The Hebrew in Genesis 35:18 that is translated “her soul was departing” or similar in English is emphasized in the interconfessional Chichewa translation (publ. 1999) with the ideophone ŵefuŵefu (“she was panting her last ŵefuŵefu“). An ideophone is a word that expresses what is perceived by the five senses. (Source: Ernst Wendland in The Bible Translator 1981, p. 107)
yoke (as a slave)
The Hebrew that is translated “yoke” or similar in English is translated in the interconfessional Chichewa translation (publ. 1999) with goli or “slave-stick.” (Source: Ernst Wendland in The Bible Translator 1981, p. 107)
grace
“The Greek word charis, usually translated by English ‘grace,’ is one of the desperations of translators. The area of meaning is exceptionally extensive. Note the following possible meanings for this word in various contexts of the New Testament: ‘sweetness,’ ‘charm,’ ‘loveliness,’ ‘good-will,’ ‘loving-kindness,’ ‘favor,’ ‘merciful kindness,’ ‘benefit,’ ‘gift,’ ‘benefaction,’ ‘bounty,’ and ‘thanks.’ The theological definition of ‘unmerited favor’ (some translators have attempted to employ this throughout) is applicable to only certain contexts. Moreover, it is quite a task to find some native expression which will represent the meaning of ‘unmerited favor.’ In some languages it is impossible to differentiate between ‘grace’ and ‘kindness.’ In fact, the translation ‘kindness’ is in some cases quite applicable. In other languages, a translation of ‘grace’ is inseparable from ‘goodness.’ In San Miguel El Grande Mixtec a very remarkable word has been used for ‘grace.’ It is made up of three elements. The first of these is a prefixial abstractor. The second is the stem for ‘beauty.’ The third is a suffix which indicates that the preceding elements are psychologically significant. The resultant word may be approximately defined as ‘the abstract quality of beauty of personality.’” (Source: Nida 1947, p. 223)
Other translations include (click or tap here to see more):
- Inuktitut: “God’s kindness that enables us” (source: Andrew Atagotaaluk)
- Kwara’ae: kwae ofe’ana (“kindness to one who deserves the opposite”) (source: Norman Deck in The Bible Translator 1963, 34ff. )
- Chichewa: “being favored in the heart by God” (Source: Ernst Wendland)
- Sayula Popoluca: “God’s favor” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
- Caribbean Javanese: kabetyikané (“goodness”)
- Saramaccan: bunhati (“good heart”)
- Sranan Tongo: bun ati (“good heart”) or gadobun (“God’s goodness”)
- Eastern Maroon Creole: (gaan) bun ati (“(big) good heart”) (source for this and three above: Jabini 2015)
- Fasu: “free big help”
- Wahgi: “save without reward” (source for this and the one above: Deibler / Taylor 1977)
- Warao: “goodness of his obojona.” Obojona is a term that “includes the concepts of consciousness, will, attitude, attention and a few other miscellaneous notions” (source: Henry Osborn in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 74ff. ) — see other occurrences of Obojona in the Warao New Testament.
