complete verse (Acts 1:20)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 1:20:

  • Uma: “Petrus also said: ‘In the Book of the Songs of Daud, there are words that foretell Yudas. They sound like this: ‘Just leave his dwelling place empty for him. Don’t let there be even one person live in it.’ And there is also written like this: ‘It is better for his position [sitting-place] to be taken by another.’ ‘” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Petros said further, ‘There is a verse written in the holy-book Jabur saying, ‘His dwelling-place must be rejected/the back-turned-on. And nobody must/shall live there.’ And there is also another writing which says, ‘There must be another to take over his former work.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Peter said, ‘That which was prophesied was written long ago in the book of the Songs, and it says, ‘Go away and leave the place where he lives. It is necessary that no one lives there anymore.’ There is also a written word which says, ‘That which was given to him to do, have someone else do it.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Pedro continued saying, ‘What David wrote in the book Salmo was this: ‘May his house be left-untended and no one live there again.’ There is also something written that says, ‘May another person take-over his position.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “‘Well, this word of David is what I mean, which is contained in that writing called Mga Awit, ‘It’s necessary that his household be emptied of people and no longer lived in by anyone at all.’ And this also which is written, ‘It’s necessary that he be replaced in his position/responsibility.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

For the Old Testament quotes, see Psalm 109:8 and Psalm 69:25.

Translation commentary on Acts 1:20

Peter’s speech, interrupted by verses 18 and 19, is now resumed. For, however, refers back to verse 16, and thus gives the reason why it was necessary that Judas should have been the guide of those who arrested Jesus (v. 16).

Very frequently the Greek conjunction gar “for” presents a number of problems in translation, since it is often not related to the immediately preceding statement. In some passages it serves only to show that the argument is proceeding. In some languages it is best to omit the conjunction entirely in a construction such as here and to emphasize the use of Greek oun “therefore” at the beginning of verse 21. The basic meaning here is “since the Scriptures have indicated what should be done, therefore someone must be chosen to take Judas’ place.” The argument relates the content of verse 20 to what follows, not to what precedes.

It is written is a set formula used for the introduction of a quotation from the Old Testament. The first passage quoted is Psalm 69.25. The Psalm has the plural form:

“May their houses become empty,
Let no one live in their tents.”

Peter uses it in the singular since he applies the meaning of the Psalm solely to Judas. The second passage quoted (Psalm 109.8) is an almost exact quotation from the Septuagint. Whereas the first passage expresses the wish that the house or home of Judas would be left empty, the second passage expresses the need for someone else to take his place of service, and thus serves as a transition to verses 21-26. Place of service (variously rendered “office,” “ministry,” “charge”) should be translated in such a way as to show that the emphasis is upon the service that the apostle renders rather than the office which he holds. It is not at all likely that at this early date the institutional life of the church had become so developed as to have had an office of apostleship. In any case, Luke defines the primary function of an apostle as a witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus (vv. 21-22).

In many languages such an “impersonal passive” construction as “it is written” cannot be employed. In some languages one must have an active expression, for example, “The one who wrote the book of the Psalms said,” “There are words in the book of the Psalms which say,” or “In the book of the Psalms one may read.”

The most satisfactory translation for Psalms is normally “songs,” though in some instances one may need some type of qualifier, for example, “religious songs,” or “songs of worship.”

The third person imperative in Greek expressions translated as “may … become” and “let … live” is equivalent in many languages to an emphatic obligatory mood, for example, “his house must become empty” and “no one must live in it.” The use of English “may” and “let” is quite misleading, for neither potentiality nor permission is implied in the original.

The concept of a house becoming empty is not easy to render literally in many languages. One may speak of an empty container, for example, a box, sack, or bucket, but not of a house. Therefore, it may be necessary to restructure the semantic components, for example, “everyone must leave the house,” with a verb for “leave” which implies permanent abandonment.

The construction may … take represents a Greek imperative. As in the case of the two preceding imperatives, it may be necessary to employ an obligatory mood, for example, “someone else must take his place,” or, as suggested above, “must do his work,” or “must do what he was supposed to do.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 1:20

Paragraph 1:20

1:20a

For it is written in the book of Psalms: Some versions add the phrase “said Peter,” because Luke’s extra information in 1:18–19 interrupts Peter’s speech. The Berean Standard Bible and other English versions do not add such a phrase, but it may be helpful to reintroduce Peter speaking. For example:

Peter continued: “For it is written in the Book of Psalms
-or-
Peter also said, “For it is written in the Book of Psalms

For: This word introduces an explanation here. This verse explains what Scripture (1:16) Peter had in mind. Here are some other ways to translate this word:

Now (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
The words I have in mind (Revised English Bible)

it is written: This phrase is used here to introduce a quote from the Old Testament scriptures. Here the quote is from the book of Psalms.

The clause is passive. Here are some ways to translate it:

• Use a passive verb, as the Berean Standard Bible does.

• Use an active verb. King David wrote both of the Psalms that Peter quoted here. God inspired David to write those things. For example:

⌊David⌋ wrote
-or-

⌊God⌋ wrote ⌊through David⌋

1:20b–c

‘May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it’: These two clauses are commands in the third person (to “he/him”) in the Greek. David commands that something happen, but does not speak the command directly to that person or thing. Here it is implied that he asked God to make it that way. English does not have third person commands, but uses the words May and let for a similar meaning. Consider how your language does this kind of command.

These two clauses are an example of a Jewish poetry style. They wrote two clauses with similar meaning. This emphasizes the similar meaning. In some languages repeating a similar meaning is used in a different way (such as a rebuke). If that is true in your language, you may want to emphasize the meaning in a natural way in your language. For example:

May his place be deserted with no one to dwell in it!
-or-
May no one ever dwell in his place again!

1:20b

1:20b–c is a quote from Psalm 69:25. You will probably want to include this information in a cross-reference in your translation.

May his place be deserted: This clause is passive. Some languages must translate without using a passive clause. For example:

May his place be empty

his place: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as place refers to the location where a person lives. For example:

his house (Good News Translation)

But Peter was concerned with Judas’s position as an apostle, not with where Judas lived. So the Berean Standard Bible translates with the more general word place, which also allows the meaning of “position.”

deserted: This word refers to people leaving a building or place so that it remains empty of people. Here are some other ways to translate this word:

abandoned
-or-
uninhabited
-or-
empty (Good News Translation)

1:20c

let there be no one to dwell in it: The word dwell refers to living somewhere. For example:

may no one live in it (Good News Translation)

1:20d

1:20d is a quote from Psalm 109:8. You may want to include this information in a footnote or cross-reference in your translation.

and, ‘May another take his position’: The word and introduces the second quote from the book of Psalms. In some languages it is clearer or more natural to introduce this quote in a similar way to the first quote. For example:

It is also written, ‘May someone else take his place of service.’ (Good News Translation)

May another take his position: This is also a command in the third person in the Greek, as in 1:20b. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

Let someone else take over his office. (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
Let another take his position of responsibility (NET Bible)

his position: Here this phrase refers to Judas having the position of an apostle. But the Old Testament quote refers generally to a position of responsibility. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

his position of responsibility (NET Bible)
-or-
Let another man replace him as leader (New Century Version)
-or-
his place of leadership (New International Version)

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