kiss

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The Hebrew and the Greek that is usually directly translated as “kiss” in English is translated more indirectly in other languages because kissing is deemed as inappropriate, is not a custom at all, or is not customary in the particular context (see the English translation of J.B. Phillips [publ. 1960] in Romans 16:16: “Give each other a hearty handshake”). Here are some examples:

  • Pökoot: “greet warmly” (“kissing in public, certainly between men, is absolutely unacceptable in Pökoot.”) (Source: Gerrit van Steenbergen)
  • Southern Birifor: puor or “greet” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • Chamula Tzotzil, Ixcatlán Mazatec, Tojolabal: “greet each other warmly” or “hug with feeling” (source: Robert Bascom)
  • Afar: gaba tittal ucuya — “give hands to each other” (Afar kiss each other’s hands in greeting) (source: Loren Bliese)
  • Roviana: “welcome one another joyfully”
  • Cheke Holo: “love each other in the way-joined-together that is holy” (esp. in Romans 16:16) or “greet with love” (esp. 1 Thessalonians 5:26 and 1 Peter 5:14)
  • Pitjantjatjara: “when you meet/join up with others of Jesus’ relatives hug and kiss them [footnote], for you are each a relative of the other through Jesus.” Footnote: “This was their custom in that place to hug and kiss one another in happiness. Maybe when we see another relative of Jesus we shake hands and rejoice.” (esp. Rom. 16:16) (source for this and two above: Carl Gross)
  • Kamba: “greet with the greeting of love” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • Balanta-Kentohe and Mandinka: “touch cheek” or “cheek-touching” (“sumbu” in Malinka)
  • Mende: “embrace” (“greet one another with the kiss of love”: “greet one another and embrace one another to show that you love one another”) (source for this and two above: Rob Koops)
  • Gen: “embrace affectionately” (source: John Ellington)
  • Kachin: “holy and pure customary greetings” (source: Gam Seng Shae)
  • Kahua: “smell” (source: David Clark) (also in Ekari and Kekchí, source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • San Blas Kuna: “smell the face” (source: Claudio and Marvel Iglesias in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 85ff. )
  • Chichewa: “suck” (“habit and term a novelty amongst the young and more or less westernized people, the traditional term for greeting a friend after a long absence being, ‘clap in the hands and laugh happily'”)
  • Medumba: “suck the cheek” (“a novelty, the traditional term being ‘to embrace.'”)
  • Shona (version of 1966) / Vidunda: “hug”
  • Elhomwe: “show respect by hugging” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Balinese: “caress” (source for this and three above: Reiling / Swellengrebel; Vidunda: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Tsafiki: earlier version: “greet in a friendly way,” later revision: “kiss on the face” (Bruce Moore [in: Notes on Translation 1/1992, p. 1ff.] explains: “Formerly, kissing had presented a problem. Because of the Tsáchilas’ [speakers of Tsafiki] limited exposure to Hispanic culture they understood the kiss only in the eros context. Accordingly, the original translation had rendered ‘kiss’ in a greeting sense as ‘greet in a friendly way’. The actual word ‘kiss’ was not used. Today ‘kiss’ is still an awkward term, but the team’s judgment was that it could be used as long as long as it was qualified. So ‘kiss’ (in greeting) is now ‘kiss on the face’ (that is, not on the lips).)
  • Kwere / Kutu: “show true friendship” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated as heiliger Kuss or “holy kiss” in the epistles. The translators note (p. 62): “It is possible that this is an early practice in which Christians communicate the Holy Spirit to one another or rekindle it.”

See also The kiss of Christian love (image), Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth and kissed (his feet).

Translation commentary on Proverbs 24:26

Although some commentators and translations include this verse in the same paragraph with verses 23b-25, it is really a brief separate saying. Its theme is simple: “Straightforward, honest speech . . . is a mark of true friendship” (Toy).

“He who gives a right answer kisses the lips”: This is literally “he kisses the lips [the person] returning straight words.” The sense of “returning straight words” is more likely to be giving “an honest answer” (New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, Contemporary English Version, Good News Translation) or “a straightforward answer” (Revised English Bible) than an answer that is correct in fact. The term “right” is rendered “straight” in 8.9. “Kisses the lips” is a figurative or idiomatic expression that is taken by Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version to be “a sign of true friendship.” Following this interpretation the whole verse may be rendered, for example, “The person who always gives you a straight answer shows that he is a real friend to you.”

One African language says it like this: “Your friend who tells the truth is your real friend.”

Most other English versions translate “kisses the lips” literally; but if this action has a different significance for readers, such as it can have in modern English, the meaning is likely to be lost or changed. Starting from the understanding that a kiss was a sign of love or affection, Whybray suggests that “the most probable interpretation of the verse is that the honest judge or witness is as welcome to the innocent as the kisses of a lover.” An example of how the verse may be translated in this case is “The person who gives an honest answer brings happiness like the kisses of a loved one.”

In cultures where kissing is not customary between adults this may be adjusted to say, for example, “. . . like the embrace of a friend.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Proverbs. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

complete verse (Proverbs 24:26)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 24:26:

  • Kupsabiny: “A person who tells you a word that can be trusted is your friend.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “An honest answer is the sign of a friend.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The not lying answer is a sign of very-true friendship.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The person whose answer is right and sincere (lit. hearted), he shows loyal friendship.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)