- Nukna: “God gave his insides to one.” (“The ‘insides’ are the seat of emotion in Nukna, like the heart in the English language. To give your insides to someone is to feel love toward them, to want what is best for them, and to do good things for them.” (Source: Matt Taylor in The PNG Experience )
- Uma: “(God’s) white insides” (source: Uma Back Translation)
- Hindi, Bengali: anugraha (Hindi: अनुग्रह, Bengali: অনুগ্রহ) from graha: “grasp, a reaching out after, with gracious intent” (source: R.M. Clark in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 81ff. )
- the German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022) uses a large variety of translations, including “undeserved friendliness,” “wonderful work of God,” “loving attention,” “generous,” but also “undeserved grace” (using the traditional German term Gnade)
In Latvian the term žēlastība is used both for “grace” and “mercy.” (Source: Katie Roth)
In the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) and the Buku Lopatulika version (1922/2018) it is translated with chisomo. This word was earlier used to refer to a charm that people were using for others to like them. It meant that on his/her own, a person would not be qualified to be liked by people. But with this charm, people would look at that person more kindly. This is also used in a number of Old Testament passages for what is typically translated as “find favor” or “gracious” in English, including Exodus 33:12, Numbers 6:25, or Psalm 84:11. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
For Muna, René van den Berg explains the process how the translation team arrived at a satisfactory solution: “Initial translation drafts in Muna tended to (…) use the single word kadawu ‘part, (given) share, gift,’ but this word is really too generic. It lacks the meaning component of mercy and kindness and also seems to imply that the gift is part of a larger whole. Consequently we now [translate] according to context. In wishes and prayers such as ‘Grace to you and peace from God’ we translate ‘grace’ as kabarakati ‘blessing’ (e.g. Gal 1:3). In many places we use kataano lalo ‘goodness of heart’ (e.g. Gal 1:15 ‘because of the goodness of his heart God chose me’) as well as the loan rahamati ‘mercy’ (e.g. ‘you have-turned-your-backs-on the mercy of God’ for ‘you have fallen away from grace’; Gal 5:4). In one case where the unmerited nature of ‘grace’ is in focus, we have also employed katohai ‘a free gift’ (typically food offered to one’s neighbo-1urs) in the same verse. ‘The reason-you-have-been-saved is because of the goodness of God’s heart (Greek charis, Muna kataano lalo), going-through your belief in Kristus. That salvation is not the result of your own work, but really a free-gift (Greek dooron ‘gift’; Muna katohai) of God.’ (Eph 2:8).
In Burmese, it is translated with the Buddhist term kyeh’jooh’tau (ကျေးဇူးတော်). LaSeng Dingrin (in Missiology 37/4, 2009, p. 485ff.) explains: “As regards the Christian term ‘grace,’ Judson [the first translator of the Bible into Burmese] could not have brought the Burmese Buddhists the good news about the redeeming work of Jesus Christ and its benefits (i.e., forgiveness and salvation), without employing the Burmese Buddhist term kyeh’jooh’tau (‘grace’). Deriving from Pali kataññuta (“gratefulness”), kyeh’jooh’tau denotes ‘good deeds for others or benefits,’ which occur among humans. (…) When Christianized, kyeh’jooh’tau also refers to the atoning work of Jesus and its benefits, and can occur between humans and God. The word kyeh’jooh’tau looks very Burmese Buddhist, but it is Christian, too, and conveys the core of the Christian proclamation. Furthermore, kyeh’jooh’tau itself shows that translatability of Christianity cannot be imagined without reliance on Buddhism.” (See also the Burmese entry for God)
In American Sign Language it is translated with a sign that combines “compassion” and “giving out.” (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Grace” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
See also grace to you and grace (of God) (Japanese honorifics).
Translation: Eastern Canadian Inuktitut
ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ ᒍᕇᑭᒃᑯᑦ ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖅᑕᖓᑦ ᑐᑭᓕᐅᔾᔭᐅᓯᒪᔪᖅ ᐃᒫᒃ “ᓴᐃᒪᓂᖅ” ᖃᓪᓗᓈᑎᑐᓪᓕ ᑐᑭᓕᐅᔾᔭᐅᓯᒪᒻᒪᑦ ᐃᒫᒃ “ᒎᑎᐅᑉ ᑐᙵᓇᕐᓂᖓᓂ ᐅᕙᑦᑎᓐᓂᒃ ᐱᔪᓐᓇᑎᑦᑎᕙᑦᑐᖅ.”
(Translator: Julia Demcheson)
scribe
The Greek that is usually translated as “scribe” in English “were more than mere writers of the law. They were the trained interpreters of the law and expounders of tradition.”
