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The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as a form of “save” in English is translated in Shipibo-Conibo with a phrase that means literally “make to live,” which combines the meaning of “to rescue” and “to deliver from danger,” but also the concept of “to heal” or “restore to health.”

Other translations include:

  • San Blas Kuna: “help the heart”
  • Laka: “take by the hand” in the meaning of “rescue” or “deliver”
  • Huautla Mazatec: “lift out on behalf of”
  • Anuak: “have life because of”
  • Central Mazahua: “be healed in the heart”
  • Baoulé: “save one’s head”
  • Guerrero Amuzgo: “come out well”
  • Northwestern Dinka: “be helped as to his breath” (or “life”) (source for all above: Bratcher / Nida),
  • Matumbi: “rescue (from danger)” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
  • Noongar: barrang-ngandabat or “hold life” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • South Bolivian Quechua: “make to escape”
  • Highland Puebla Nahuatl: “cause people to come out with the aid of the hand” (source for this and one above: Nida 1947, p. 222)
  • Bariai: “retrieve one back” (source: Bariai Back Translation)

See also salvation and save (Japanese honorifics).

Translation commentary on Judith 10:15

You have saved your life by hurrying down: Good News Translation translates hurrying down as “coming down,” but this misses the idea that she did so speedily. This could be remedied by translating “You have saved your life by wasting no time in coming down here” or “Because you came down as quickly as you could, you have saved your life.”

To the presence of our lord may be rendered “to see [or, meet with] our general.” For lord see 5.5.

Go at once to his tent; some of us will escort you and hand you over to him: The literal Revised Standard Version runs into a problem here. Go at once to his tent seems to imply that she is going alone, as if she knows where to go, but then the next sentence says that some of them will escort her and hand her over to him. Good News Translation solves this by letting the first sentence be understood in the second one; missing here, however, is at once. Good News Translation again sacrifices the note of urgency. The apparent conflict between the two sentences could also be solved like this: “You must go to his tent at once. Some of us will take you there and present you to him.” The general’s “headquarters” (Good News Translation) is literally a tent (compare 5.22; 6.10). Hand you over to him is literally “we will give you over into his hands.” There is exquisite irony in the men’s literal words. In fact, Holofernes is going to be given over into Judith’s hands. See the note on 8.33, and compare 13.14; 16.6.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Judith. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.