20And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.]]
The Greek terms that are translated into English as “preach” or “proclaim” are regularly rendered into Aari as “speaking the word of salvation.” (Source: Loren Bliese)
Other languages (back-) translate it in the following manner:
Tzeltal: “he explains, they hear” (“the goal of all preachers”)
Copainalá Zoque: “a preacher is ‘one who speaks-scatters'” (a figure based on the scattering of seed in the process of sowing) (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
Shilluk: “declare the word of of God” (source: Nida 1964, p. 237)
In Luang it is translated with different shades of meaning:
For Acts 9:20, 10:42: nakotnohora: “talk about” (“The generic term for preaching.”)
For Acts 8:4, 8:5, 8:25: rodkiota-ralde’etnohora — “bring words, give news about.” (“This term is used when the preacher is moving from place to place to preach.”)
Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.
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)
The Greek that is typically translated as “eternity,” “forever,” or “forever and ever” in English are translated in Mairasi as “mashed out infinitely.” Lloyd Peckham 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.” (Source: Lloyd Peckham)
In Lisu the phrase “forever and ever” is translated as ꓕꓲꓽ ꓞꓲꓼ ꓕꓲ ꓑ — thi tsi thi pa, verbatim translated as “one – lifetime – one – world.” This construction follows a traditional four-couplet construct in oral Lisu poetry that is usually in the form ABAC or ABCB. (Source: Arrington 2020, p. 57f.)
In Makonde it is often translated as navyaka or “years and years.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
The Greek that is typically translated in English as “sign” is translated in Huehuetla Tepehua as “thing to be marveled at” (source: Larson 1889, p. 279) and in Mairasi as “big work” (source: Enggavoter 2004).
Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)
Jesús les dijo: “Vayanse y prediquen y expliquen por todo el mundo que las personas que creen y son bautizados serán salvados. Pero si personas no creen, serán perdidos y castigados fuertemente.
Todas las personas que creen pueden en nombre de Jesús expulsar demonios, y también Dios puede darlos idiomas diferentes.
También pueden agarrar viboras y si beben veneno no morirán, no les pasará nada.
Ellos pueden imponer manos a personas enfermas y sanarlas. Todas estas 5 cosas son para la gente testigos de la verdad.”
Cuando el Señor Jesús terminó explicando todo esto se subió y se piró al cielo, donde Dios está sentado, y Jesús se sentó al lado derecha de él.
Todos los discípulos y otras personas se fueron y predicaban y explicaban por todo el mundo y Jesús les ayudaba con milagros, para testificar a las personas que la predicación era la verdad.
Jesus said to them: “Go and preach and explain throughout the world that the people who believe and are baptized will be saved. But if people do not believe they will be lost and be punished severely.
All the people who believe can in the name of Jesus drive out demons, and God can also give them different languages.
They can also pick up snakes and if they drink poison they will not die, nothing will happen to them.
They can lay hands on sick people and heal them. All these five things are witnesses to the people of the truth.”
When the Lord Jesus finished explaining all this, he went up and away to heaven, where God is seated, and Jesus seated himself on his right side.
All the disciples and other people went and preached and explained throughout the world, and Jesus helped them with miracles, as a witness to the people that their preaching was the truth.
Jesus rose from the dead, early Sunday morning. There was a woman, Mary Magdalene. Previously, she had seven demons, these demons were cast out by Jesus in the past. And so, having risen, Jesus first went out to meet this Mary Magdalene. She was amazed and happy, and quickly ran to the place where Jesus’ disciples were. The disciples were crying there and were very worried that Jesus had died. She ran up to them and cried out:
— I saw, Jesus is alive!
But the disciples did not believe her, and continued to be sad. Some time passed. Two disciples were walking along the road through the field. And suddenly they met Jesus. His body and appearance were different. These two disciples were very happy and hurried to where the other disciples were, and said to them:
— We saw! Yes, Jesus is alive!
But the other disciples again did not believe, they said:
— This cannot be!
Some more time passed. The eleven disciples were sitting at the table. They were eating. Suddenly Jesus appeared and said to them reproachfully:
— Why don’t you believe?! Your hearts are stubborn! Those who saw me alive, already resurrected, told you about it. Why didn’t you believe!?
