The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in English as “grain” (or: “corn”) is translated in Kui as “(unthreshed) rice.” Helen Evans (in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 40ff. ) explains: “Padddy [unthreshed rice] is the main crop of the country and rice the staple diet of the people, besides which [grain] is unknown and there is no word for it, and it seemed to us that paddy and rice in the mind of the Kui people stood for all that corn meant to the Jews.” “Paddy” is also the translation in Pa’o Karen (source: Gordon Luce in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 153f. ).
Other translations include: “wheat” (Teutila Cuicatec), “corn” (Lalana Chinantec), “things to eat” (Morelos Nahuatl), “grass corn” (wheat) (Chichimeca-Jonaz) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), “millet” (Lambya) (source: project-specific notes in Paratext), “food” (Nyamwezi) (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)or ntimumma lujia / “seeds for food” (Lokạạ — “since Lokạạ does not have specific terms for maize and rice that can be described as grains”) (source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “threshing floor” in English is translated in Kim with twal or “termite mound” which are used to build threshing floors. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
In Cherokee it is translated as “seeds — the place for knocking them off.” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 16)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 18:27:
Kupsabiny: “The thing that you will give is counted/considered to become your gift of food which was harvested or wine.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “It will count as your offering of grain from the threshing floor or as grape wine from the grape squeezing press.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “I will-consider this as your (plur.) offering from the harvests/products, as if you (plur.) had-offered some grains from the place-of-threshing or wine from the place-of-squeezing of the grapes.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Just like the other Israelis give one tenth of the grain and wine that they produce,” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
And your offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fulness of the wine press: When the Levites give their own tithe to the priests, their action will be the equivalent of the actions of the Israelites who give a tithe from their crops to the priests (see verse 12). The Hebrew word for offering is terumah again (see verse 8). Reckoned to you may be rendered “credited to you” (NET Bible) or “count for you” (Revised English Bible). Good News Translation says simply “considered.” As though it were is literally “as/like.” But the rendering as though it were helpfully reminds the reader that Levites did not grow their own grain or make their own wine. Good News Translation makes this clear by rendering as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fulness of the wine press as “as the equivalent of the offering which the farmer makes of new grain and new wine.” The grain of the threshing floor refers to new grain threshed by a farmer. For grain see verse 12; for threshing floor, see 15.20. The fullness of the wine press refers to a full harvest of grapes made into new wine at the wine press. A wine press was cut from bedrock to form a flat surface on which people walked with bare feet on the grapes to squeeze out the juice. The juice flowed into a vat that was located at a lower level and connected by a channel.
Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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