atonement

The Greek and Hebrew that is usually translated in English as “atonement” is translated in Luchazi with minina mata: “to swallow another’s spittle.” “The human bite [is traditionally thought of] as being the most poisonous and dangerous and the poison lies in the saliva. So in swallowing another’s spittle, one takes into oneself all the poison or evil of the other and thus actually ‘becomes sin’ on behalf of the other. The substitute then proceeds to deal with the case as though he were the guilty one.” (Source: E. Pearson in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 160ff. )

See also propitiation / atoning sacrifice and sacrifice of atonement / expiation / propitiation.

complete verse (Numbers 28:30)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 28:30:

  • Kupsabiny: “Also take one he-goat to be a sacrifice that sweeps away sin so that you can be forgiven.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “One male goat must also be sacrificed for your atonement.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You (plur.) also offer a male goat for the forgiveness of your (plur.) sin.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Also sacrifice one male goat to cause you to be forgiven for your sins.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

goat

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “goat” in English is translated in Cherokee as ahwi dinihanulvhi or “bearded deer.” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 18)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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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).

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

Translation commentary on Numbers 28:30

With one male goat, to make atonement for you: See verses 15 and 22. Unlike those verses, the Hebrew here does not specify what type of offering the billy goat had to be. However, the clause to make atonement for you suggests that the goat had to be offered “as a sin offering” (Good News Translation; similarly Septuagint) during the Harvest Festival. In most languages it will be helpful to translate this verse as a separate sentence (so Good News Translation).

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 .