Translation Chart for Muslim Idiom Translations of the Bible

by Adam Simnowitz | Mar 4, 2013

In May 2012 two important documents over Muslim Idiom Translations (MITs) of the Bible were released. The first one was released by the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA) and the second was Assemblies of God (AOG) USA. The details of these reports are vital to the understanding of the Translation issues that are being discussed by us, these denominations, Wycliffe, SIL, Frontiers and other organizations. We encourage our readers who have concerns about faithful Bible Translations to take the time needed to review these documents. It is every Christian’s duty to keep each other accountable, and often that requires more attention and research than we are accustomed to.

The following chart originally appeared in the Assemblies of God paper, “The Necessity For Retaining Father And Son Terminology In Scripture Translations For Muslims,” as “Appendix D” (pp. 51-59). This particular chart is slightly revised – specifically, in the column, “Original Language,” a second website is listed for the Dari version. This chart is important to quickly understand and see the translation differences introduced in these Muslim Idiom Translations.

The primary concern in posting this chart is for Christians to be informed that these and other materials are unworthy of distribution. While Wycliffe has promised to review current in-process translations, there are active translations out in the field that already use these terms, and they are being actively distributed and published.

God can only be worshipped in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). If the biblical witness of God’s eternal nature and identity as Father, Son, and Spirit are obscured or eliminated in any way then the worship of such a “God” is in vain because it is not according to the truth (see Matthew 28:19 for the clearest statement of God’s triune nature in the Bible). The biblical warnings against corrupting God’s Word have therefore been give to us for good reason (e.g. Proverbs 30:5-6; 2 Corinthians 2:17; 4:1-2; Revelation 22:18-19).

By looking at this chart, it should be obvious that these Scripture “translations” are not confined to only one language nor are they only printed materials. Many of them, such as the Lives of the Prophets/Stories of the Prophets series are audio recordings but advertised as an “audio panoramic Bible.”

Finally, this list is not comprehensive and is a call for those of us who evangelize and disciple Christians to verify that the Scripture products and materials that we use are indeed true to the primary biblical manuscript languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek in translation. “Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.” (Ephesians 6:23-24)

Examples of specialized “translations” for Muslims

The following include any non-literal renderings for Father and Son terminology, including “Son of God” and “son of God”:

Verse

NASB

Back Translation

Original Language

Gospel

Matthew

Son of God

‘God’s representative‘

Turkish

(Incil-i Serif’in Yuce Anlami – Havari Matta’nin Kaleminden)

Gospel

Matthew

Father

Protector/Helper

Turkish

(Incil-i Serif’in Yuce Anlami – Havari Matta’nin Kaleminden)

Matthew 6:9

“Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.

And when you pray then pray in the following manner, saying, “O our guardian whose throne has encompassed the heavens, blessed [be] your name, the exalted.

Arabic

The True Meaning of the Gospel of Christ

(aka, The Lighthouse, An Eastern Reading of the Gospels and Acts, 2008)

Matthew 6:9

“Pray, then, in this way:

‘Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.

O our sustainer (parvardigaar) that you are at the great throne, may your holy name be honored

Baluchi/Balochi

Injil Sharif

(aka Greek-Balochi NT, 2^nd ed., 2001)

Matthew 28:19

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit

Cleanse them by water in the name of God, his Messiah and his Holy Spirit.

Arabic

The True Meaning of the Gospel of Christ

(aka, The Lighthouse,

An Eastern Reading of the Gospels and Acts, 2008)

Matthew 28:19

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit

and baptize them with water in the name of God and His Messiah and the Holy Spirit.

Arabic Baghdadi

(Lives of the Prophets aka Stories of the Prophets, an audio panoramic Bible)

Matthew 28:19

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit

wash (ghusul) in the name of the sustainer (parvardigaar), in my name that am his beloved (habeeb), and in the holy spirit’s name

[it is no trifling matter that “name” is repeated three times, contrary to the Greek. This is the same thing that is done by Jehovah’s Witnesses in the New World Translation in order to deny the unity of the singular name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit]

Baluchi/Balochi

Injil Sharif

(aka Greek-Balochi NT, 2^nd ed., 2001)

Matthew 28:19

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit

Now go to all the nations and train [islamic] disciples to me and make them purify themselves by [islamic ritualistic] washing unto repentance to the name of the Protector, his Representative (or, deputy, agent) and the Holy Spirit.