— I tell you:
— Go into all the world and tell about me. Tell everyone! If a person believes in me and is baptized, then he will be saved, he will have eternal life. And whoever does not believe me, terrible punishment awaits him in the end.
— And I also tell you:
— For those who believe in me, I will grant them many miracles. First, those who believe in me will be able to cast out demons from people in my name. Second, they will be able to speak different languages. Third, if a poisonous snake bites a believer, then nothing will happen to this person, he will be alive and well. Fourthly, if someone wants to poison a believer with poison, gives him a drink, then nothing will happen to the believer, he will be alive and well. Fifthly, if there are sick people, then a believer will be able to lay his hands on them and thus heal the sick.
Jesus said all this, the disciples listened to it all. And after the end, Jesus ascended to heaven and sat at the right of God, his Father. The disciples began to go everywhere and tell everyone about Jesus. The Lord helped them, and sent them many miracles. Many people, seeing miracles, believed. And so it spread everywhere.
Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):
Иисус воскрес из мертвых, ранним утром в воскресенье. Была одна женщина, Мария Магдалина. Раньше в ней были семь бесов, этих бесов в прошлом изгнал Иисус. И вот, воскреснув, Иисус сначала вышел навстречу этой Марии Магдалине. Она была поражена и обрадована, и скорее побежала в то место, где были ученики Иисуса. Ученики там плакали и сильно переживали, что Иисус умер. Она подбежала к ним и воскликнула:
— Я видела, Иисус живой!
Но ученики ей не поверили, и продолжали печалиться. Прошло какое-то время. Два ученика шли по дороге по полю. И вдруг они повстречали Иисуса. Тело его и внешний вид были другими. Эти два ученика очень обрадовались и поспешили туда, где были остальные ученики, и сказали им:
— Мы видели! Да, Иисус живой!
Но остальные ученики опять не поверили, сказали:
— Не может такого быть!
Прошло еще какое-то время. Одиннадцать учеников сидели за столом. Они ели. Вдруг появился Иисус и сказал им укоризненно:
— Что же вы не верите?! Сердца у вас упрямые! Те, кто видел меня живым, уже воскресшим, рассказали вам об этом. Почему же вы не поверили!?
Я говорю вам:
— Идите по всему миру и рассказывайте обо мне. Всем людям расскажите! Если человек поверит в меня и совершит крещение, то он будет спасён, у него будет жизнь вечная. А кто не поверит меня, того ждет в конце страшное наказание.
И еще говорю вам:
— Тех, кто поверит в меня, я одарю их многими чудесами. Во-первых, поверившие в Меня смогут изгонять бесов из людей моим именем. Во-вторых, они смогут разговаривать на разных языках. В-третьих, если ядовитая змея укусит верующего человека, то ничего не случится с этим человеком, он будет жив здоров. В-четвертых, если кто-то захочет отравить верующего человека ядом, даст выпить, то ничего с верующим не случится, он будет жив и здоров. В-пятых, если больные будут, то верующий человек сможет положить на них руки и так исцелить больного.
Иисус это все говорил, ученики это все слушали. И после завершения Иисус вознесся на небо и сел справа от Бога, своего Отца. Ученики стали ходить повсюду и рассказывать везде об Иисусе. Господь помогал им, и посылал им множество чудес. Многие люди, видя чудеса, уверовали. И так это распространялось повсюду.
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 16:20:
Uma: “From there, his followers went to spread the Good News everywhere. The Lord worked together with them, and he gave them authority to do amazing signs in order to strengthen [i.e., confirm] the truth of the news they carried.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “So-then his disciples went to proclaim in all the places/countries. And they were given by the Lord power to do powerful deeds, in order that the people would know that their teaching was true.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then the disciples of the Lord Jesus traveled out, and they preached the good news everywhere, and the power of God helped them for they were able to do miracles so that people might believe what they were preaching.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Then his disciples went to preach the good news in all-the-various-towns. The Lord Jesus was helping them and confirming the truth of what they were preaching because-of/by-means-of the amazing signs that he was causing-them -to-do.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “The disciples truly did go all over, for they taught in every place. They were really being helped indeed by the Lord in that work. He was testifying to the word which the disciples were teaching through the means/ability to do amazing things, which he granted to them.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The Hebrew adonai in the Old Testament typically refers to God. The shorter adon (and in two cases in the book of Daniel the Aramaic mare [מָרֵא]) is also used to refer to God but more often for concepts like “master,” “owner,” etc. In English Bible translations all of those are translated with “Lord” if they refer to God.