Here are a number of its (back-) translations:
- Yaka: “clerk in God’s house”
- Amganad Ifugao: “man who wrote and taught in the synagogue”
- Navajo (Dinė): “teaching-writer” (“an attempt to emphasize their dual function”)
- Shipibo-Conibo: “book-wise person”
- San Blas Kuna: “one who knew the Jews’ ways”
- Loma: “educated one”
- San Mateo del Mar Huave: “one knowing holy paper”
- Central Mazahua: “writer of holy words”
- Indonesian: “expert in the Torah”
- Pamona: “man skilled in the ordinances” (source for this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
- Sinhala: “bearer-of-the-law”
- Marathi: “one-learned-in-the-Scriptures”
- Shona (1966): “expert of the law”
- Balinese: “expert of the books of Torah”
- Ekari: “one knowing paper/book”
- Tboli: “one who taught the law God before caused Moses to write” (or “one who taught the law of Moses”) (source for this and 5 above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
- Noongar: Mammarapa-Warrinyang or “law man” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
- Mairasi: “one who writes and explains Great Above One’s (=God’s) prohibitions” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
- Chichewa: “teacher of Laws” (source: Ernst Wendland)
- North Alaskan Inupiatun: “teachers of law”
- Huehuetla Tepehua: “writer”
- Yatzachi Zapotec: “person who teaches the law which Moses wrote”
- Alekano: “man who knows wisdom” (source for this and four above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
- Saint Lucian Creole French: titcha lwa sé Jwif-la (“teacher of the law of the Jews”) (source: David Frank in Lexical Challenges in the St. Lucian Creole Bible Translation Project, 1998)
- Chichimeca-Jonaz: “one who teaches the holy writings”
- Atatláhuca Mixtec: “teacher of the words of the law”
- Coatlán Mixe: “teacher of the religious law”
- Lalana Chinantec: “one who is a teacher of the law which God gave to Moses back then”
- Tepeuxila Cuicatec: “one who know well the law” (Source for this and four above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
- Huixtán Tzotzil: “one who mistakenly thought he was teaching God’s commandments”(Huixtán Tzotzil frequently uses the verb -cuy to express “to mistakenly think something” from the point of view of the speaker; source: Marion M. Cowan in Notes on Translation 20/1966, pp. 6ff.)
- Sumau: “law-knowing men” (source: this blog post by Todd Owen)
- German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022): “theologian” and in the 1964 translation by Helmut Riethmüller: “theologian of scriptures” (Schrifttheologe)
- English translation by Scot McKnight (in The Second Testament, publ. 2023): Covenant Code scholar
In British Sign Language it is translated with a sign that combines the signs for “expert” and “law.” (Source: Anna Smith)
“Scribe” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL , used with permission)
repent, repentance
The Greek and Hebrew that is often translated as “repent” or “repentance” is (back-) translated in various ways (click or tap here to see the rest of this insight):
- Western Kanjobal: “think in the soul”
- Kekchí: “pain in the heart”
- Northwestern Dinka: “turn the heart”
- Pedi: “become untwisted”
- Baoulé: “it hurts to make you quit it” (source for this and above: Nida 1952, p. 137)
- Balinese: “putting on a new mind”
- Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “be sorry on account of one’s sins”
- Uab Meto: “turn the heart upside down” (source for this and the two above: Bratcher / Nida)
- Central Mazahua / Chichimeca-Jonaz: “turn back the heart” (source: Nida 1952, p. 40)
- Suki: biaekwatrudap gjaeraesae: “turn with sorrow” (source: L. and E. Twyman in The Bible Translator 1953, p. 91ff. )
- Yamba and Bulu: “turn over the heart” (source: W. Reyburn in The Bible Translator 1959, p. 1ff. )
- Chichewa: kutembenuka mtima (“to be turned around in one’s heart”) (source: Ernst Wendland in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 319ff. )
- Caribbean Javanese: mertobat (“tired of old life”)
- Saramaccan: bia libi ko a Massa Gadu (“turn your life to the Lord God”)
- Sranan Tongo: drai yu libi (“turn your life”) or kenki libi (“change life”)
- Eastern Maroon Creole: dai yu libi (“turn your life”) (source for this and 3 above: Jabini 2015)
- Eggon: “bow in the dust” (source: Kilgour, p. 80)
- Embu: “change heart” (“2 Cor. 7:10 says ‘For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death.’ In ordinary speech the terms ‘repent’ and ‘regret’ are used interchangeably in Embu, so that this verse comes out as: ‘godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no repentance,’ which is contradictory. The problem was solved by using ‘changing heart’ in the first, and ‘sadness’ in the second.”) (source: Jan Sterk)
- Anuak: “liver falls down”
- Kafa: “return from way of sin to God” (source for this and the one above: Loren Bliese)
- Latvian: atgriezties (verb) / atgriešanās (noun) (“turn around / return” — see turn around / convert) (source: Katie Roth)
- Obolo: igwugwu ikom: “turn back (from evil)” (source: Enene Enene)
- Mairasi: make an end (of wrongdoing) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
- Luchazi: ku aluluka mutima: “turn in heart” (source: E. Pearson in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 160ff. )
- Chokwe: kulinkonyeka: “fold back over” or “go back on oneself” (source D.B. Long in The Bible Translator 1953, p. 135ff. ).
