There are many challenges when translating a text, especially an ancient text, to another language. If you’ve studied any language, you should know many words don’t translate directly. For example, the German word “gestalt.” There is no single English word to represent it. As I was taught in college, it means, “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.” Anything less is missing the essence of what the German means when he says it.
A missionary acquaintance of mine was with a group translating the Bible to tribes in Papua New Guinea. When they used the phrase, “believe in your heart.” (Romans 10:9) The people didn’t understand. Such a concept was foreign to them. After discussing with the tribes-people various concepts we associate with “the heart,” it was discovered “believe in your stomach” was the term that conveyed the meaning of the original author in the language of the tribe. This is why we have to be careful that a translation carries the meaning of the original, not the meaning of a direct translation. The situation was resolved by the translators knowing what the original meant and discovering how that concept is best described in the language of the people.
Another example from Papua New Guinea is the phrase in Revelation 3:20, “I stand at the door and knock.” When the missionaries translated this verse to the people they recoiled in shock! They couldn’t believe the Lord Jesus of whom they had been learning would say such a thing! In their culture, when you went to a neighbor’s hut, you call out to announce your presence. The thief “knocks,” to see whether you are home. So, the translators used the phrase “I stand at the door and call out.” This is the original intent of the source.