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Language: French
French (fra) is a(n) Indo-European language of Andorra, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, France, French Guiana, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, French Southern Territories, United States, marked as not endangered
The Hebrew assonance tohu wa-bohu is often translated in English as “formless void” or some equivalent, but in some translations and languages attempts have been made to recreate some of its literary flavor:
English: wild and waste (Everett Fox 1995); welter and waste (Robert Alter 2004); void and vacant (James Moffatt 1935); complete chaos (NRSVue 2021)
German: Irrsal und Wirrsal (Buber / Rosenzweig 1976); wüst und wirr (Einheitsübersetzung, 1980/2016)
French: vide et vague (La Bible de Jérusalem, 1975)
Ancient Greek: aóratos kaí akataskévastos (ἀόρατος καὶ ἀκατασκεύαστος) (Septuagint)
A number of modern languages have also adopted form of tohu wa-bohu as an idiom for a state of chaos. These include:
The different Greek words (agapaō and phileō) that are used in the conversation between Jesus and Peter and that are typically all translated “love” in English are differentiated in some translations of the 2000s and 2010s. A number of German translations (Luther 2017, Neue Genfer Übersetzung 2011, Menge 2010, BasisBibel 2021) use lieben (for agapaō) vs. lieb haben for phileō (“love” vs. “be very fond of”). Likewise, the FrenchBible Segond 21 (publ. 2007) uses aimer vs. avoir l’amour with a similar difference and the BurmeseMyanmar Standard Bible (2017) has hkyit (ချစ်) vs. hkyithkain (ချစ်ခင်), also “love” vs. “love / be fond of.” Kayaw makes a distinction as well (source: Anonymous) as does the English translation by Blackwelder (1980) with love and have affection.
The Greek in 2 Timothy 3:16 that is translated as “all scripture is inspired by God (or: is God-breathed)” into English is translated into various languages in the following ways:
Berom: “All the words that were written in the Leaf of Teaching of Father Sun came away from God thing his” (Mwa neha de bà jɛk e Bwok-basa Dagwi na vey yi na Dagwi pyɛ mɛ)
Hausa (Common Language Version): “All the writings of the Word of God are blown from his place” (Duk Rubutacciyar Maganar Allah hurarre ce daga wurinsa)
Kera: “All the words that were written in God’s book come straight from God’s mouth” (Kel gə minti gə jeerə-jeere giidə kefter kə Pepeŋa keɗe ha’aŋ, yə bəŋ ku Pepeŋ da)
Arabic (True Meaning Arabic edition): “All of this book is a revelation from God” (فهذِهِ الكُتُبُ كُلُّها وَحيٌ مِن اللهِ)
Chadian Arabic: “The book is completely the word of God which he sent down (الْكِتَابْ كُلَّ كَيْ هُو كَلَامْ اللّٰهْ النَّزَّلَهْ)
Dari (Today’s Dari Version 2008): “The whole holy book is divine revelation” (تمام کتاب مقدس از الهام خداست)
French (Parole de Vie 2017): “All the holy books were written with the help of God” (Tous les Livres Saints ont été écrits avec l’aide de Dieu)
Lamogai: “All of the talk written in God’s book was given by God’s Spirit.”
Northern Emberá: “God (emph.) made all of his word to be written” (Ãcõrẽbʌrʌ jũma Idji Bed̶eara b̶ʌbisia)
Hiligaynon: “The whole Written-Item was written by-means-of the power of God” (Kay ang bug-os nga Kasulatan ginbugna sang Dios kag mapuslanon sa pagtudlo sang kamatuoran)
Sindhi: “The origin/fount of each writing of the holy word/scripture is God (emph. = alone)”
Dobel: “And God’s Message all of it, it was he alone who put it in people’s thoughts, then they wrote it in The Book” (Sa Dukwaida Ssinan Ler si Rakwin re nam ffui, nai naꞌꞌenni yaꞌa nam i tamatu ada faꞌirandi nama datiya i Suratu Yabil)
Amele: “All the written good talk God’s Spirit he himself taught/instructed men and they wrote” (Me je jaqec cunug Anutna Kis uqadodoc dana iwaladeceb jaqein)
Aja: “It was God’s Spirit that took all things that were written in the books of God’s Word and put them in the minds/consciences of people, and they wrote them” (source for this and all above: discussion on BT email list, contributions used with permissions)
On this last translation, the translation into Kaqchikel, Cameron Townsend reports:
“We were struggling with the part of the Scripture that says, ‘All scripture is given by inspiration of God.’ We tried several different ways of translating this, but the men were never satisfied that it communicated well in Kaqchikel. I consulted the Greek and said, ‘How about translating it ‘all scripture is God-breathed?” ‘No,’ they said, ‘that doesn’t sound right.’ Then I suggested using ‘God’s breath.’ The men liked this and we agreed to use this phrase. But I wasn’t entirely convinced it was as accurate as it should be. Then I began to read other portions of Scripture where I noticed that when God spoke in creation it had the same connotation as God’s breath. And so we left it that way: ‘All scripture is God’s breath.'” (Quoted in Steven 1995, p. 196f.)
