neighbor

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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).

put hand over one's mouth

The now commonly-used German idiom Maul halten, which today is a coarse way of saying “be quiet” (literally “hold one’s [animal-like] mouth”), was made popular in 1534 in the German Bible translation by Martin Luther. Note that from the 1956 of the Luther Bible edition on forward, this was replaced with the equally colloquial but less coarse Mund halten (literally “hold one’s mouth”). (Source: Günther 2017, p. 90)

For other idioms or terms in German that were coined by Bible translation, see here.

Translation commentary on Sirach 5:12

If you have understanding, answer your neighbor: This line continues with the situation implied in verse 11. Someone speaks to you, you listen, and must decide what to say. Ben Sira’s advice is to make sure you know what you’re talking about. Good News Translation says “Answer only if you know what to say” (similarly Contemporary English Version). Both Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version avoid mentioning neighbor (another person). If translators wish to keep the idea, they may say “If someone asks you something [or, asks you a question], answer only if you know what to say.”

But if not, put your hand on your mouth: This figure of speech is used in Pro 30.32 and Micah 7.16, where someone keeps quiet out of embarrassment or shame. Here it is to keep from saying something foolish. New English Bible uses the equivalent English idiom, “hold your tongue,” and many languages will have similar idioms. The point is, of course, not that you would be so rude as to answer a person with complete silence, but that you should be wise enough not to express opinions about something you are not informed about.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Sirach. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.