The Hebrew and Greek that is typically translated as “covet” in English is translated as “bulge your eyes over what is someone else’s” in Isthmus Zapotec. (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
In Bura-Pabir it is translated with ngguka or “have strong desire for” which differentiates from silka or “jealous,” which refers not to one’s jealous attitude to one’s neighbor. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
See also greed / covetousness.
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated with “mule” in English is translated in Swahili with nyumbu which also is a homonym for “wildebeest,” potentially causing confusion.
In Kutu it is translated with “big donkey” because there is no other adequate term in Kutu. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
In the Hausa Common Language Ajami Bible it is translated jakin-doki or “donkey-horse,” since mules are also not known in Nigeria. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
The Hebrew that is translated as “innocent” in English is translated in Nyamwezi as “no debt” since there is no existing term for the concept. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
In Bura-Pabir it is translated as na ɓɗaku or “which is righteous.” (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
The Hebrew that is translated as “birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky” or similar in English is translated in Bura-Pabir as “be like a flock of birds over the whole world.” (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
See also fill the earth.
The Hebrew that is translated as “a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife” or similar in English is translated in Kim in a similar manner but equipped with a footnote. Andy Warren-Rothlin explains: “This is not a prediction of something that will happen in the future (not even the future from the point of view of the writer), but rather a description of the habits at the time and in the culture of the writer. The problem is that this is not the habit of the Kims. It takes a footnote to explain that in the writer’s day, it was the custom of Jews to leave their father’s house to get married, and that they based their culture on this story of creation.”
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Cain” in English is transliterated as Kaḭ in Ngambay. In a translatory coincidence Kaḭ is very similar to the Ngambay word kain or “to flee” which is what Cain does according to Genesis 4:14. (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
In the Protestant tradition of Mandarin Chinese it is transliterated as Gāiyǐn (该隐) which can be understood as “should hide” or “should be hidden.” (Source: Zetzsche)
In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a sign that signifies “bad.” (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
“Cain” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España
See also Abel.
The English that is translated as “fill the earth” and “abound on the earth” or similar in English is translated in Bura-Pabir as “be like a flock of birds over the whole world.” (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
See also birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.
The Hebrew that is translated as “whoever sheds the blood of a human, by a human shall that person’s blood be shed” or similar in English is translated in Bura-Pabir as “If a man spills his brother’s blood by killing him, then a man will kill him.” (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)