The Greek that is translated as “envy” in most English translations is, according to Nida (1952, p. 134), translated into Tzeltal and Tabasco Chontal in the following manner:
“Envy is bred of covetousness and self-centeredness. The Tzeltals, who recognize a covetous man as having a ‘small heart,’ say that an envious person has ‘a greedy heart.’ ‘Small hearts’ and ‘greedy hearts’ go together, and the soul shrinks in direct proportion to its greediness. The envious person is never satisfied, for he can never keep step with his own insatiable ego.
“The Chontal Indians, living in the low, swampy delta land of Tabasco in southern Mexico, regard envy in a more subtle way. They say of the man who is envious of his neighbor, ‘He did not want to see his neighbor.’ This describes the end result of envy. People cannot bear to see others enjoying the privileges which they insist should be their own. The envious man has acquired such a self-directed stare that he cannot take his eyes off self to see another’s enjoyment.”
In Central Mazahua is is translated as “jealous of each other, their fellow people” and in Sayula Popoluca as “hate those who have something.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
The Greek that is translated in English as “encourage” or “comfort” is translated in Enlhet as “become calm of the innermost.” “Innermost” or valhoc is a term that is frequently used in Enlhet to describe a large variety of emotions or states of mind (for other examples see here). (Source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. )
In Bacama it is translated as “(to) cool stomach” (source: David Frank in this blog post ), in Yatzachi Zapotec as “cause hearts to mature,” and in Isthmus Zapotec “hearts may lie quiet” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.).
The Greek that is translated as “belong to Jesus Christ” in English is translated as “come into fellowship with Jesus Christ” in Chicahuaxtla Triqui, “be his children” in Yatzachi Zapotec, and “be servants of Jesus Christ” in Huehuetla Tepehua. (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, and Greek that is translated in English typically as “obedience” or “obey” is translated in Tepeuxila Cuicatec as “thing hearing.” “For to hear is to obey.” (Source: Marjorie Davis in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 34ff. )
In Huba it is translated as hya nǝu nyacha: “follow (his) mouth.” (Source: David Frank in this blog post )
In Central Mazahua it is translated as “listen-obey” and in Huehuetla Tepehua as “believe-obey” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), and in Noongar as dwangka-don, lit. “hear do” (source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018).
In Isthmus Zapotec it is translated as “snobby” and in Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “thinking they are the people of worth.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
In Kadiwéu, it is not possible to use a rhetorical question for the purpose of linking subjects as is done in this case in the Greek (and English) text. Here, It was treated by dropping the question form and making a statement as follows: “We can see (then) that the non-Jews who did not seek to be accepted by God were accepted by Him because they trusted in Him.” (Source: Glyn Griffiths in Notes on Translation June 1986, p. 25ff.) See also here.
In Chicahuaxtla Triqui it is translated as “so then hear well, all of you, this word that I will speak.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
The Greek that is translated as “all ungodliness” in English is translated as “those who don’t think anything of God” in Huehuetla Tepehua, as “all those who don’t pay attention to him” in Isthmus Zapotec, as “all people who don’t believe in him” in Sayula Popoluca, as “all who do not pay attention to what God says” in Sierra de Juárez Zapotec, and as “those who do not respect him” in Hopi. (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
