Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 2:19:
Uma: “I show you amazing things in the sky, and amazing signs on the world also. There will be blood and fire and billowing smoke.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “And I will show what-causes-amazement/wonder up in the sky, and signs here in the world: blood and fire and thick smoke.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And there will be amazing signs which I will show in the heavens and here also on the earth. Blood will be seen and fire and a great amount of smoke.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “In-the-future indeed (prophetic formula) I will show something up above (i.e. in the sky) that is amazing. Even on the land, I will show signs which are blood, fire and fearful/terrible smoke.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And I will cause to be seen signs which are amazing things which will be seen in the sky and here in the world. There will be blood, fire and thick smoke seen.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Teutila Cuicatec: “I will perform miracles in the sky. I will make omens on the earth; blood and fire and smoke which will be omens on the earth.”
Chuj: “I will show some things in the sky; people’s abdomens will be lost because of them. I will also show some other things which show my power in the world. These things are blood with fire and smoke.”
Chichimeca-Jonaz: “And I am going to show you great works up there in the sky so that your hearts will be puzzled. And I am going to show you big signs down there on the earth, signs that I have my power. Truly, blood with fire and with smoke like a cloud, those are the signs.” (source for this and two above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 4:15:
Uma: “That is why they put those apostles of the Lord Yesus out of their meeting, and they made-plans,” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Therefore they sent them out of the judgment room and the councilors conferred among themselves.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Therefore there in the room in which they were gathered, they told Peter and company that they should go outside for a while. And then they discussed it saying,” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “That being so, they had-plural Pedro -go-out so they the leaders would-be-alone to converse.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Therefore they caused Pedro-and-companion to go out of their gathering-place, so that they could discuss what would be good to do.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Eastern Highland Otomi: “They sent the disciples outside because they wanted to talk among themselves about them.”
Lalana Chinantec: “They told Peter and John to go outside for a while. When Peter and John had gone outside they discussed by themselves, just the people who judged.”
Chuj: “But those rulers said that Peter and John must go out from their faces (presence). After they were taken out, those rulers talked together alone.”
Chichimeca-Jonaz: “Then they commanded them to go outside from where the elders were assembled, and they alone went to talking together.” (Source for this and three above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 2:21:
Uma: “At that time, whoever calls out to the Lord will be lifted from the punishment of their sins.’ ‘ Those are the words of the prophet long ago foretelling the arrival of the Holy Spirit.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “And whoever will call/invoke/utter my name asking for mercy/pity from me,’ God said, ‘he will be saved.’ ‘” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And at that time, whoever calls me, the Lord, for mercy, I will save him from punishment.’ ‘” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “And all they who ask-mercy of the Lord, they will be saved.’ That is what Joel prophesied,’ said Pedro.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And it’s true, as many as are asking me for grace/help will be saved,’ says God.”” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Lalana Chinantec: “All those who ask help of our Lord will escape. That’s the way the word is that Joel put down on paper back then.
Chuj: “‘Everyone who pleads to our Lord, they will be saved,’ said God.”
Totontepec Mixe: “All who beseech the Owner will have their sins forgiven.” (source for this and two above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 4:28:
Uma: “This planning of theirs, was to kill Yesus. But in fact what they did fulfilled what you (sing.) had already decided [made certain] from-the-first! As a result everything happened according to your (sing.) power and your (sing.) own desire, Lord.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “They do this because formerly yet you planned from/by your will and your power that this should happen.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And they have agreed on what they will do to him according to what you foreordained that they would do.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “And they did all that you (sing.) previously because of your (sing.) power had already-decided should be fulfilled.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “But well, all which they have decided to do is all in harmony with what you indeed determined would happen.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
San Mateo del Mar Huave: “Thus they did because you have stated from before that thus it would be.”
Teutila Cuicatec: “They carried out all that you decreed would have to come to pass.”
Eastern Highland Otomi: “Because this is what you ordained in the beginning that would happen.”