In English Old Testament translations, as in Old Testament translations in many other languages, the use of Lord (or an equivalent term in other languages) is not to be confused with Lord (or the equivalent term with a different typographical display for other languages). While the former translates adonai, adon and mare, the latter is a translation for the tetragrammaton (YHWH) or the Name of God. See tetragrammaton (YHWH) and the article by Andy Warren-Rothlin in Noss / Houser, p. 618ff. for more information.
In the New Testament, the Greek term kurios has at least four different kinds of use:
referring to “God,” especially in Old Testament quotations,
meaning “master” or “owner,” especially in parables, etc.,
as a form of address (see for instance John 4:11: “Sir, you have no bucket”),
or, most often, referring to Jesus
In the first and fourth case, it is also translated as “Lord” in English.
Most languages naturally don’t have one word that covers all these meanings. According to Bratcher / Nida, “the alternatives are usually (1) a term which is an honorific title of respect for a high-ranking person and (2) a word meaning ‘boss’, ‘master’, or ‘chief.’ (…) and on the whole it has generally seemed better to employ a word of the second category, in order to emphasize the immediate personal relationship, and then by context to build into the word the prestigeful character, since its very association with Jesus Christ will tend to accomplish this purpose.”
When looking at the following list of back-translations of the terms that translators in the different languages have used for both kurios and adonai to refer to God and Jesus respectively, it might be helpful for English readers to recall the etymology of the English “Lord.” While this term might have gained an exalted meaning in the understanding of many, it actually comes from hlaford or “loaf-ward,” referring to the lord of the castle who was the keeper of the bread (source: Rosin 1956, p. 121).
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight
Following are some of the solutions that don’t rely on a different typographical display (see above):
Iyansi: Mwol. Mwol is traditionally used for the “chief of a group of communities and villages” with legal, temporal, and spiritual authority (versus the “mfum [the term used in other Bantu languages] which is used for the chief of one community of people in one village”). Mwol is also used for twins who are “treated as special children, highly honored, and taken care of like kings and queens.” (Source: Kividi Kikama in Greed / Kruger, p. 396ff.)
Binumarien: Karaambaia: “fight-leader” (Source: Oates 1995, p. 255)
Warlpiri: Warlaljamarri (owner or possessor of something — for more information tap or click here)
We have come to rely on another term which emphasizes God’s essential nature as YHWH, namely jukurrarnu (see tetragrammaton (YHWH)). This word is built on the same root jukurr– as is jukurrpa, ‘dreaming.’ Its basic meaning is ‘timelessness’ and it is used to describe physical features of the land which are viewed as always being there. Some speakers view jukurrarnu in terms of ‘history.’ In all Genesis references to YHWH we have used Kaatu Jukurrarnu. In all Mark passages where kurios refers to God and not specifically to Christ we have also used Kaatu Jukurrarnu.
New Testament references to Christ as kurios are handled differently. At one stage we experimented with the term Watirirririrri which refers to a ceremonial boss of highest rank who has the authority to instigate ceremonies. While adequately conveying the sense of Christ’s authority, there remained potential negative connotations relating to Warlpiri ceremonial life of which we might be unaware.
