The Greek term that is translated in English as “bread” or “loaf” is translated in Samo, it is translated as “Sago,” which serves “like ‘bread’ for the Hebrews, as a generic for food in the Samo language. It is a near-perfect metonymy that has all the semantic elements necessary for effective communication.” (Source: Daniel Shaw in Scriptura 96/2007, p. 501ff.)
In Chol it is translated as waj, the equivalent of a tortilla. (Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight)
John Beekman (in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 180f. ) explains: “The word ‘bread’ in Scripture primarily occurs as either a specific term for bread (including the Lord’s Supper), or as a generic term for food. It is not surprising, however, the some aboriginal groups use something other than bread as the staff of life. The Chols, with their cultural focus in the cultivation of corn, use waj, a type of thin corn flake. Since a meal is not complete without this main item of food, the term has been extended to include any other foods which may be served along with waj. While bread is known to them, its use is limited to a few occasions during the year when it functions as a dessert. In translating this term in the Chol New Testament, consistent use has been made of the word waj whenever the function of bread as a basic food was in focus. John 6:35, “I am the bread of life,” was thus translated with this word. If the word for bread had been used, it was feared that the Chol would compare Christ to the desirable, but not absolutely necessary, dessert.”
Robert Bascom adds his thoughts to this in relation to other Mayan languages (in Omanson 2001, p. 260): “In many Mayan languages, ‘bread’ can be translated waj or kaxlan waj. The first term literally means anything made from corn meal, while the second term literally means ‘foreigner’s waj,’ and refers to the local wheat-based sweet breads which are so popular within the broader European-influenced culture of the region. On the one hand, waj would be a better dynamic equivalent in cases where ‘bread’ meant ‘food,’ but in cases where the focus is literal or the reference well-known, kaxlan waj would preserve a flour-based meaning (though in biblical times barley was more in use than wheat) and not insert corn into a time and place where it does not belong. On the other hand kaxlan waj is not the staff of life, but refers to a local delicacy. In cases such as these, it is even tempting to suggest borrowing pan, the Spanish word for ‘bread,’ but native speakers might respond that borrowing a foreign word is not necessary since both waj and kaxlan waj are native terms that cover the meaning (though in this case, perhaps not all that well).”
The Lord’s Prayer was translated into Nyulnyul (and back-translated into English) by the German missionary Hermann Nekes in 1939.
It reads:
Our Father on top sky.
Thy name be feared.
Thou art our boss.
Men-women will listen to Thee this place earth
as the good souls of men-women listen to Thee on top sky.
Give us tucker till this sun goes down.
We did wrong; make us good.
We have good hearts to them who did us wrong.
Watch us against bad place.
Thy hands be stretched out to guard us from bad.
Our Father, high in your Holy Place,
your name is holy.
Let the day come
when you reign as King in our land.
We want you to become Boss of our land,
the same way you are Boss of your Holy Land.
Give us the food we eat every day.
Forgive our wrong-doing
the same way we forgive the wrong-doing people do to us.
And do not take us to the hard place of testing.
But hold us so the Devil cannot get us.
You hold the land.
You hold the power.
You hold the light.
For ever and for ever.
Amen.
Source: Bardip Ruth-Ang 2020
The following is a version of the Lord’s Prayer set to Tibetan music:
The Greek that is translated as “our daily bread” or similar in most English versions was translated in the Catholic English Douay-Rheims version (publ. 1582) as “our supersubstantial bread.”
In the Kölsch translation (publ. 2017) it is translated as wat mer Minsche zum Levve bruche or “what us humans need for sustenance.” (Source: Jost Zetzsche)
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the exclusive form (excluding God).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
This story of the translation of a new version of the Bible in Kwara’ae illustrates the importance and the problem of this, especially in this verse: “It is necessary to distinguish in Melanesian languages between the inclusive and exclusive first person plural pronoun. For example in, ‘We must go soon or we will lose the tide,’ ‘we’ here includes the persons addressed. But in, ‘Wait, and we will be with you soon,’ ‘we’ here excludes the persons addressed. Two different pronouns are used. Early missionaries, not knowing this, used the inclusive form in the Lord’s Prayer, ‘Forgive us our trespasses (yours and ours).’ This, of course, had to be corrected.” (Source: Norman Deck in The Bible Translator 1963, 34 ff. )
This verse is short but difficult to interpret. The difficulty can best be demonstrated from the Revised Standard Version rendering (Give us this day our daily bread), which represents a fairly literal rendering of the Greek. The problem concerns the meaning of the word rendered daily. The word appears only in Christian literature (perhaps also once in a non-Christian papyrus), and its origin and meaning have never been explained to the satisfaction of all. Several solutions have been offered and are summarized in the commentaries. One of the standard Greek lexicons presents them in the following order:
(1) “Necessary for existence.” This is the choice of Good News Translation: (“Give us today the food we need”), Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch (“Give us what we need for life today”), and Bible en français courant (“Give us today the necessary food”). Some commentators say that this interpretation makes the petition less than spiritual. But Jesus and his followers took seriously the needs of the body.
(2) “For the current day, for today.” This seems to be the interpretation favored by translations which render “daily” (see New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New English Bible, Revised Standard Version). An American Translation (“Give us today bread for the day”) and Phillips (“Give us each day the bread we need for the day”) also favor this interpretation.
(3) “For the following day.” This would refer to the daily ration of bread, given for the next day; therefore, “Give us today our daily portion.” Moffatt translates “give us to-day our bread for the morrow,” while Barclay renders “Give us today our bread for the coming day.” This interpretation offers several possibilities of meaning. If the prayer is said in the morning, the “coming day” would be the day in progress. If prayed in the evening, the petition would also include the following day. But the future reference would permit an eschatological interpretation as well, in which case the “coming day” could be the coming Messianic banquet. However, in this context such an interpretation is highly unlikely.
(4) “Bread for the future.” This is discussed under (3) above; it is the so-called eschatological interpretation.
There is really no significant difference of meaning between the first two alternatives. Moreover, the third alternative, if taken as a reference to the present day, comes to mean essentially the same as the first two possibilities. The fourth interpretation, though attractive, does not seem to be in focus in the present passage.
Give may be “provide” or “make sure we have.”
Since an eschatological interpretation of daily should be rejected, the translation of this day should not be “in these days” or “in this age.” It means simply “today,” although it can be “each day” or “day by day” in some constructions, depending on how daily is dealt with.
The Greek word for bread is here used with the wider meaning of “food.” In very few cultures would the figure “bread” be understood to mean food in general, and therefore almost all translations say “food” or “things to eat.”
Some have wanted to take bread to mean more than “food,” feeling it represents all our needs, spiritual and physical. They have had translations like “everything we need for true life” or “for our souls (or, spirits) and bodies.” This would be incorrect, as would an interpretation like “everything we need for a living,” which covers all physical needs. It is best here to limit the interpretation of bread to “food,” as we said.
Most translators will follow the examples listed under the first two interpretations: “Give us each day (or, today) the food we need,” “Give us today the food for living,” “Give us what food we need to live each day,” or “Give us the food to satisfy our needs each day,” and so forth.
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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