- Muna: dofetompa’ao dhosa bhe dodoli ne Lahata’ala: “radically-end sin and to turn to God” (source: René van den Berg)
- Bacama: por-njiya: “fetch sand” (“Before the coming of Christianity 100 years ago, when the elders went to pray to the gods, they would take sand and throw it over each shoulder and down their backs while confessing their sins. Covering themselves with sand was a ritual to show that they were sorry for what they had done wrong, sort of like covering oneself with sackcloth and ashes. Now idol worship for the most part is abandoned in Bacama culture, but the Christian church has retained the phrase por-njiya to mean ‘repent, doing something to show sorrow for one’s sins’” — source: David Frank in this blog post .)
- Enlhet “exchange innermosts.” “Innermost” or valhoc is a term that is frequently used in Enlhet to describe a large variety of emotions or states of mind (for other examples see here). (Source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. )
- San Blas Kuna: “sorry for wrong done in the heart” (source: Claudio and Marvel Iglesias in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 85ff. )
- Desano: “change your bad deeds for good ones”
- Isthmus Mixe: “put your hearts and minds on the good road”
- Eastern Highland Otomi: “change your thinking about evil and walk in the way of God”
- San Mateo del Mar Huave: “just remember that you have done wicked, in order that you might do good”
- Coatlán Mixe: “heart-return to God” (source for this and four above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
- Sierra de Juárez Zapotec: “get on the right road”
- Isthmus Zapotec: “heart becomes soft” (source for this and above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
- Sabaot: “give one’s neck” — relating to traditional legal proceedings where someone who is convicted of a crime kneels before the aggrieved person who can either behead the accused or completely forgive (source Danny Foster in this recording )
- Kâte: maŋ bârisiezo or “turn the insides around” (source: Renck 1990, p. 108)
- Tibetan: ‘gyod tshangs byed (འགྱོད་ཚངས་བྱེད།), lit. “regret + pure” (source: gSungrab website )
- Merina Malagasy: fifonana, deriving from mifona “meaning ‘to completely uproot so that something new can grow’ (a term also used for the loss of a baby tooth)” (source: Brigitte Rabarijaona)
“In Tzotzil two reflexive verbs to communicate the biblical concept of repentance are used. Xca’i jba means to know or to reflect inwardly on one’s self. This self inquiry or self examination is similar to the attitude of the prodigal son where Luke 15:17 records that ‘he came to his senses.’ Broke, starving, and slopping hogs, the prodigal admitted to himself that he was in the wrong place. The second reflexive verb ‘jsutes jba’ means turning away from what one is and turning to something else. In a sense, it is deciding against one’s self and toward someone else. It is similar to the attitude of the prodigal son when he said, ‘I will get up and go to my father’ (Luke 15:18).” (source: Aeilts 2009, p. 118)
See also: convert / conversion / turn back and see Seat of the Mind for traditional views of “ways of knowing, thinking, and feeling.”
