus said to his disciples:

— There are simple people who believe in me. And if anyone leads such people astray, saying to them, “Sin!”, there will be a very severe punishment for that person!

There is such a punishment: a big stone is tied to the neck and a person is thrown into the water, and there he drowns. For that person, the punishment will be even worse!

If your hand likes sin and is drawn to sin, it is better to cut off your hand! Then you can go to eternal life in heaven. But if you pity the hand that leads you to sin, then you will go to hell, to the lake of fire, where fire burns all the time.

If your foot likes sin and goes to sin, it is better to cut off that foot. It is better with one foot to go to eternal life in heaven. But if you pity the foot that leads you to sin, you will fall into the lake of fire, where fire burns all the time.

If your eye likes to look at sin, you had better pluck it out. With one eye you will go to eternal life. But if you pity the eye that tempts you, you will go into the lake of fire, where the fire never goes out. There worms never disappear and torment.

The meat of animals is sacrificed to God. This meat must be sprinkled with salt. For what purpose? For purification. In the same way, suffering and trials are like fire. Man must go through it. Why? To purify man.

Salt is a very important thing for God. If salt has lost its taste, how can you give it back its taste? So keep salt inside you, and live in peace with each other.

Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):

Иисус сказал ученикам:

— Есть люди простые, которые верят в меня. И если кто-нибудь будет соблазнять таких людей, говорить им: «Греши!», то для такого человека будет наказание очень сильное!

Есть такая кара: большой камень привязывают к шее и бросают человека в воду, и там он тонет. Так вот, для того человека, кара будет еще страшнее!

Если вашей руке нравится грех, и она тянется ко греху, то лучше отрубить руку! Тогда ты сможешь попасть в жизнь вечную на небесах. Если же вы пожалеете руку, которая ведет вас ко греху, тогда вы попадете в ад, в огненное озеро, где все время горит огонь.

Если вашей ноге нравится грех и она идет ко греху, лучше отрубить эту ногу. Лучше с одной ногой попасть в жизнь вечную на небесах. Если же вы будете жалеть ногу, которая ведет вас ко греху, то вы попадете в огненное озеро, где все время горит огонь. Если вашему глазу нравится смотреть на грех, лучше вам вырвать его. С одним глазом вы попадете в жизнь вечную. Если же вы пожалеете глаз, который соблазняет вас, вы попадете в озеро огненное, где огонь никогда не гаснет. Там черви никогда не исчезают и терзают.

Мясо животных приносят в жертву Богу. Это мясо нужно посыпать солью. Для чего? Для очищения. Так же и страдания и испытания — они, как огонь. Человек должен пройти через него. Зачем? Чтобы человек очистился.

Соль для Бога очень важная вещь. Если соль лишилась вкуса, разве можно вернуть ей вкус обратно? Поэтому сохраняйте соль внутри себя, и живите друг с другом в мире.

Back-translation by Luka Manevich

<< Mark 9:38-41 in Russian Sign Language
Mark 10:1-12 in Russian Sign Language >>

complete verse (Mark 9:42)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 9:42:

  • Uma: “‘But who[ever] causes one small child like this child to fall with the result that they no longer believe in me, God’s punishment on that person will indeed be big. It would be far better for a big sharpening stone to be fastened to his neck and him be thrown into the sea.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “‘But whoever causes-to-sin one little child like this that believes in me, it would have been better for him to have a big stone hung around his neck and be thrown into the sea, just so that he would not be able to influence to sin.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “But if there is a person who by means of him, one of these children is successfully tempted, it is better for that person if a large grindstone is tied to his neck and he is thrown into the middle of the sea rather than through him one of these children is successfully tempted.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘Whoever tempts so-that even one of these lowest people who believe in me will sin, it would be better if his neck were tied-to with a heavy stone and then he were thrown into the ocean than his continuing-with his temptation.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But well, whoever will cause to fall (into sin, fig.) a humble one like this child who believes in me, it would really be better if he were just weighted with a large milling stone and just dropped into the middle of the ocean. (That would be) better than that he would go through with such big evil.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Choapan Zapotec: “‘If people want to direct children who believe in me to not follow me anymore, there would be less penalty for them if, before they do what they want, people were to tie heavy grindstones around their necks and throw them into a river.'” (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)

sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation). Likewise, in Toposa all the different bodies of water are all called by one term as well: nya-name̥ (source: Schröder 2026, p. 101).

In Malagasy culture, the sea is perceived as sacred because it was a path taken by the ancestors. That is why the Malagasy word for the “sea” is ranomasina, which literally means “the sacred water.” The word masina actually has two different meanings: “salted” and “sacred/holy.” Salt is used for the conservation of some foods, such as meat or fish, that are to be set aside for later use. In this sense, the Malagasy phrase for “Holy Spirit” has the literal meaning of “Salted Spirit.” (Source: Brigitte Rabarijaona in The Bible Translator 2022, p. 103ff.)

“Sea” (or: “ocean”) is translated in Tepeuxila Cuicatec as “water land” and in Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac as “very big lake.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

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”.