The Greek that is translated in English as “(you) whitewashed wall” is translated in a number of ways:
- Lalana Chinantec: “you are like a masonry wall on which they have put white paint. It is no longer evident what it is like inside.” (Source: John Beekman in Notes on Translation, March 1965, p. 2ff.)
- Bariai: “a disintegrating wall and yet they applied paint to it so that it merely looks good” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
- Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac: “deceiver”
- Eastern Highland Otomi: “you talk up above (not from the heart)”
- Morelos Nahuatl: “you change words (you are a hypocrite)”
- Mezquital Otomi: “you two faced person”
- Rincón Zapotec: “you who make your face broad” (source for this and four above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
- Dan: “whitewashed tomb” (to highlight the hypocrisy) (Source: Don Slager)
- Mairasi: “you bad person and you liar trying to be like a clean person” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
See also complete verse (Acts 23:3) and complete verse (Matthew 23:37).
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “morning star” or similar in English is translated in Dan as “the moon’s lovely wife.” (Source: Don Slager)
The Hebrew in Ezekiel 6:11 that is translated as “clap your hands and stamp your foot” in English is translated in Dan as “roll in the dirt and raise your hands,” the more culturally appropriate expression for sorrow. (Source: Don Slager)
The Hebrew in Daniel 9:21 that is translated as “(swift) flight” in English is translated in Dan with a word that can mean either “jump” or “fly.” (Source: Don Slager)
The Greek in Luke 1:41 that is often translated in English as “leap (or: leaped)” is translated with appropriate idioms as “trampled” (Javanese), “shook-itself” (Kituba), “wriggled” (Thai), “danced” (Taroko), “stirred” (Toraja-Sa’dan), “sprawled” (Batak Toba), “played” (Shipibo-Conibo). In Dan the clause has to be “her stomach moved” since “leaping” sounded vulgar. (Source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
In Elhomwe it is ahiirukunusarukunusa or “turned around.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Bill Michell (in Omanson 2001, p. 431) explains why in Cusco Quechua the women on the translation team had to intervene to correct a translation that was too literal:
“In the [Cusco Quechua] project in Peru the first draft of Luke’s Gospel was done by a man. In the case of Luke 1:41 his translation was quite literal. He had the unborn child physically jumping, unhampered and unhindered. This was met with some laughter from the women on the team. They suggested an onomatopoeic expression to communicate the sensation of a sudden movement in the womb: wawaqa ‘wat’ak’ nirqan — ‘the child said, ‘Wat’ak!” The child didn’t jump, it ‘spoke’! This times there were smiles instead of laughter as the women recognized something that was authentically their own.”
See also the Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language translation of John the Baptist.
David tells Uriah (in English translations in 2 Samuel 11:8) to “go down to his house and wash his feet.” This refers to stay the night, and in particular sleep with his wife (see v. 11). The Chamula Tzotzil translated it as “sweep out your heart,” meaning the same thing as “make yourself at home.”
Dan translators translated it as “to go home and relax.”
English translations say “Syrians made peace with the Israelites after being defeated by them” in 2 Samuel 10:19— The idiomatic expression used by the Dan translator in this context for making peace is “giving a white chicken.” When people offer a white chicken, they accept defeat. The victorious party is expected to accept the chicken to show that they will not retaliate. It’s important that the chicken be white, not any other color, and that its legs not be tied (showing freedom).
The Greek in Matthew 1:19 that is translated as “planned to dismiss her” or similar is translated in Dan idiomatically as “planned to put a thorn in the path of their engagement.” (Source: Don Slager)
In Guanano a suffix is used when an expectancy reversal is going to happen in a narrative. In this case, the suffix ma is attached to the verb for “abandon” to mark that the expected action (Joseph dismissing Mary) is not going to happen. (Source: Nathan Waltz in Notes on Translation, December 1977, p. 15ff.)
