Following are a number of back-translations of 1 Corinthians 14:32:
Uma: “A prophet who speaks God’s words controls himself: he is able to speak or stop speaking according to his desire.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “A person who speaks the word of God has control of himself whether he speaks or not.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “For person who is inspired by God, he can hold back his breath (he can control himself) so that he doesn’t have to speak at the same time with someone else who is also inspired by God at that time.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Because the spokesman of God, he can stop what he is saying.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “It is not at all necessary for these being inspired by the Espiritu Santo to speak at the same time, for they can indeed control themselves. It’s not like they are crazy/out-of-their mind.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “The person who wants to speak the word God puts on his mind to say should wait until he can speak it.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Eugene Nida wrote the following about the translation of the Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Greek terms that are typically translated with “prophet” in English:
“The tendency in many translations is to use ‘to foretell the future’ for ‘prophesy,’ and ‘one who foretells the future’ for ‘prophet.’ This is not always a recommended usage, particularly if such expressions denote certain special native practices of spirit contact and control. It is true, of course, that prophets of the Bible did foretell the future, but this was not always their principal function. One essential significance of the Greek word prophētēs is ‘one who speaks forth,’ principally, of course, as a forth-teller of the Divine will. A translation such as ‘spokesman for God’ may often be employed profitably.” (1947, p. 234f.)
Following is a list of (back-) translations from other languages (click or tap for details):
Ayutla Mixtec: “one who talks as God’s representative”
Isthmus Mixe: “speaker for God” (source for this and two above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Mezquital Otomi / Paasaal: “God’s messenger” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff. and Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
Noongar: Warda Marridjiny or “News Traveling” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Kutu: mtula ndagu or “one who gives the prediction of the past and the future” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ebira: ọnịsẹ, a neologism that combines the prefix ọn for “a person” with ịsẹ for “prediction” (source: Scholz /Scholz 2015, p. 49)
French 1985 translation by Chouraqui: inspiré or “inspired one” (“someone in whom God has breathed [Latin: in + spiro]) (source: Watson 2023, p. 45)
Cherokee: adolehosgi (ᎠᏙᎴᎰᏍᎩ) or “discoverer of things,” a “term that was was traditionally applied to Cherokee medicine men or women who used divining.” (Source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 49)
In Ixcatlán Mazatec a term is used that specifically includes women. (Source: Robert Bascom)
“In some instances these spiritual terms result from adaptations reflecting the native life and culture. Among the Northern Grebo people of Liberia, a missionary wanted some adequate term for ‘prophet,’ and she was fully aware that the native word for ‘soothsayer’ or ‘diviner’ was no equivalent for the Biblical prophet who spoke forth for God. Of course, much of what the prophets said referred to the future, and though this was an essential part of much of their ministry, it was by no means all. The right word for the Gbeapo people would have to include something which would not only mean the foretelling of important events but the proclamation of truth as God’s representative among the people. At last the right word came; it was ‘God’s town-crier.’ Every morning and evening the official representative of the chief goes through the village crying out the news, delivering the orders of the chief, and announcing important coming events. ‘God’s town-crier’ would be the official representative of God, announcing to the people God’s doings, His commands, and His pronouncements for their salvation and well-being. For the Northern Grebo people the prophet is no weird person from forgotten times; he is as real as the human, moving message of the plowman Amos, who became God’s town-crier to a calloused people.” (source: Nida 1952, p. 20)
In British Sign Language it is is translated with a sign that depicts a message coming from God to a person (the upright finger) and then being passed on to others. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Prophet” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Revised Standard Version‘s translation is too literal; however, Good News Bible brings out the meaning. Spirits of prophets probably means “the spiritual gift of prophecy” (see verse 12 and 12.10). Good News Bible expresses the meaning by the singular “the speaker,” meaning “any such speaker.” Verses 14-15 help us to understand the present verse; in other words, Paul is saying that the prophet’s reason and self-control should govern the way in which he uses his special gift; New Jerusalem Bible “The prophetic spirit is to be under the prophet’s control”; Revised English Bible “It is for prophets to control prophetic inspiration.” It is not clear whether Paul is saying that each prophet should control himself or herself, or that the prophets as a group should control one another; more probably the latter.
It is possible to restructure this verse as follows: “The speaker who proclaims God’s message must control his gift (or, ability).”
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, 2nd edition. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1985/1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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