Before the advent of the hub and spoke system in airline travel, a route like this would have been sheer lunacy. This may not be a bad business model for airlines, but it is terrible in Bible translation! Unfortunately, the "hub language" system persists in translation efforts around the world and the hub language in PNG is English. Most of the New Testaments in this country have been translated from English into the local language and many things that would translate directly are lost. And, what makes it worse is that national translators have learned English as a second, third, fourth, or even fifth language! It is clear that the further you get from the original language, the more molted the meaning....

Just look at some instructions that have been translated from Chinese into English, that's always good for a laugh. Imagine taking that English document and translating into a third language. People may end up implanting 36 meters of cloth "A" into pit "Q" adhering with kernel F" (insert bolt "A" into hole "Q" securing with nut "F"). The English language is very far removed from the kind of languages that exist here in PNG. However, there are many things going on in Greek that mimics what occurs in languages throughout the country. If a translator has a working knowledge of Greek, some of what we completely miss in English will be clear to the reader in the jungles of Papua New Guinea!