neighbor

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “neighbor” in English is rendered into Babatana as “different man,” i.e. someone who is not one of your relatives. (Source: David Clark)

In North Alaskan Inupiatun, it is rendered as “a person outside of your building,” in Tzeltal as “your back and side” (implying position of the dwellings), in Indonesian and in Tae’ as “your fellow-man,” in Toraja-Sa’dan it is “your fellow earth-dweller,” in Shona (translation of 1966) as “another person like you,” in Kekchí “younger-brother-older-brother” (a compound which means all one’s neighbors in a community) (sources: Bratcher / Nida and Reiling / Swellengrebel), in Mairasi “your people” (source: Enggavoter 2004), in Mezquital Otomi as “fellow being,” in Tzeltal as “companion,” in Isthmus Zapotec as “another,” in Teutila Cuicatec as “all people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), and in most modern German translations as Mitmensch or “fellow human being” (lit. “with + human being”).

In Matt 19:19, Matt 22:39, Mark 12:31, Mark 12:33, Luke 10:27, Luke 10:29 it is translated into Ixcatlán Mazatec with a term that refers to a person who is socially/physically near. Ixcatlán Mazatec also has a another term for “neighbor” that means “fellow humans-outsiders” which was not chosen for these passages. (Source: Robert Bascom)

In Noongar it is translated as moorta-boordak or “people nearby” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

Translation commentary on Proverbs 29:5

“A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet”: “Flatters” renders the same root as used of the loose woman’s “smooth words” in 2.16 and 7.5. See also 28.23. “His neighbor”, as in 3.28, may refer to almost anyone and not particularly a person who resides nearby. The purpose of “spreads a net” is to catch something, in this case to cause someone’s downfall. The expression is used in its literal sense in 1.17. It is not certain here who is trapped. If it is the person who is flattered, then the smooth words intend to deceive by causing the flattered person to get an exaggerated opinion of himself. Note that Good News Translation assumes in its text that the flatterer sets a trap for himself and in its footnote offers the other alternative. In either case the saying is a warning against speaking or listening to deceptive flattery.

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 29:5)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Proverbs 29:5:

  • Kupsabiny: “If a person oils the mouth (flatters) other people,
    (he) is setting a trap which will catch people.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Those who live by flattering their friends
    set a trap for themselves.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “A man who flatters/insincerely-praises his fellowman plans evil to him.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The one who flatters his friend, it’s-as-if he has-set a snare in-which-he-will-be-caught.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • English: “Those who flatter others/say nice things to others merely to cause them to feel good are really setting a trap for them (OR, for themselves).” (Source: Translation for Translators)