soldier

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “soldier” in English didn’t have a direct equivalent in Enlhet so it was translated with “those that bind us” (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. ) and in Noongar it is mammarapa-bakadjiny or “men of fighting” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

Peter

Following is a Armenian Orthodox icon of Peter (found in the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shusha, Azerbaijan).

Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )

Following is a hand colored stencil print on momigami of Peter by Sadao Watanabe (1970):

Image taken with permission from the SadaoHanga Catalogue where you can find many more images and information about Sadao Watanabe. For other images of Sadao Watanabe art works in TIPs, see here.

In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying “key” (referring to Matthew 16:19). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)


“Peter” or “Cephas” in Finnish Sign Language (source )

In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with the sign for “rock,” referring to the meaning of the Greek word for “Peter.”


“Peter” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

See also Peter – rock.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Peter .

complete verse (Acts 12:18)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 12:18:

  • Uma: “When it was indeed the next morning, the soldier guards were frantic. They were confused about what had happened to Petrus.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When it was morning, the guards were greatly troubled. What in-the-world (ente’) had happened to Petros?” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when morning came the soldiers in the prison were very confused, because where maybe was Peter.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When it was morning, the guards excessively made-a-racket. ‘How-come Pedro has-disappeared?’ they said.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Therefore next day, those soldiers who were guards were really troubled as to how Pedro had been able to run away.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 12:18

Tremendous (Jerusalem Bible “great”) translates one of Luke’s favorite emphatic expressions (literally, “not a little bit”; see 14.28; 15.2; 17.4, 12; 19.23, 24; 27.20). This expression of tremendous confusion may be expressed as “the soldiers who had guarded Peter were terribly disturbed,” or as in some languages “fearfully confused” or “afraid and confused.” The question what had happened to Peter? must be introduced by some verb of speaking in some languages, for example, “they kept saying to one another, what has happened to Peter?”

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 .