Language-specific Insights

dishonor God

The Greek that is usually translated in English as “dishonor God” is translated in various ways:

peace with God

The Greek that is translated as “peace with God” in English is translated as “there’s nothing between us and God” in Hopi, as “we are at fellowship with God” in Chicahuaxtla Triqui, as “God has no anger toward us” in Huehuetla Tepehua, as “we have a good relationship with God” in Isthmus Zapotec, and as “we are living well with God” in Mezquital Otomi. (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)

bondage to decay

The Greek that is translated as “bondage to decay” or similar in English is translated as “they continually die” in Highland Totonac, as “the hand of rottenness” Isthmus Zapotec, and as “every animal must die, every tree must decay, every herb must dry up” in Chicahuaxtla Triqui. (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)

foreknow

The Greek that is translated as “foreknow” or similar in English is translated as “knew from the time that he made the world” in Huehuetla Tepehua and as “already knew who would believe him” in Isthmus Zapotec. (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)

if God is for us

The Greek that is translated as “if God is for us” is translated as “if God is in fellowship with us” in Chicahuaxtla Triqui, “if God does not abandon us” in Miahuatlán Zapotec, as “if God is united with us” in Yatzachi Zapotec, as “God is the one who helps us” in Huehuetla Tepehua, as “God himself loves us” in Teutila Cuicatec, as “if God is in our favor” Isthmus Zapotec, and as “if God is our helper” in Highland Totonac. (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)

principalities, rulers

The Greek that is translated as “principalities” or “rulers” in English is translated in various ways:

adultery

The Greek that is translated as “adultery” (typically understood as “marital infidelity”) in English is (back-) translated in the following ways:

  • Highland Totonac: “to do something together”
  • Yucateco: “pair-sin”
  • Ngäbere: “robbing another’s half self-possession” (compare “fornication” which is “robbing self-possession,” that is, to rob what belongs to a person)
  • Kaqchikel, Chol: “to act like a dog”
  • Toraja-Sa’dan: “to measure the depth of the river of (another’s) marriage.”
  • North Alaskan Inupiatun: “married people using what is not theirs” (compare “fornication” which is “unmarried people using what is not theirs”) (source for this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • In Purari: “play hands with” or “play eyes with”
  • In Hakha Chin the usual term for “adultery” applies only to women, so the translation for the Greek term that is translated into English as “adultery” was translated in Hakha Chin as “do not take another man’s wife and do not commit adultery.”
  • Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “talk secretly with spouses of our fellows”
  • Isthmus Zapotec: “go in with other people’s spouses”
  • Hopi: “tamper with marriage” (source for this and two above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • In Falam Chin the term for “adultery” is the phrase for “to share breast” which relates to adultery by either sex. (Source for this and three above: David Clark)
  • In Ixcatlán Mazatec a specification needs to be made to include both genders. (Source: Robert Bascom)

See also adulterer, adulteress, and you shall not commit adultery.

Lord of hosts

The Greek that is translated as “Lord of hosts” in English is translated “our Lord, the person who governs heaven and earth” in Yatzachi Zapotec, as “the Lord who rules all” in Isthmus Zapotec, as “God who commands many people” in Sayula Popoluca, and as “our Lord who has many men” in Tzeltal. (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)

See also LORD of hosts.