purple

The Greek that is translated as “purple” in English is translated as “blue-red” in Ojitlán Chinantec.

In Kasua was a little bit more involved, as Rachel Greco recalls (in The PNG Experience):

“The Kasua people of Western Province have no word for the color purple. They have words for many other colors: black, red, white, yellow, green, and blue, but not for the color of royalty.

“About nine New Testament passages mention people placing a purple robe on Jesus. The Kasua translation team always wanted to use the word ‘red,’ or keyalo, to describe the robe. Tommy, one of the translation team helpers, disagreed because this is not historically accurate or signifies the royalty of Jesus.

“One of the main rules of translation is that the team must stick to the historical facts when they translate a passage. If they don’t, then how can the readers trust what they’re reading is true? Other questions about truth could bubble in the reader’s minds about the Scriptures. For this reason, Tommy was not willing to change the word purple. So the team hung up the problem, hoping to revisit it later with more inspiration.

“God did not disappoint.

“Years later, Tommy hiked with some of the men near their village. They saw a tree that possessed bulbous growths growing on the side of it like fruit. These growths were ‘the most beautiful color of purple I’d ever seen,’ explained Tommy.

“’What is the name of this tree?’ Tommy asked the men.

“’This is an Okani tree,’ they replied.

“Tommy suggested, ‘Why don’t you, in those passages where we’ve been struggling to translate the color purple, use ‘they put a robe on Jesus the color of the fruit of the Okani tree’?

“’Yeah. We know exactly what color that is,’ the men said enthusiastically.

“Everyone in their village would also visualize this phrase accurately, as the Okani tree is the only tree in that area that produces this kind of purple growth. So now, among the Kasua people, in his royal purple robe, Jesus is shown to be the king that he is.”

complete verse (Revelation 17:4)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 17:4:

  • Uma: “As for the woman, her clothes were all the best/fanciest: bright red and purple [lit., grayish like new mango leaves], decorated with gold and pearls and expensive rocks. She held a golden cup filled with a drink that is forbidden because it is evil and disgusting. That drink means her shameful and not-fitting deeds.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “That woman was dressed in purple and red, covered with jewelry, precious stones and pearls. She carried a golden cup full of the uncleanness/dirt and filth of her immorality.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as for that woman, she was clothed with expensive red and purple cloth. Her body was decorated with pearls, and expensive stones, and gold. There was in her hand a golden cup full of wine which is the vulgar, filthy deeds of her prostitution.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The clothes of the woman, they were red and blue (loan asul, closest color to purple) like clothes of a ruler. She was also decorated-all-over with gold and valuable stones and pearls. She was holding a gold cup full of the nauseating/repulsive and filthy things she had done.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “The clothing of that woman was red and really ornate like the clothing of a king. Gold and expensive mined stones and far-from-ordinary beads were the decoration of her body. She was holding a gold cup which was full of the filthy and disgusting things of that habit of hers which was like that.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Concerning the woman her clothing was purple and red. The clothing had ornaments of gold, with little stones which were beautiful and stones named pearls. She held a bowl made of gold. All kinds of evil filled the bowl, because the woman was guilty of fornication.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Revelation 17:4

Was arrayed in purple and scarlet: these are purple and scarlet clothes, or robes that she was wearing. The cloth used to make such robes was expensive and was a mark of luxury or of royalty. One may also say “The woman wore purple and scarlet (or, red) clothes.”

Bedecked: this little-used English verb means “adorned” (so New Revised Standard Version). The Greek text uses a verb and its related noun “gilded with gold….” Something like “adorned” or “was wearing” makes for a more natural translation. In certain languages it will be necessary to say “her body and clothes were adorned” or “she had adorned (or, bedecked) her body with….”

Gold and jewels and pearls: the gold is gold ornaments, while jewels may be translated “precious stones.” In cultures where pearls are unknown, translators may use expressions such as “expensive beads named ‘pearls.’ ” However, the focus in this context is on bodily adornments in general, not on any particular type of jewelry. Therefore it is recommended that translators in such cultures combine jewels and pearls and say, for example, “expensive stones (or, beads) of many kinds.”

In her hand a golden cup: in 14.10 John speaks of the cup that is filled with the wine of God’s wrath; the prostitute’s gold cup is filled with the wine of her sexual immorality. Like the Old Testament prophets, John speaks of idolatry as sexual immorality and describes nations that try to lead God’s people into idolatry as fornicators and whores. If it is necessary to specify which hand held the cup, it is recommended that “right hand” be said.

Full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication: this may be difficult to translate literally. The word translated abominations is used also in 17.5 and 21.27 (and see Luke 16.15). It means detestable things, odious, revolting, disgusting, obscene (Revised English Bible “obscenities”). If the metaphor will be difficult to understand, a simile can be used: “full of the wine that represents her obscene (or, disgusting) actions and her filthy sexual practices.”

Alternative translation models for this verse are:

• The woman was wearing purple and scarlet clothes. She had adorned her body with gold ornaments, precious stones, and expensive beads named “pearls.” In her right hand she held a golden cup full of the wine that represents her disgusting actions and filthy sexual practices.

Or:

• … She had adorned her body with gold ornaments and expensive stones (or, beads) of all kinds….

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .