This quotation 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.”
worldly people
The phrase that is translated as “worldly people” or “people who are controlled by their natural desires” in English versions is translated into Kahua with the idiom that says “people who follow their noses.”
wandering stars
The phrase that is translated into English as “wandering stars” is translated into Kahua with the idiom for shooting stars: “droppings of stars.”
unstable
The term that is translated as “unstable” in English is rendered into Kahua with the simile that means “like butterflies.”
centerpost
The parallelism between “rock” in 1Pet 2:5 (in the English New Revised Standard Version “like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house”) and verse 8 (in the English New Revised Standard Version “a stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall”) had to be maintained in the Kahua translation. As “posts” are used in house building (see cornerstone) the parallelism was kept with terms for “tree” and “centerpost.”
See also cornerstone.
implanted, in one's heart
For the phrase that is translated as “implanted (word)” or “(word that he plants) in your hearts” in English versions, Kahua uses a term for belly/chest as the seat of the emotions. (Source: David Clark)
In Owa it is translated as “planted in your soul” (=hearts). (Source: Carl Gross)
See also heart, soul, mind.
minding one's own affairs
The phrase that is translated as “mind your own affairs” is translated in Kahua with an idiom: “don’t interfere with your noses.”
flattery
The term 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).”