salvation

The Greek, Latin and Hebrew that is translated with “salvation” (or “deliverance”) in English is translated in the following ways:

  • San Blas Kuna: “receive help for bad deeds” (“this help is not just any kind of help but help for the soul which has sinned)
  • Northwestern Dinka: “help as to his soul” (“or literally, ‘his breath'”) (source for this and the one above: Nida 1952, p. 140)
  • Central Mazahua: “healing the heart” (source: Nida 1952, p. 40)
  • Tzeltal: col: “get loose,” “go free,” “get well” (source: Marianna C. Slocum in The Bible Translator 1958, p. 49f. )
  • Aari: “the day our Savior comes” (in Rom 13:11) (source: Loren Bliese)

in Mairasi its is translated as “life fruit” or “life fruit all mashed out.” Lloyd Peckham explains: “In secret stories, not knowable to women nor children, there was a magical fruit of life. If referred to vaguely, without specifying the specific ‘fruit,’ it can be an expression for eternity.” And for “all masked out” he explains: “Bark cloth required pounding. It got longer and wider as it got pounded. Similarly, life gets pounded or mashed to lengthen it into infinity. Tubers also get mashed into the standard way of serving the staple food, like the fufu of Uganda, or like poi of Hawaii. It spreads out into infinity.” (See also eternity / forever)

In Lisu a poetic construct is used for this term. Arrington (2020, p. 58f.) explains: “A four-word couplet uses Lisu poetic forms to bridge the abstract concrete divide, an essential divide to cross if Christian theology is to be understood by those with oral thought patterns. Each couplet uses three concrete nouns or verbs to express an abstract term. An example of this is the word for salvation, a quite abstract term essential to understanding Christian theology. To coin this new word, the missionary translators used a four-word couplet: ℲO., CYU. W: CYU (person … save … person … save). In this particular case, the word for person was not the ordinary word (ʁ) but rather the combination of ℲO., and W: used in oral poetry. The word for ‘save’ also had to be coined; in this case, it was borrowed from Chinese [from jiù / 救]. These aspects of Lisu poetry, originally based on animism, likely would have been lost as Lisu society encountered communism and modernization. Yet they are now codified in the Lisu Bible as well as the hymnbook.”

In the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) it is translated with chipulumutso which is used to refer to an act of helping someone who is in problems but cannot help him/herself come out of the problems because of weakness. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

See also save and save (Japanese honorifics) / salvation (of God) (Japanese honorifics).

complete verse (2 Samuel 10:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 10:11:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then Joab told Abishai that, ‘When/If the Arameans overpower me, then help me/rescue me. But if the Ammonites overpower you, I will rescue you.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Joab said to Abishai, "If it looks like the Arameans are defeating me, you come and give me help, if it looks like the Ammonites are defeating you, I will come and give you help.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Joab said to Abishai, ‘If you see that we (excl.) are- about -to-be-defeated by the Arameanhon, you (plur.) help us (excl.), and if you (plur.) also are about to-be-defeated by the Ammonhon we (excl.) will-help you (plur.).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Then Joab said, ‘If the soldiers from Syria are too strong for us to defeat them, your men must come and help us. But if the soldiers from the Ammon people-group are too strong for you to defeat, we will come and help your men.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 10:11

He said: this pronoun refers to Joab, who was the subject of the verbs in verses 9-10. In some languages it will be necessary to state clearly to whom he was speaking, as in New International Version, Contemporary English Version, and New American Bible, as well as Good News Translation.

Too strong for me … for you: that is, if the enemy forces started to take the upper hand in the battle on either front, the stronger of the two Israelite forces would send some of its men to help the weaker force. In some languages it will be more natural to say “If the Syrians begin to win the fight” or, turning the sentence around, “If we start losing ground to the Syrians.” Similar language will apply to the last part, saying what to do if the Ammonites succeed.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .