10 Biblical Terms I Wish Christians Had in English

Good reminder from Jost Zetzsche about the limits of the English language in Bible translation, "10 Biblical Terms I Wish Christians Had in English: How the languages of the indigenous in Panama, a community in Siberia, and people in Papua New Guinea shape their understanding of God" (article published last month in CT). Read the whole thing here.

1. Mär: pick one thing and one thing only (Teribe)

2. Dao / 道: reason; path toward right living; speech (Chinese)

3. Yumi: we and you (Tok Pisin)

4. Dios y’ayucnajtzcapxɨɨybɨ: God’s word-thrower (Coatlán Mixe)

5. Ña̱ kúꞌu̱ ini yo̱ sa̱ꞌá ña̱yuu xi̱ꞌín yó: us loving others (Tezoatlán Mixtec)

6. Sen: intimate form of “you” (Tuvan)

7. Bideezhí: her younger sister (Navajo)

8. Ambum: turtle (Aekyom)

9. P’ijil-o’tanil: heart wisdom; p’ijil c’op: word wisdom; p’ijil jol: head wisdom (Highland Tzeltal)

10. Diri: engrave your mind (Ngäbere)