fast (verb)

The Aramaic, Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated as “fast” in English is translated in Isthmus Mixe as “going without food to worship God,” in Lacandon as “leaving eating in order to talk to God” (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.), in Vidunda as “resting to eat” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext), and in Kankanaey as “endure hunger” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation).

In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a sign referring to abstinence from food and drink. (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and Andrea Bokros)


“Fast” in Hungarian Sign Language (source )

See also fast (Luke 5:33).

Temptation story in Scots (Matthew 4:1-11)

The translation of the New Testament into Scots by Lorimer (1983) has a an alternate translation of Jesus’ temptation in the Gospel of Matthew where the text is in Scots except that the devil is speaking in English.

Lorimer’s son, who edited and released the translation posthumously notes: “In the sole surviving draft, my father spells the Deil’s English like Scots mispronounced. My father’s Scots phonetics merely labour the point. In the transcript here printed, I have accordingly substituted conventional English spelling; and by quoting from the Authorised Version [King James Version] the Deil reminds us how much influence it has exerted in Scotland during the last three hundred and fifty years.” (p. 455n) [Note that only the second of the three statements by the devil is quoted from the Authorised Version, the first is quoted from the Revised Standard Version and the third is a new translation.]

Following is the text (in: Lorimer 1983, p. 455):

Syne jesus wis led awà bi the Spirit tae the muirs for tae be tempit bi the Deil.

Whan he hed taen nae mait for fortie days an fortie nichts an wis fell hungrisome, the Temper cam til him an said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to turn into loaves.”

Jesus answert, “It says i the Buik:

Man sanna live on breid alane, but on ilka wurd at comes furth o God’s mouth.”

Neist the Deil tuik him awa til the Halie Citie an set him on a ledgit o the Temple an said til him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down to the ground. For it says in the Bible:

He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Jesus answert, “Ithergates it says i the Buik: ‘Thou sanna pit the Lord thy God tae the pruif’.”

Aince mair the Deil tuik him awà, this time til an unco heich muntain, whaur he shawed him aa the kíngdoms o the warld an their glorie an said til him, “All this I will give you, if you will only go down on your knees and worship me.”

Than Jesus said til him, “Awà wi ye, Sautan! It says i the Buik:

Thou sal ivurship the Lord thy God, an him sal thou sair alane.”

At that the Deil loot him abee, an immedentlie angels cam an fettelt for him.

hungry

The Hebrew, Ge’ez, Latin, and Greek that is translated in English as “hungry” (or: “famished”) is translated in a number of ways:

  • Noongar: “without stomach” (koborl-wirt) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Kölsch translation (Boch 2017): nix zo Käue han or “have nothing to chew on” and singe Mage hät geknottert wie ne Hungk or “his stomach growled like a dog” (source: Jost Zetzsche)
  • German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999): Hunger überfiel ihn or “Hunger overtook (lit.: “attacked”) him” (in Matthew 4:2)
  • Kupsabiny: “hunger ate him” (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Mairasi: “feeling tuber pains” (tubers are the main staple) (source Enggavoter 2004)

Jesus is Tempted

Following is a 1973 painting of the JESUS MAFA project, a response to New Testament readings from the Lectionary by a Christian community in Cameroon, Africa. Each of the readings was selected and adapted to dramatic interpretation by the community members. Photographs of their interpretations were made, and these were then transcribed to paintings:

In this painting, Jesus has been taken to the top of a mountain in the final temptation where the devil whispers in his ear the promise of all the kingdoms of the world. Jesus is confronted with the temptation to seize power—to live by the rule(s) of the world. We know from this one gospel story that he refuses every temptation, but we know from the remaining narrative that the temptation to be the messiah people expected must have haunted him to his death on the cross. Jesus instead is a new kind of messiah, one who exemplifies non-violent resistance, trusting in the love he embodies.

From Art in the Christian Tradition , a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. Image retrieved March 23, 2026. Original source: librairie-emmanuel.fr.

complete verse (Matthew 4:2)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 4:2:

  • Uma: “Forty days, forty nights he fasted. From there, he was hungry.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When Isa was there he did not eat forty days and forty nights. After that he was hungry.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when it was already forty days, Jesus hadn’t eaten and he was very hungry.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “He stayed there for forty days and nights absolutely not eating, and then he felt his hunger.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When forty nights and days had past during which Jesus was fasting, he was now hungry.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “During forty days, both day and night, Jesus did not eat. Afterwards, he was extremely hungry.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “Iesus abstained from food for a duration of forty days and nights. It went until he hungered very greatly.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Kupsabiny: “And when Jesus had stayed there for forty days without eating anything, hunger ate him.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Mairasi: “He Himself had already not eaten for two whole people’s digits worth of days [forty days] and two whole people’s digits worth of nights [forty nights]. Then Yesus was hungry.” [For the counting system, see body part tally systems.] (Source Enggavoter 2004)

Honorary "rare" construct denoting God ("feel")

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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, oboe-rare-ru (覚えられる) or “feel” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Scriptures Plain & Simple (Matthew 4:1-11)

Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Matthew 4:1-11:

The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert,
where he was tested by the devil and ate nothing
       for forty days and forty nights.

When Jesus was about starved, the devil came up and said:
“You claim to be God’s Son,
       so turn these stones into bread!”

“Read the Bible,” said Jesus,
“Nourishment from God’s Word
       is all anyone really needs’.”

Now on the pinnacle of the Jerusalem temple,
       the devil challenged Jesus, “Jump off! —
Like the Bible says, ‘God will send angels
       to protect your feet from the stones’.”

“Read it again,” replied Jesus. “It says,
Don’t ever try to put God to the test!”

Finally, from the top of a high mountain,
the devil pointed out the authority of all earthly kingdoms,
       “They’re yours.’ Just kneel and worship me.”

“Enough of you!” answered Jesus,
       “The Bible teaches us to worship only God.”

So the devil departed,
       and angels descended to wait on Jesus.