reed

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated in English as “reed” is translated in Newari as “bamboo.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)

Hail, Long live / live forever

The Hebrew and Aramaic that is translated in English as “long live” or “live forever” and the Greek that is translated as “Hail” in English is translated in Mandarin Chinese as wànsuì (万岁 / 萬歲) or “(may you live) 10,000 years” which was used to hail Chinese emperors and, more recently, the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong (Máo Zhǔxí Wànsuì [毛主席万岁] or “May Chairman Mao live for ten thousand years!”).

Likewise it is also used in these verses in other East Asian languages, including Japanese with ban zai (ばんざい / 万歳), Korean with man se (만세), Vietnamese with vạn tuế or muôn tuổi, or Mongolian with mandtugai (мандтугай). (Note that Mongolian does not use that term for the New Testament renderings.) (Source: Zetzsche)

For more information on this phrase, see 10,000 years .

See also greetings (Japanese honorifics) and LORD of hosts.

King of the Jews

The Greek that is translated as “King of the Jews” in most English translations is translated in Noongar as Djelyib moortakang Judea-kang or “King of the people of Judea.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)

Although not guilty he willingly experienced the tormented death of a criminal (image)

“Here are all the types of people who followed Jesus: men and women, rich and poor, religious and nonreligious. Their reactions are mixed.”

Drawing by Sawai Chinnawong who employs northern and central Thailand’s popular distinctive artistic style originally used to depict Buddhist moral principles and other religious themes; explanation by Paul DeNeui. From That Man Who Came to Save Us by Sawai Chinnawong and Paul H. DeNeui, William Carey Library, 2010.

For more images by Sawai Chinnawong in TIPs see here.

king (Japanese honorifics)

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 to do this is through the usage of appropriate suffix title referred to as keishō (敬称) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017 by either using -san or –sama with the latter being the more formal title.

These titles are distinct from nominal titles such as “teacher” or “king.” This is evident in the Shinkaiyaku Bible from forms such as ō-sama (王様) “king” which is a combination of the nominal title ō “king” and the suffix title –sama. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also King and son of the king (Japanese honorifics).

complete verse (Matthew 27:29)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 27:29:

  • Uma: “They made a hat from thorny vines like a king’s hat, and they put it on him. They also gave him a staff in his right hand, like the staff a king holds, and they knelt in front of him, they said: ‘Greetings, King of the Yahudi people!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “They twisted thorny vines making-them like a crown of a king and placed them on Isa’s head. Then they caused Isa to hold a stick in his right hand. After that they prostrated pretending to honor him and they said, ‘Assalamu alaikum, King of the Yahudi.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And they wove a thorny vine to crown him with, and they put it on his head. And they made him hold a staff in his right hand, and they knelt down pretending to honor him. And they said to him, ‘Greetings, King of the Jews!'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “They also wove thorns which they put-on-him -as-a-crown. They also got a reed and caused-it-to-be-held in his right hand. After that they knelt in front of him, and they mocked him saying, ‘Live-and-live you (sing.) who are the King of the Jews!'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And then what those soldiers did was, they made a circle of a thorny plant for they made a crown of it. And then they used it as a crown for Jesus. They caused his right hand to hold a stick which was like it was the sign of kingship. And then they mocked him bowing down and giving him honor, saying, ‘Good morning to the King of the Judio!'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The soldiers had woven a crown of thorns and they put it on the head of Jesus. They placed a stick in his right hand. An they knelt in front of Jesus as though they truly honored him as a king. They mocked him then and said: ‘Supreme is the king of the Jews,’ they said.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)