Turkish

(Incil-i Serif’in Yuce Anlami – Havari Matta’nin Kaleminden)

Mark 1:1

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Here begins the biography of the unique Son of God (the unique beloved of God)

Arabic

The True Meaning of the Gospel of Christ

(aka, The Lighthouse,

An Eastern Reading of the Gospels and Acts, 2008)

Mark 1:1

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Beginning of the Injil of Isah Masih.

[Son of God is not translated at all]

Baluchi/Balochi

Injil Sharif

(aka Greek-Balochi NT, 2^nd ed., 2001)

Mark 1:11

and a voice came out of the heavens: “Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased.”

At his exiting from the water, he saw the heavens had split [open], and the Spirit of God descended upon him as a dove, and a voice was heard from heaven and it said, “You are my beloved Son (the beloved chosen one), and with you I am well pleased.”

Arabic

The True Meaning of the Gospel of Christ

(aka, The Lighthouse,

An Eastern Reading of the Gospels and Acts, 2008)

Mark 1:11

and a voice came out of the heavens: “Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased.”

From heaven a voice came, that “you are my beloved (habeeb), I am happy with you.”

[Son is not translated]

Baluchi/Balochi

Injil Sharif

(aka Greek-Balochi NT, 2^nd ed., 2001)

Mark 1:11

and a voice came out of the heavens: “Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased.”

As soon as he came out of the water, he saw – the sky had opened up and Ruhul Kuddus was coming down towards him appearing like a pigeon. And a voice chanted from the heaven: ‘You are my beloved Masih, I am very much pleased with you.’

(Masih has been replaced by either, “God’s Uniquely-Intimate Beloved Chosen One” or “God’s Uniquely-Intimate Beloved One” in the revised edition)

Bengali

(Injil Sharif, 2005 ed.)

Mark 9:7

Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!”

Suddenly a cloud covered them and gave them a voice from heaven saying, “This is my beloved Son (the beloved Messiah), he is the one you must listen to and obey!” Then they turned around and they did not find [anyone] except Isa.

Arabic

The True Meaning of the Gospel of Christ

(aka, The Lighthouse,

An Eastern Reading of the Gospels and Acts, 2008)

Mark 9:7

Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!”

a voice came from the cloud that, “this is my beloved (habeeb), obey his words.”

[Son is not translated]

Baluchi/Balochi

Injil Sharif

(aka Greek-Balochi NT, 2^nd ed., 2001)

Mark 9:7

Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!”

At that point, a white cloudlet came and covered them, and from that cloud, these words were pronounced, ‘This is my beloved Masih, you listen to what he says.’ Instantly they looked around but couldn’t find anybody with them except Isah.

(Masih has been replaced by either, “God’s Uniquely-Intimate Beloved Chosen One” or “God’s Uniquely-Intimate Beloved One” in the revised edition)

Bengali

(Injil Sharif, 2005 ed.)

Mark 14:36

And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for Thee; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt.”

And he cried out, “O my Lord, you are the Almighty over everything, put this cup of sorrows far from me; however, O Lord, may it be what you want, not what I want.”

Arabic

The True Meaning of the Gospel of Christ

(aka, The Lighthouse,

An Eastern Reading of the Gospels and Acts, 2008)

Mark 14:36

And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for Thee; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt.”

in place of “Abba, Father”, sustainer (parvardigaar) is used

Baluchi/Balochi

Injil Sharif

(aka Greek-Balochi NT, 2^nd ed., 2001)

Mark 14:36

And He was saying, “Abba! Father! All things are possible for Thee; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt.”

He said, ‘Oh Rabbul Alamin, everything is possible for you. Take this glass away from me. Nonetheless, let it not happen in accordance of my wish, but according to your wish.’

[Rabbul Alamin is Arabic for “Lord of the worlds” and is one of the titles of God in the First Sura of the Quran which is also repeated in their 5 daily prayers]

Bengali

(Injil Sharif,

2005 ed.)

Mark 14:61

But He kept silent, and made no answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”

However, Isa – his peace be upon us – kept his silence and remained speechless. Then the high priest turned to him a second [time] with the question, saying, “Are you the Messiah, Son of God (beloved of God), the blessed and exalted?”

Arabic

The True Meaning of the Gospel of Christ

(aka, The Lighthouse,

An Eastern Reading of the Gospels and Acts, 2008)

Mark 14:61

But He kept silent, and made no answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?”

Isah said, ‘I’m he. You will see Ibnul Insan to sit to the right of The Almighty and to come along with the cloud of the sky.’

[Ibnul Insan is Arabic for “Son of Man”]

Bengali

(Injil Sharif,

2005 ed.)

Luke

1:32, 35

Luke 1:32-35

32 “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God.

The Spirit of God will come down upon you and this thing is the proof that this child is the awaited Christ who will rule forever.

Arabic Baghdadi

(Lives of the Prophets aka Stories of the Prophets, an audio panoramic Bible)

Luke

1:32, 35

32 “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

He will be great among all the people and he will be the king, God’s caliph, the exalted. And God will give him the throne of the prophet David, his great [lit. first] grandfather.

The spirit* of God will descend on you and from his power [that] you see, you will bring forth a boy [who] will be the awaited king from God, he who will be God’s awaited caliph.

*contrary to standard Bible translations in Arabic, spirit of God is given a feminine adjective

Arabic Urbed

(Lives of the Prophets aka Stories of the Prophets, an audio panoramic Bible)

Luke

1:32, 35

Luke 1:32-35

32 “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

his name (laqab) will be the beloved (habeeb) of almighty God.

…he will be called God’s beloved (habeeb)

[Son is not translated]

Baluchi/Balochi

Injil Sharif

(aka Greek-Balochi NT, 2^nd ed., 2001)

Luke

1:32, 35

Luke 1:32-35

32 “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

He will become great and will be called theSon who comes from Allah the Most High. Allah, our God, will give him the throne of David, his ancestor.

The angel replied, “Ruh Allah will come upon you and the power of Allah the Most High will over/envelop you. Because the child who will be born will be called holy, the Son who comes from Allah.

Indonesian (Bahasa)

(Kitab Suci Injil)

Luke

1:32, 35

32 “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;

He will be great and will be called the prince of God Most High. God, our Lord will grant the throne of David, his ancestor to him,

The angel said, “Holy Spirit will descend upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy child to be born will be called the prince of God.

Malay (“Shellabear revision”)

(My Kitab Suci)

Luke 3:38

…Adam, the son of God

…Adam whom God created

Arabic

The True Meaning of the Gospel of Christ

(aka, The Lighthouse,

An Eastern Reading of the Gospels and Acts, 2008)

Luke 3:38

…Adam, the son of God

…God created Adam

Baluchi/Balochi

Injil Sharif

(aka Greek-Balochi NT, 2^nd ed., 2001)

Luke 3:38

…Adam, the son of God

…Adam was from God

Dari

http://gospelgo.com/q/Dari%20Bible%20-%20New%20Testament.pdf

http://afghanbibles.org/dnt.html

Luke 3:38

…Adam, the son of God

…Adam, child/offspring of God

(the typical word for “son” is not used while in the rest of the genealogy it is present)

Sorani-Kurdish

Injili Sorani

(Kurdish NT (Sorani) or NKV, 1999)

Luke 9:35

And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!”

…they heard a voice from heaven saying: “This is the beloved Messiah whom I have sent, so listen to Him and obey Him.”

Arabic Baghdadi

(Lives of the Prophets aka Stories of the Prophets, an audio panoramic Bible)

Luke 11:2

And He said to them, “When you pray, say:

‘Father, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come.

When you pray, say: Our loving, heavenly Lord

Arabic Baghdadi

(Lives of the Prophets aka Stories of the Prophets, an audio panoramic Bible)

John 20:31

but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.

…Isa is the Messiah, the Son who comes from God.

Indonesian (Bahasa)

(Kitab Suci Injil)

Romans 1:7

to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The word “Father” is skipped in this verse:

God’s peace be upon you, His mercy and blessings* through our master Jesus (Isa) Christ.

*A distinct Islamic phrase is used here.

Arabic Urbed

(Lives of the Prophets aka Stories of the Prophets, an audio panoramic Bible)

Romans 8:14-17

14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoptionas sons by which we cry out, “Abba!Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.

Completely skipped. Only 4 of the 39 verses in this chapter were rendered (vv. 10-11, 34, 37)

Arabic Urbed

(Lives of the Prophets aka Stories of the Prophets, an audio panoramic Bible)

Romans 8:14-17

14 …they are God’s friends (dost). 15 – we are God’s friends (dost)…”O sustainer (parvardigaar). 16 – we are God’s friends (dost). 17 – if we are God’s friends (dost)…

Baluchi/Balochi

Injil Sharif

(aka Greek-Balochi NT, 2^nd ed., 2001)

Galatians 1:16

16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood,

God, the praised and exalted, revealed His caliph in me so that I preach His message among the foreigners

Arabic Urbed

(Lives of the Prophets aka Stories of the Prophets, an audio panoramic Bible)

Galatians 2:20

“I have been crucified with Christ…by faith in the Son of God…

I, in the old life was crucified with my master Christ…by the faith of the caliph of God…

Arabic Urbed

(Lives of the Prophets aka Stories of the Prophets, an audio panoramic Bible)

Galatians 2:20

“I have been crucified with Christ…by faith in the Son of God…

here in place of “Son of God” is “God’s beloved (habeeb) ‘Eesaa”

[Son is not translated]

Baluchi/Balochi

Injil Sharif

(aka Greek-Balochi NT, 2^nd ed., 2001)

Galatians 2:20

“I have been crucified with Christ…by faith in the Son of God…

I have been crucified with Al-Masih…because of faith in the Son who came from Allah…

Indonesian (Bahasa)

(Kitab Suci Injil)

Galatians 3:26

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

For this reason, you, oh Galatians, whether you were sons of Jacob or not, today you have become members of God’s household

Arabic Urbed

(Lives of the Prophets aka Stories of the Prophets, an audio panoramic Bible)

Galatians 3:26

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

…you are God’s friends (dost)…

Baluchi/Balochi

Injil Sharif

(aka Greek-Balochi NT, 2^nd ed., 2001)

Gal 4:4-7

4 But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

Completely skipped

Arabic Urbed

(Lives of the Prophets aka Stories of the Prophets, an audio panoramic Bible)

Gal 4:4-6

4 When the time was fulfilled, God sent the Son who came from him. He was born of a woman and was under the Law (Taurat). 5 The reason was so he could redeem every person who was under the law and so we could receive the rights of a child. 6 Because you have become his children, God sent the Spirit of the Son who comes from him to go into our hearts and cry, “Ya Abba, ya Bapa.”

Indonesian (Bahasa)

(Kitab Suci Injil)

Author

Adam Simnowitz

Adam Simnowitz is a minister with the Assemblies of God. He lives in Dearborn, MI. He holds a M.A. from Columbia International University from their College of Intercultural Studies. His thesis is available on this website: "Muslim Idiom Translation: Assessing So-Called Scripture Translation For Muslim Audiences With A Look Into Its Origins In Eugene A. Nida's Theories Of Dynamic Equivalence And Cultural Anthropology: https://biblicalmissiology.org/2016/03/21/muslim-idiom-translation-assessing-so-called-scripture-translation-for-muslim-audiences-with-a-look-into-its-origins-in-eugene-a-nidas-theories-of-dynamic-equivalence-and-cultural-anthro/

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Adam Simnowitz

Adam Simnowitz is a minister with the Assemblies of God. He lives in Dearborn, MI. He holds a M.A. from Columbia International University from their College of Intercultural Studies. His thesis is available on this website: "Muslim Idiom Translation: Assessing So-Called Scripture Translation For Muslim Audiences With A Look Into Its Origins In Eugene A. Nida's Theories Of Dynamic Equivalence And Cultural Anthropology: https://biblicalmissiology.org/2016/03/21/muslim-idiom-translation-assessing-so-called-scripture-translation-for-muslim-audiences-with-a-look-into-its-origins-in-eugene-a-nidas-theories-of-dynamic-equivalence-and-cultural-anthro/

2 Comments

Adam Simnowitz on September 16, 2018 at 10:01 am

I am glad that you have found this information helpful. It is unfortunate that such materials as identified in this chart even exist. We, as professing Evangelicals, have exceeded what Jehovah’s Witnesses have done in their ‘New World Translation.”
ssimpson2719 on April 19, 2018 at 1:00 pm

Excellent article. I have used your research along with others while co-authoring my book called “Idolatry In Their Hearts” (http://www.deceptioninthechurch.com/idolatrybook.html) in response to the Word Christian Gathering of Indigenous People movement, along with those who inspired it such as Don Richardson, Daniel Kikawa, Richard Twis who were, in turn, inspired by the Catholics and their use of syncretism. Many Bible translation societies today have followed their mandate which is why you end up with “Bibles” that cowtow to false religions. It is disgrace and brings the cause of Christ into disrepute.

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