Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 4:15:
Uma: “That is why they put those apostles of the Lord Yesus out of their meeting, and they made-plans,” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Therefore they sent them out of the judgment room and the councilors conferred among themselves.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Therefore there in the room in which they were gathered, they told Peter and company that they should go outside for a while. And then they discussed it saying,” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “That being so, they had-plural Pedro -go-out so they the leaders would-be-alone to converse.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Therefore they caused Pedro-and-companion to go out of their gathering-place, so that they could discuss what would be good to do.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Eastern Highland Otomi: “They sent the disciples outside because they wanted to talk among themselves about them.”
Lalana Chinantec: “They told Peter and John to go outside for a while. When Peter and John had gone outside they discussed by themselves, just the people who judged.”
Chuj: “But those rulers said that Peter and John must go out from their faces (presence). After they were taken out, those rulers talked together alone.”
Chichimeca-Jonaz: “Then they commanded them to go outside from where the elders were assembled, and they alone went to talking together.” (Source for this and three above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “shepherd” in English is translated in Kouya as Bhlabhlɛɛ ‘yliyɔzʋnyɔ — ” tender of sheep.”
Philip Saunders (p. 231) explains:
“Then one day they tackled the thorny problem of ‘shepherd’. It was problematic because Kouyas don’t have herdsmen who stay with the sheep all the time. Sheep wander freely round the village and its outskirts, and often a young lad will be detailed to drive sheep to another feeding spot. So the usual Kouya expression meant a ‘driver of sheep’, which would miss the idea of a ‘nurturing’ shepherd. ‘A sheep nurturer’ was possible to say, but it was unnatural in most contexts. The group came up with Bhlabhlɛɛ ‘yliyɔzʋnyɔ which meant ‘a tender of sheep’, that is one who keeps an eye on the sheep to make sure they are all right. All, including the translators, agreed that this was a most satisfactory solution.”
In Chuj, the translation is “carer” since there was no single word for “shepherd” (source: Ronald Ross), in Muna, it is dhagano dhumba: “sheep guard” since there was no immediate lexical equivalent (source: René van den Berg), in Mairasi it is translated with “people who took care of domesticated animals” (source: Enggavoter 2004), in Noongar as kookendjeriyang-yakina or “sheep worker” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), and Kwakum as “those-who-monitor-the-livestock” (source: Stacey Hare in this post ).
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 5:32:
Uma: “We (excl.) are the ones that testify-to all that, we (excl.) with the Holy Spirit also that God gives to everybody that submits to his command.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “And we (excl.),’ Petros said, ‘we (excl.) testify that this is all true. The Holy Spirit whom God gives to all who obey his commands, testifies also.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And, as for us (excl.), we can testify that all of this took place, and the Holy Spirit also affirms this because God causes him to inspire everyone who obeys his commands.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “We (excl.) confirm/verify that all these-things are true and the Holy Spirit whom God has-given to them who are-obeying him also confirm/verifies (it).'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well as for us (excl.), we really testify to the truth of all this. And the Espiritu Santo also testifies whom God causes to indwell those who follow/obey him.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Chuj: “We put ourselves in as witnesses about this story of Jesus Christ which we tell. And also His-Spirit God he puts himself in as witness with us. God gives His-Spirit to all those who obey what he says.’ they said.” Teutila Cuicatec: “We are spreading the news about these things in all the authority of God’s Holy Spirit which he causes to possess those who obey his word.” (Source for this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 4:29:
Uma: “‘Now Lord, hear their words threatening/scaring us (excl.)! That is why we (excl.) ask the Lord, we (excl.) your (sing.) servants, give us (excl.) strength so that we (excl.) can be brave to utter your (sing.) Word.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “And now God, listen to their threats to us (excl.). Help us (excl.), your servants, in order that we will be bold to speak your word/message.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And now look, Lord, see their threats to us. Give us, now your servants, boldness so that we might not be afraid to spread your word.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “As for today, Lord, please hear what they are saying to threaten us (excl.) who are serving you (sing.), and make-us (excl.) totally -bold to be speaking your (sing.) word.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well, now, our (excl.) God, remember that threat of theirs to us (excl.), and help us (excl.) to be able to tell your word with a bold mind/inner-being.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Chuj: “And now Lord look; very much comes their anger to us. We, we are your sent ones. Give us our strength so that we don’t fear to tell out your word.”