Here it is that the Holy Spirit led us to make a chance discovery. Transcribing the personal testimony of the local Warlpiri pastor, I noticed that he described how ‘my Warlaljamarri called and embraced me (to the faith)’. Warlaljamarri is based on the root warlalja which means variously ‘family, possessions, belongingness’. A warlaljamarri is the ‘owner’ or ‘possessor’ of something. While previously being aware of the ‘ownership’ aspect of warlaljamarri, this was the first time I had heard it applied spontaneously and naturally in a fashion which did justice to the entire concept of ‘Lordship’. Thus references to Christ as kurios are now being handled by Warlaljamarri.” (Source: Stephen Swartz, The Bible Translator 1985, p. 415ff. )
Mairasi: Onggoao Nem (“Throated One” — “Leader,” “Elder”) or Enggavot Nan (“Above-One”) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Obolo: Okaan̄-ene (“Owner of person(s)”) (source: Enene Enene)
Lotha Naga: Opvui (“owner of house / field / cattle”) — since both “Lord” and YHWH are translated as Opvui there is an understanding that “Opvui Jesus is the same as the Opvui of the Old Testament”
Seediq: Tholang, loan word from Min Nan Chinese (the majority language in Taiwan) thâu-lâng (頭儂): “Master” (source: Covell 1998, p. 248)
Thai: phra’ phu pen cao (พระผู้เป็นเจ้า) (divine person who is lord) or ong(kh) cao nay (องค์เจ้านาย) (<divine classifier>-lord-boss) (source: Stephen Pattemore)
Arabic often uses different terms for adonai or kurios referring to God (al-rabb الرب) and kurios referring to Jesus (al-sayyid الـسـيـد). Al-rabb is also the term traditionally used in Arabic Christian-idiom translations for YHWH, and al-sayyid is an honorary term, similar to English “lord” or “sir” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
Tamil also uses different terms for adonai/kurios when referring to God and kurios when referring to Jesus. The former is Karttar கர்த்தர், a Sanskrit-derived term with the original meaning of “creator,” and the latter in Āṇṭavar ஆண்டவர், a Tamil term originally meaning “govern” or “reign” (source: Natarajan Subramani).
Burunge: Looimoo: “owner who owns everything” (in the Burunge Bible translation, this term is only used as a reference to Jesus and was originally used to refer to the traditional highest deity — source: Michael Endl in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 48)
Yagaria: Souve, originally “war lord” (source: Renck, p. 94)
Aguacateco: Ajcaw ske’j: “the one to whom we belong and who is above us” (source: Rita Peterson in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 49)
Konkomba: Tidindaan: “He who is the owner of the land and reigns over the people” (source: Lidorio 2007, p. 66)
Chichewa: AmbuyeAmbuye comes from the singular form Mbuye which is used to refer to: (1) someone who is a guardian or protector of someone or group of people — a grandparent who has founded a community or village; (2) someone who is a boss or master over a group of people or servants and has absolute control over them; (3) owner of something, be it a property, animals and people who are bound under his/her rule — for people this was mostly commonly used in the context of slaves and their owner. In short, Mbuye is someone who has some authorities over those who call him/her their “Mbuye.” Now, when the form Ambuye is used it will either be for honorific when used for singular or plural when referring to more than one person. When this term is used in reference to God, it is for respect to God as he is acknowledged as a guardian, protector, and ruler of everything. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation).
Hdi uses rveri (“lion”) as a title of respect and as such it regularly translates adon in the Old Testament. As an address, it’s most often with a possessive pronoun as in rvera ɗa (“my lion” = “my lord” or “sir”). So, for example, Genesis 15:2 (“O Lord God”) is Rvera ɗa Yawe (“My lion Yahweh”) or Ruth to Boaz in Ruth 2:13: “May I find your grace [lit. good-stomach] my lion.” This ties in nicely with the imagery of the Lord roaring like a lion (Hosea 11:10; Amos 3:8; Joel 3:16). Better still, this makes passages like Revelation 5:5 even richer when we read about rveri ma taba məndəra la Yuda, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”. In Revelation 19:16, Jesus is rveri ta ghəŋa rveriha “the lion above lions” (“lord of lords”). (Source: Drew Maust)
Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient GreekSeptuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew adonai was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments: “Another case is the use of kurios referring to Jesus. For Yahweh (in English Bibles: ‘the Lord‘), the Septuagint uses kurios. Although the term kurios usually has to do with one’s authority over others, when the New Testament authors use this word from the Septuagint to refer to Jesus, they are making an extraordinary claim: Jesus of Nazareth is to be identified with Yahweh.”
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