Chuj: “But they just did like you had said long ago how that those things must be done.” (Source of this and three above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 2:23:
Uma: “That Yesus was offered to you, and you killed him, you offered him to evil people in order that they crucify him. But-in-fact what happened exactly followed the command/plan that God made-certain from-the-first, for God knew from-the-first what must happen.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “God knew beforehand and (it was) from his will that this Isa was delivered into your hands/holding and he had planned this for Isa. And you told/commanded sinful men/people to nail Isa on the post and to kill (him).” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And this Jesus, a person delivered him to you. God already knew about this beforehand because this is what he had foreordained for Jesus. You caused him to be killed by people who do not worship God, and they nailed him to a cross.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “This Jesus, God originally decided that he be-handed-over to you, because that was his plan long-ago and he knew it would be fulfilled. And you had-him-killed, handing-him-over to bad people so they would nail him to the cross.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “But, well, you handed him over to people who don’t acknowledge God, for you caused him to be killed on a cross. But it’s true, this was only the fulfilling of what God determined.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Eastern Highland Otomi: “A long time ago God knew what you did to his Son, and God allowed you to put him on the cross by the hands of the wicked and kill him.”
Chuj: “But that Jesus he was given into your hands; because thus it was God’s will it happened. God, he knew it already before, what would come upon Jesus. You, you borrowed the hands of bad people so that you grab Jesus. You put him on a cross. He died because of you.”
Isthmus Mixe: “God had appointed that Jesus be handed over to evil people. God had known that Jesus would be murdered. You made up your minds that evil people should nail Jesus to a cross and kill him.”
Morelos Nahuatl: “This Jesus God delivered to you because thus God determined before and he knew he was going to do it that way. In the hands of bad men you crucified Jesus and so you killed him.”
Teutila Cuicatec: “When he came into your hands, as God established even from former times, you took him prisoner and turned him over into the hands of sinful men. They crucified him and they killed him because that was what you wanted.
Coatlán Mixe: “Judas Iscariot delivered this Jesus to you in just the manner which God had planned beforehand. And you grabbed him and killed him when you delivered him to bad people and let them kill him on the cross.
Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac: “Jesus was delivered up to men. You had lawless men crucify him. All this was according to God’s plan and foreknowledge.” (source for this and six above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 4:29:
Uma: “‘Now Lord, hear their words threatening/scaring us (excl.)! That is why we (excl.) ask the Lord, we (excl.) your (sing.) servants, give us (excl.) strength so that we (excl.) can be brave to utter your (sing.) Word.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “And now God, listen to their threats to us (excl.). Help us (excl.), your servants, in order that we will be bold to speak your word/message.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And now look, Lord, see their threats to us. Give us, now your servants, boldness so that we might not be afraid to spread your word.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “As for today, Lord, please hear what they are saying to threaten us (excl.) who are serving you (sing.), and make-us (excl.) totally -bold to be speaking your (sing.) word.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well, now, our (excl.) God, remember that threat of theirs to us (excl.), and help us (excl.) to be able to tell your word with a bold mind/inner-being.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Chuj: “And now Lord look; very much comes their anger to us. We, we are your sent ones. Give us our strength so that we don’t fear to tell out your word.”
Tataltepec Chatino: “Our Father, look here now, because those over us are very fierce. We want to do your orders, that we tell your word to people. Help us that we be strong and not be afraid.” (Source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 2:24:
Uma: “You [emphatic] killed Yesus, but God made him live again. He freed him from the power of death, because he certainly could not stay dead.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “But God caused him to be alive again. He was set free from the oppression/hardship of his death, because he could not really be governed by death.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “However God set Jesus free (saved, rescued), and he raised him from the dead because it is not possible that death might keep him bound.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “But God, he made-him-alive again, because it was not possible that death could restrain him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “You really were able to cause this Jesus to be killed, but he was made alive again by God, for it isn’t possible/acceptable that he be restrained by death.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Chuj: “But God, he caused Jesus to come back to life again. He was able to come back to life because death had no effectiveness to Jesus.”
Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac: “God raised him from the dead. He took him out of the place of the dead because it was not possible for him to remain dead.”
