The phrase that is translated into English as “a colt that has never been ridden” can be translated in Kalmyk much more succinctly than even the original Greek text since Kalmyk as arkhlata (архлата) a specific word for an unbroken colt. (source: David Clark)
In the Arhuaco translation of Luke 19:35 (in the English translation: “after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.”) the co-translator knew how unruly unbroken colts are so they translated “they held the donkey steady so that Jesus could get on it.” (source: Paul Lundquist in The Bible Translator 1992, p. 246 .)
The Hebrew in Genesis 49:4 that is translated as “unstable as water” or “turbulent as water” in English is not a natural Falam Chin comparison and is conveyed as “like a mountain stream rising and falling.”
The term in 1 Thessalonians 2:5 that is rendered as “flattery” in English is translated with a Kahua idiom: “We did not bend our heads to please people (i.e., use flattery).” (Source: David Clark)
This quotation in 1 Corinthians 15:33 that originated in Menander’s play Thais and is translated into some English versions as “bad company ruins good morals” is translated into Kilivila with a local proverb with the same meaning: “Don’t stand in the ways of a thief, or you will steal.”
The phrase in 1 John 3:18 that is rendered as “our love should not be just words and talk” in some English versions is translated into Shan with a phrase that says “empty-mouth meaningless-words.”
In Babatana, the phrase in Exodus 16:34 that is translated into English as “before” or “in front of the Covenant Box” must be translated with a phrase that means “on the ground in front of the Covenant Box” or else it would mean “on the front of the Box.”
In Nepali society, cousin marriage is regarded as incest, so the Nepali translation “cousins” in Numbers 36:11 was translated less specifically as “relative on father’s side.”