Tataltepec Chatino: “Our Father, look here now, because those over us are very fierce. We want to do your orders, that we tell your word to people. Help us that we be strong and not be afraid.” (Source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 4:28:
Uma: “This planning of theirs, was to kill Yesus. But in fact what they did fulfilled what you (sing.) had already decided [made certain] from-the-first! As a result everything happened according to your (sing.) power and your (sing.) own desire, Lord.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “They do this because formerly yet you planned from/by your will and your power that this should happen.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And they have agreed on what they will do to him according to what you foreordained that they would do.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “And they did all that you (sing.) previously because of your (sing.) power had already-decided should be fulfilled.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “But well, all which they have decided to do is all in harmony with what you indeed determined would happen.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
San Mateo del Mar Huave: “Thus they did because you have stated from before that thus it would be.”
Teutila Cuicatec: “They carried out all that you decreed would have to come to pass.”
Eastern Highland Otomi: “Because this is what you ordained in the beginning that would happen.”
Chuj: “But they just did like you had said long ago how that those things must be done.” (Source of this and three above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
The Greek that is translated as “Son of Man” and is mostly used by Jesus to refer to himself is (back-) translated in the following languages as (click or tap for details):
Tzotzil: “I who am equal with men” or “The Older Brother of Everybody” (“expressing the dignity and authority of the Messiah and the universality of his work”)
Tenango Otomi: “The Man Appointed” (i.e. the man to whom authority has been delegated) (source for this and preceding: Beekman, p. 189-190, see also Ralph Hill in Notes on Translation February 1983, p. 35-50)
Aguaruna: “One who was born becoming a person” (source for this and two above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Older Sibling of Mankind” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Child of a Person” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “One From Heaven Born of Man/human?” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Man who came from heaven” (source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Yatzachi Zapotec: “One who God sent, who was born a human” (a direct translation would have suggested “that the father is unknown due to the indiscretions of the mother” and where “he is the son of people” is used when one wants to disclaim responsibility for or relationship with a child caught in some mischief — source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Mezquital Otomi: “The son who became a person” (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
Alekano: “The true man who descended from heaven” (source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation June 1986, p. 36ff.)
Central Tarahumara: “One who has been stood up to help” (“This suggests that Christ has been given authority to some appointed task. A very generic word, help, was selected to fill in the lexically obligatory purpose required by the word which means to appoint or commission. Usually this word is used of menial tasks but not exclusively. The choice of this generic term retains the veiled reference to the character of Christ’s work which He intended in using the ‘Son of Man’ title.”)
Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “He who is relative of all people.” (“The Triqui word for relative is a rather generic term and in its extended sense sometimes is diluted to neighbor and friend. But the primary meaning is relative.”)