Teutila Cuicatec: “But God brought him to life again, taking him out of the hand of death, because it was not possible that he should continue where death rules.” (Source for this and two above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
The Greek that is translated as “Son of Man” is mostly used by Jesus to refer to himself as well as in the prophecies of Daniel and Enoch (see Enoch 17:34 et al). It is translated in the following languages as (click or tap for details):
Tzotzil: “I who am equal with men” or “The Older Brother of Everybody” (“expressing the dignity and authority of the Messiah and the universality of his work”)
Tenango Otomi: “The Man Appointed” (i.e. the man to whom authority has been delegated) (source for this and preceding: Beekman, p. 189-190, see also Ralph Hill in Notes on Translation February 1983, p. 35-50)
Aguaruna: “One who was born becoming a person” (source for this and two above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Older Sibling of Mankind” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Child of a Person” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “One From Heaven Born of Man/human?” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Man who came from heaven” (source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Yatzachi Zapotec: “One who God sent, who was born a human” (a direct translation would have suggested “that the father is unknown due to the indiscretions of the mother” and where “he is the son of people” is used when one wants to disclaim responsibility for or relationship with a child caught in some mischief — source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Kâte: Ŋic Fâri Wâtuŋne or “the man who is a true support” (source: Renck, p. 106)
Mezquital Otomi: “The son who became a person” (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
Alekano: “The true man who descended from heaven” (source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation June 1986, p. 36ff.)
Central Tarahumara: “One who has been stood up to help” (“This suggests that Christ has been given authority to some appointed task. A very generic word, help, was selected to fill in the lexically obligatory purpose required by the word which means to appoint or commission. Usually this word is used of menial tasks but not exclusively. The choice of this generic term retains the veiled reference to the character of Christ’s work which He intended in using the ‘Son of Man’ title.”)
Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “He who is relative of all people.” (“The Triqui word for relative is a rather generic term and in its extended sense sometimes is diluted to neighbor and friend. But the primary meaning is relative.”)
Tepeuxila Cuicatec: “The Person who Accompanies All People” (“The literal equivalents ‘son of man’ and ‘son of people’ were both rejected because of the false inference of natural birth involving a human father. Furthermore, it was necessary to expand any translation of the Bible by the addition of the pronoun ‘I’ so as to clarify the fact that Jesus is using the third person in referring to Himself. A common expression used by the Cuicatecos when difficulties befall someone, is to say to that one, ‘don’t worry, we are accompanying you.’ By this they mean they share that person’s sorrow. When wedding guests arrive at the home of a son who has just been married, they say to the father, ‘We have come to accompany you.’ By this they mean that they have come to share the father’s joy. These expressions do not refer to ordinary physical accompaniment, which is expressed by a set of different verbs. For example, visits are always announced by some such greeting as, “I have come to visit you,’ ‘I have come to see you,’ or ‘I have come to ask you something.’ The desire to accompany a friend on a journey is expressed by saying, ‘I will go with you.’ Translation helpers used the verb ‘accompany’ in constructing the phrase ‘I, the Person who Accompanies All People.'(…) It reflects the fact that Jesus closely identified Himself with all of us, understands our weaknesses, shares our burdens, rejoices with us in times of gladness, etc.”) (source for this and the three preceding: Beekman in Notes on Translation January 1963, p. 1-10)
Guhu-Samane: “Elder-brother-man” (“Since the term denotes an elder brother in every way such as honor, power, leadership, representation of the younger, etc. it is a meaningful and fitting — though not ostentatious — title.” Source: Ernest Richert in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 198ff. )
Navajo (Dinė): Diné Silíi’ii — “Man he-became-the-one-who” (“This terra presented a difficulty not only in Navajo but also one peculiar to all the Athapaskan languages. It lies in the fact that all these languages, so far as we know, have a word phonetically similar to the Navajo diné which has three meanings: ‘man, people in general,’ ‘a man,’ ‘The People’ which is the name the Navajos use for themselves. (The name Navajo was first used by the Spanish explorers.) Although it seemed natural to say diné biye’ ‘a-man his-son,’ this could also mean ‘The-People their-son’ or ‘a-Navajo his-son,’ in contrast to the son of a white man or of another Indian tribe. Since the concept of the humanity of Christ is so important, we felt that diné biye’ with its three possible meanings should not be used. The term finally decided on was Diné Silíi’ii ‘Man he-became-the-one-who.’ This could be interpreted to mean ‘the one who became a Navajo,’ but since it still would impart the idea of Christ’s becoming man, it was deemed adequate, and it has proven acceptable to the Navajos.”) (Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )
Toraja-Sa’dan: “Child descended in the world” (“using a poetic verb, often found in songs that [deal with] the contacts between heaven and earth”) (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Obolo: Gwun̄ Ebilene: “Child of Human” (source: Enene Enene).