complete verse (Luke 1:68)
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 1:68:
- Noongar: “‘We will praise the Lord. He is Israel’s God! He has come to his people, helping them and freeing them.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
- Uma: “‘Let us the descendants of Israel praise God our Lord. Because he has landed/come-down here to help us his people. He came to free us from our enemies.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “‘Let us (incl.) praise God, he is the God worshiped by our (incl.) tribe of Isra’il, for he certainly remembers us (incl.) his people and we (incl.) are set free by him.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “‘We the descendents of Israel, we will praise our Lord God because we who worship him, he has come down to us and he has freed us from our enemies.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “‘Let us praise God the Lord of the descendants of Israel, for he has come to set-us who are his people -free.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “‘Praise the God of us (incl.) who are the descendants of Israel. Because he has shown pity/mercy to us, for it has now come that he will save/free his chosen people.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
- Chichewa (interconfessional translation, 1999): “May the Lord, the God of Israel, be praised, because he came to move among his people, and to come and redeem them.” (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 154)
complete verse (Psalm 23:1)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 23:1:
- Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“Jehovah is my shepherd,
I will not lack anything.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation) - Chichewa interconfessional translation, 1999:
“Chauta [see tetragrammaton (YHWH)] he is my herdsman,
I will surely not lack a [little] thing, not at all.” (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 148f.) - Chichewa poetic translation in the traditional ndakatulo genre to encourage oral and musical performances:
“Herdsman of mine he’s so good-hearted.
Chauta is that most famous name of his.
In him, as for me — I lack nothing, not at all.” (Source: Ernst Wendland) - Kupsabiny:
“God is my guard/keeper,
I do not lack anything.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)(Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation) - Adilabad Gondi:
“Due to Jehovah God being my shepherd,
I will not lack anything.” (Source: Adilabad Gondi Back Translation) - Newari:
“The LORD is my Shepherd,
I will not lack anything.” (Source: Newari Back Translation) - Hiligaynon:
“You (sing.), LORD, are my shepherd,
so I will- not -be-lacking (anything).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation) - Eastern Bru:
“God cares me. So I don’t lack anything. He cares for me like a keeper ordinarily cares for his sheep.” (Source: Bru Back Translation) - Laarim:
“The LORD is my shepherd,
there will be nothing I want.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation) - Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“Bwana ni mchungaji wangu,
sipungukiwi kitu chochote.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation) - English:
“Yahweh, you care for me like a shepherd cares for his sheep.
So I have everything that I need.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
complete verse (Psalm 23:2)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 23:2:
- Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“He lays me in green pastures,
He leads me to clean drinking water,” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation) - Chichewa interconfessional translation, 1999:
“He lays me down on a pasture of new grass.
He guides me to still waters to go and rest there.” (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 148f.) - Chichewa poetic translation in the traditional ndakatulo genre to encourage oral and musical performances:
“DOWN! [Gonee! — an ideophone, i.e. a literary device that expresses what is perceived by the five senses] on fresh greens he makes me lie down.
[My] resting place is at quiet waters,” (Source: Ernst Wendland) - Kupsabiny:
“He makes me graze where there is green grass, and makes me sleep/lie there.
He leads me to the water that flows in silence.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation) - Adilabad Gondi:
“He (emph.) causes me to lie down in green grass.
He leads me to slow flowing clean/good water.” (Source: Adilabad Gondi Back Translation) - Newari:
“He causes me to lie down in green grass,
He takes me along to ponds of clear water.” (Source: Newari Back Translation) - Hiligaynon:
“I (am) like a sheep that you (sing.) cause- me -to-rest in a pasture which (has) abundant grass
and is-being-led to calm/quiet water(s).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation) - Eastern Bru:
“He leads me to go to a beautiful good place, like a keeper ordinarily leads his sheep to rest in a field of very good green grass, a place that has clear water flowing and is quiet.” (Source: Bru Back Translation) - Laarim:
“He gives me rest in a place where the grass stays good,
he takes me to the place where water stays still,” (Source: Laarim Back Translation) - Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“Ananilaza penye nyika penye majani mazuri.
Ananipeleka penye maji mazuri.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation) - English:
“You encourage me
and give me peace;
you are like a shepherd
who leads his sheep to places where there is plenty of green grass for them to eat,
and lets them rest beside streams where the water is flowing slowly.” (Source: Translation for Translators)