Derived from this phrase, the word for “Bible” in Armenian is Asdvadz-a-shoonch (Աստվածաշունչ) or “Breath of God.”
The Greek of Philippians 2:9 that is translated as “the name that is above every other name” in most English versions is translated in the DutchStatenvertaling (1886/2024) as een Naam gegeven, welke boven allen naam is and in the interconfessional FrenchTraduction œcuménique de la Bible (2010) as le Nom qui est au-dessus de tout nom. In both of these cases, the first instance of the word for “name” is capitalized (Naam and Nom), elevating it to a divine level (along with words that translate “Lord,” “God” etc.).
This might well be a reflection of what a footnote to this verse in the GermanNeue Genfer Übersetzung (2011) says: “It [the first occurrence of “name” in this verse] probably refers to the ‘Lord’ (in the Septuagint [the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible] the rendering of ‘Yahweh,’ the proper name of God).” Likewise in the interconfessional Catalan translation (1995) it says: “Paul refers here to the name of the Lord (v. 11; Acts 2:21, 36), a term that in the Old Testament is used to designate God.” In other words, by this reading, God gave to Jesus the additional name “Yahweh” (which is known from the Hebrew scriptures to be the “Name above all Names — see Nehemiah 9:5 etc.), “so that every knee should bend to Jesus (as to Yahweh)” (see Philippians 2:10). (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
The Greek word that mean both “wind” and “spirit” (pneuma) in English allows for a number of word plays in the text of the New Testament, such as in John 3:8 and Acts 2:2 vs. Acts 2:4 (note that in the case of the example in Acts 2, two different words are used in Greek — pnoé and pneuma — but both come from the same root word).
Languages that have been able to maintain the word play — and, in the case of Acts 2 — strengthen it:
Another meaning of pnoé and pneuma in Acts 2 is “breath.” Which leads Iver Larsen to explain another translation solution: “I have been wondering why English versions translate the Greek word for breath pnoé with wind in Acts 2:2. The only other instance is in Acts 17:25: “Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath” (here and below New International Version). The verb pnéó means ‘blow’ and can be used for both a wind blowing and a puff of air from a person breathing on something or someone. Acts 2:2 is related to John 20:22: ‘And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.” A different verb is used, but semantically similar. I consider this as a foreshadowing or promise of Acts 2:2, so a connection would be nice to have. In Acts 2:2 I take the one breathing mightily on the disciples to be the resurrected Christ. Only after his resurrection could Jesus release the full power of the Spirit to the disciples. These verses are also connected to Genesis 2:7: ‘God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath (Septuagint: pnoé) of life.’ In Danish there is a close connection between “spirit” (ånd) and breath/breathe (ånde). So, in Acts 2:2 we [in The Bible in Everyday Danish, 2022] use the word ‘åndepust‘ which I cannot translate properly into English, but something like ‘puff of breath/spirit.'”
The 1985 French translation by Chouraqui, which uses souffle sacré or “sacred breath” for Holy Spirit, likewise uses souffle or “breath” in Acts 2:2 (source: Laurence Belling).
The last word of Nahum 2:10 in Hebrew is of uncertain meaning. It refers to some color, but it is not clear what color. Some translators render it as “black” (the English version by James Moffatt, 1926/1935) or cramoisis — “crimson” (the French Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, 2010), but the majority think that paleness fits better with a description of fear. Translators should use word pictures or idioms which are natural in their languages for expressing reactions to fear; for example, “soul (guardian spirit) disappears and bile is stirred up” (Thai). (See also terrified / afraid and also Seat of the Mind for traditional views of “ways of knowing, thinking, and feeling.”)
The Greek in 1 Corinthians 4:20 that is translated “not on talk but on power” or similar in English is translated with a alliteration in the SpanishBiblia Dios Habla Hoy (“no es cuestión de palabras, sino de poder“) and the FrenchParole de Vie (“pas une affaire de paroles mais de puissance“). An early version of the GermanGute Nachricht also had an alliteration with “Wort” and “Wirkung” (source: Barclay Newman in The Bible Translator 1978, p. 225ff. )