Mairasi: Jaanoug Tat: “Person Child” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Costa Rican Sign Language: “It was impossible to translate the expression ‘Son of Man.’ The son-man sign simply means ‘male child.’ The Costa Rican Sign Language (LESCO) team opted for an interpretation of the term and translated it ‘Jesus.'” (Source: Elsa Tamez (in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 59ff. )
Lokạạ: wẹẹn wạ ọnẹn or “son of a person.” “This translation is symbolic in that it uses indigenous Lokạạ words. However, since the publication of the New Testament in 2006, this phrase has gained popularity within contemporary Lokạạ society as an expression to describe an important person whose career is going well. In the New Testament, the phrase ‘son of man’ is used to describe Jesus as prototypically human, but the Lokạạ phrase is now being used to describe an exceptional person in Lokạạ society.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
In many West African languages, using a third person reference as a first person indicator is common practice with a large range of semantic effects. Languages that use the exact expression “son of man” as a self-reference or reference to another person include Lukpa, Baatonum, Mossi (“son of Adam”), Yoruba (“son of person”), Guiberoua Béte, or Samo. (Source: Lynell Zogbo in: Omanson 2000, p. 167-188.)
In Swahili the expression Mwana wa Mtu or mwana wa mtu or “son/daughter of human person,” which is used by several Bible translations, also has “the idiomatic meaning of ‘a human being’” (source: Jean-Claude Loba-Mkole in An Intercultural Criticism of New Testament Translations 2013, see here). The same is true for the Lingala expression Mwana na Moto — “son/daughter of human person.” (Ibid.)
In Balinese “we are again bordering on theological questions when we inquire as to which vocabulary shall be used to translate the texts where Jesus speaks of himself as ‘the Son of man.’ One of the fixed rules governing the use of these special vocabularies is that one may never use the deferential terms in speaking of oneself. This would be the extreme of arrogance. Now if one considers the expression ‘Son of man’ primarily as a description of ‘I,’ then one must continually indicate the possessions or actions of the Son of man by Low Balinese words. In doing this the mystery of the expression is largely lost. In any case the vocabulary used in most of the contexts would betray that Jesus means the title for himself.
“However, a distinction can actually be made in Balinese between the person and the exalted position he occupies. For example, the chairman of a judicial body may employ deferential terms when referring to this body and its chairman, without this being taken as an expression of arrogance. Considered from this standpoint, one may translate in such a way that Jesus is understood as using such deferential words and phrases in speaking of himself. The danger is, however, that the unity between his person and the figure of “the Son of man” is blurred by such usage.
“On request, the New Testament committee of the Netherlands Bible Society advised that ‘the sublimity of this mysterious term be considered the most important point and thus High Balinese be used.'”
“One of the first things that we did in working through the earlier part of the New Testament was to decide on how we would translate some of the more difficult technical terms. It was immediately obvious that something must be done with the translation of ‘the Son of Man,’ since the literal rendering anak manusia (literally ‘child of a man’) held absolutely no meaning for Malay readers. We felt that the title should emphasize the divine origin and authority of the one who used this title, and at the same time, since it was a title, we decided that it should not be too long a phrase. Finally, a phrase meaning ‘the One whom God has ordained’ was chosen (yang dilantik Allah). It is interesting to note that the newly-begun Common Indonesian (Alkitab Kabar Baik, published in 1985) has followed a similar route by translating ‘the One whom God has chosen’ (yang depilih Allah).”
