The Hebrew that is translated as “exile” in English is translated in Maan as “war prisoner.” (Source: Don Slager)
flesh
The Hebrew that is translated as “flesh” in English and in some English versions as “muscles” (including God’s Word, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, NET Bible) is translated in Maan with a word that simultaneously means “flesh” and “muscles,” since “Maan does not have a separate word for muscles.” (Source: Don Slager)
Anakim / giants
The Hebrew that is either transliterated as “Anakim” or translated as “giants” in English is translated in Manya as “big, amazing people.” (Source: Don Slager)
The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge
The Hebrew proverb that is translated as “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge” in English is rendered in Medumba with the existing proverb “They, the others, have eaten caterpillars; And we have got a stomach ache.” (Source: Jan de Waard in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 146ff.)
In Maan, the translation is “Parents ate green grapes, but their children’s teeth were sour.” (Source: Don Slager)
wash feet
David tells Uriah (in English translations) to “go down to his house and wash his feet.” This refers to stay the night, and in particular sleep with his wife (see v. 11). The Chamula Tzotzil translated it as “sweep out your heart,” meaning the same thing as “make yourself at home.”
Dan translators translated it as “to go home and relax.”
making peace
English translations say “Syrians made peace with the Israelites after being defeated by them” — The idiomatic expression used by the Dan translator in this context for making peace is “giving a white chicken.” When people offer a white chicken, they accept defeat. The victorious party is expected to accept the chicken to show that they will not retaliate. It’s important that the chicken be white, not any other color, and that its legs not be tied (showing freedom).
frost
The Hebrew is translated in English translations as manna (that) was “as delicate (thin) as frost.” In Dan they said it was as delicate as hail since they don’t have frost here. However, I cautioned them that hail is not very delicate. So I suggested that they say the manna was as delicate as ashes (bɥ̀ɵ̀). That has worked well in other languages here. The whole sentence in Dan reads: “Kǝ lɛ̀ lúɛ́ ɓɛ é go sɛaɛ, pǝ ɓlɵ́ téé ê bìɓòlɛ̀ kâ gbéèɛ̀ é kǝ̀ nɛɛ bɥ̀ɵ̀ lɵ́ɛ è kǝ̀ sɛa má.”
See also snow (color).
blue as the sky
In English translations it says that “God stood on a platform of sapphire as blue as the sky.” The translator transliterated sapphire, and said the platform was as black as the sky since the Maan word for blue includes the color black also. We decided to say that the platform was the color of the sky, without specifying the color. That way a light blue color will be in view.