Tepeuxila Cuicatec: “The Person who Accompanies All People” (“The literal equivalents ‘son of man’ and ‘son of people’ were both rejected because of the false inference of natural birth involving a human father. Furthermore, it was necessary to expand any translation of the Bible by the addition of the pronoun ‘I’ so as to clarify the fact that Jesus is using the third person in referring to Himself. A common expression used by the Cuicatecos when difficulties befall someone, is to say to that one, ‘don’t worry, we are accompanying you.’ By this they mean they share that person’s sorrow. When wedding guests arrive at the home of a son who has just been married, they say to the father, ‘We have come to accompany you.’ By this they mean that they have come to share the father’s joy. These expressions do not refer to ordinary physical accompaniment, which is expressed by a set of different verbs. For example, visits are always announced by some such greeting as, “I have come to visit you,’ ‘I have come to see you,’ or ‘I have come to ask you something.’ The desire to accompany a friend on a journey is expressed by saying, ‘I will go with you.’ Translation helpers used the verb ‘accompany’ in constructing the phrase ‘I, the Person who Accompanies All People.'(…) It reflects the fact that Jesus closely identified Himself with all of us, understands our weaknesses, shares our burdens, rejoices with us in times of gladness, etc.”) (source for this and the three preceding: Beekman in Notes on Translation January 1963, p. 1-10)
Guhu-Samane: “Elder-brother-man” (“Since the term denotes an elder brother in every way such as honor, power, leadership, representation of the younger, etc. it is a meaningful and fitting — though not ostentatious — title.” Source: Ernest Richert in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 198ff. )
Navajo: Diné Silíi’ii — “Man he-became-the-one-who” (“This terra presented a difficulty not only in Navajo but also one peculiar to all the Athapaskan languages. It lies in the fact that all these languages, so far as we know, have a word phonetically similar to the Navajo diné which has three meanings: ‘man, people in general,’ ‘a man,’ ‘The People’ which is the name the Navajos use for themselves. (The name Navajo was first used by the Spanish explorers.) Although it seemed natural to say diné biye’ ‘a-man his-son,’ this could also mean ‘The-People their-son’ or ‘a-Navajo his-son,’ in contrast to the son of a white man or of another Indian tribe. Since the concept of the humanity of Christ is so important, we felt that diné biye’ with its three possible meanings should not be used. The term finally decided on was Diné Silíi’ii ‘Man he-became-the-one-who.’ This could be interpreted to mean ‘the one who became a Navajo,’ but since it still would impart the idea of Christ’s becoming man, it was deemed adequate, and it has proven acceptable to the Navajos.”) (Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )
Toraja-Sa’dan: “Child descended in the world” (“using a poetic verb, often found in songs that [deal with] the contacts between heaven and earth”) (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Obolo: Gwun̄ Ebilene: “Child of Human” (source: Enene Enene).
Mairasi: Jaanoug Tat: “Person Child” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Costa Rican Sign Language: “It was impossible to translate the expression ‘Son of Man.’ The son-man sign simply means ‘male child.’ The Costa Rican Sign Language (LESCO) team opted for an interpretation of the term and translated it ‘Jesus.'” (Source: Elsa Tamez (in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 59ff.)
Lokạạ: wẹẹn wạ ọnẹn or “son of a person.” “This translation is symbolic in that it uses indigenous Lokạạ words. However, since the publication of the New Testament in 2006, this phrase has gained popularity within contemporary Lokạạ society as an expression to describe an important person whose career is going well. In the New Testament, the phrase ‘son of man’ is used to describe Jesus as prototypically human, but the Lokạạ phrase is now being used to describe an exceptional person in Lokạạ society.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
In many West African languages, using a third person reference as a first person indicator is common practice with a large range of semantic effects. Languages that use the exact expression “son of man” as a self-reference or reference to another person include Lukpa, Baatonum, Mossi (“son of Adam”), Yoruba (“son of person”), Guiberoua Béte, or Samo. (Source: Lynell Zogbo in: Omanson 2000, p. 167-188.)
In Swahili the expression Mwana wa Mtu or mwana wa mtu or “son/daughter of human person,” which is used by several Bible translations, also has “the idiomatic meaning of ‘a human being’” (source: Jean-Claude Loba-Mkole in An Intercultural Criticism of New Testament Translations 2013, see here). The same is true for the Lingala expression Mwana na Moto — “son/daughter of human person.” (Ibid.)
In Balinese “we are again bordering on theological questions when we inquire as to which vocabulary shall be used to translate the texts where Jesus speaks of himself as ‘the Son of man.’ One of the fixed rules governing the use of these special vocabularies is that one may never use the deferential terms in speaking of oneself. This would be the extreme of arrogance. Now if one considers the expression ‘Son of man’ primarily as a description of ‘I,’ then one must continually indicate the possessions or actions of the Son of man by Low Balinese words. In doing this the mystery of the expression is largely lost. In any case the vocabulary used in most of the contexts would betray that Jesus means the title for himself.
