The Greek that is typically translated as “eternity,” “forever,” or “forever and ever” in English are translated in Mairasi as “mashed out infinitely.” Lloyd Peckham explains: “Bark cloth required pounding. It got longer and wider as it got pounded. Similarly, life gets pounded or mashed to lengthen it into infinity. Tubers also get mashed into the standard way of serving the staple food, like the fufu of Uganda, or like poi of Hawaii. It spreads out into infinity.” (Source: Lloyd Peckham)
In Lisu the phrase “forever and ever” is translated as ꓕꓲꓽ ꓞꓲꓼ ꓕꓲ ꓑ — thi tsi thi pa, verbatim translated as “one – lifetime – one – world.” This construction follows a traditional four-couplet construct in oral Lisu poetry that is usually in the form ABAC or ABCB. (Source: Arrington 2020, p. 57f.)
In Makonde it is often translated as navyaka or “years and years.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 19:3:
Uma: “The many people also shouted together, they said: ‘Haleluya! The smoke of the fire that burns that village billows forever.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Then they spoke again loudly, they said, ‘Let us (incl.) praise God. That famous burning city its smoking will really not stop forever.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And they said again, ‘Praise God! As for that city, her smoking will never be removed forever.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “They again raised their voices saying, ‘Let us praise/worship God, because the smoke from the woman’s being-burned is ascending forever.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “What they further called out saying was, ‘Praise God! The smoke of this famous city which is being burned up will rise in the air without ending.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Again the people said: ‘Let us praise God. Because that smoke of the city which has burned does not rest, it smokes forever,’ they said.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Once more they cried may be also rendered as “Once more the huge crowd of people cried.”
The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever: in 18.9, 18 we read of the smoke of the fire that destroys Babylon. Here the heavenly crowd celebrates the fact that the fire that consumes Babylon will never stop burning. See similar language in Isa 34.10.
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