“However, a distinction can actually be made in Balinese between the person and the exalted position he occupies. For example, the chairman of a judicial body may employ deferential terms when referring to this body and its chairman, without this being taken as an expression of arrogance. Considered from this standpoint, one may translate in such a way that Jesus is understood as using such deferential words and phrases in speaking of himself. The danger is, however, that the unity between his person and the figure of “the Son of man” is blurred by such usage.
“On request, the New Testament committee of the Netherlands Bible Society advised that ‘the sublimity of this mysterious term be considered the most important point and thus High Balinese be used.'”
In Malay, Barclay Newman reports on the translation of “Today’s Malay Version” (Alkitab Berita Baik) of 1987:
“One of the first things that we did in working through the earlier part of the New Testament was to decide on how we would translate some of the more difficult technical terms. It was immediately obvious that something must be done with the translation of ‘the Son of Man,’ since the literal rendering anak manusia (literally ‘child of a man’) held absolutely no meaning for Malay readers. We felt that the title should emphasize the divine origin and authority of the one who used this title, and at the same time, since it was a title, we decided that it should not be too long a phrase. Finally, a phrase meaning ‘the One whom God has ordained’ was chosen (yang dilantik Allah). It is interesting to note that the newly-begun Common Indonesian (Alkitab Kabar Baik, published in 1985) has followed a similar route by translating ‘the One whom God has chosen’ (yang depilih Allah).”
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 4:12:
Uma: “There is no other way to receive salvation from God, only Yesus. Because in all the world there is no other person, only Yesus whom God provided for man, only he has power to lift us from the punishment of our sin.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “And really he is the only one who can save us (incl.). Because here in this whole world, there is no other/nothing else given by God that can save us (incl.) except only Isa.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “It is only Jesus who can set us free from punishment,’ said Peter, ‘because here in all the world there is no other person who is able to do it which God has given.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “It is only Jesus who can save us. Because there is no other in the entire world that God has sent to save us except him.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “It’s true, there really is no-one at all from whom salvation can be gotten from the punishment for sin, except this Jesu-Cristo only. For there is no-one else here under the heavens who has been given by God who can save us, but on the contrary this one only.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Chuj: “‘There is no other person who can save us; because there is no other person whom God has shown to people on this earth who can save us. Only Jesus,’ said Peter.”
Lalana Chinantec: “‘Only Jesus is able to save people. Only Jesus did God give. All over the world there is no one else who is able to save people.’ That’s what Peter said.”
Isthmus Mixe: “Another person cannot save us. But Jesus Christ can. For no other person in this world has been appointed to save us.”
Totontepec Mixe: “No one else is able that he forgive the sins of the earth people. Jesus alone is able to forgive our sins. God has sent no one else to forgive sins.”
Teutila Cuicatec: “There is not a single person who can save us apart from him, the one who has the authority to save the people on this earth.” (source for this and four above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 4:2:
Uma: “The Saduki people did not believe that the dead will live again. That’s why they were very angry hearing Petrus and Yohanes teaching the people that Yesus lived again, because that teaching of theirs made clear that dead people would live again.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “They were very angry because Petros and company were teaching the people, affirming strongly that because Isa was/is alive again, the dead would/will also be alive again in the future.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as for these leaders, they were angry at Peter and company for teaching the people that the resurrection of Jesus is proof that people will be raised from the dead in the future.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “They became/had-become-angry because plural Pedro were teaching that Jesus lived again, therefore all who die will also live.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “They really couldn’t accept what those two were doing teaching the people and saying that Jesus had been made alive again, and that is what gives testimony that people will indeed be made alive again.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Chuj: “Those rulers became angry, because Peter and John were teaching the people. Peter and John were telling out that the dead will come alive again like Jesus came alive again.” (Source for this and above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
