supposing that he was dead

In Gbaya, the notion of being dead in Acts 14:19 is emphasized with wɔgbɔk, an ideophone that refers to something soft, weak, rotten, lifeless.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

Paul

The term that is transliterated as “Paul” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that signifies the many letters he wrote. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Paul” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting putting away a sword, referring to his conversion from a persecutor of Christians to a Christian leader. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Paul (and Saul)” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Paul (source: Bible Lands 2012)

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

Following is a Georgian Orthodox icon of Paul the Apostle from the 14th century (located in the Art Museum of Georgia, Tbilisi).

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 )

The following is a contemporary stained glass window from the Messiah Episcopal Church in St. Paul, Minnesota by Peter Dohmen. Individual glass pieces were made in Germany in accordance with Dohmen’s design, using a technique first developed by Irish monks in the 9th and 10th centuries.

Source for the image and description below: The Stained Glass Windows of Messiah Episcopal Church

“This window is dedicated to St. Paul, the great apostle and missionary, for whom our city is named. At the top of the window is a ship which symbolizes the many missionary journeys of Paul — the Church is our ship, which carries us over the way of life. In the lower section we see Paul on the road to Damascus when he saw a great light and heard our Lord’s voice, which called him to discipleship.”

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Paul .

complete verse (Acts 14:19)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 14:19:

  • Uma: “Not long from there, several Yahudi people from the towns of Antiokhia and Ikonium arrived in Listra, wanting to oppose Paulus. They incited the people in Listra so that they also wanted to oppose him. After that, they went and threw rocks at him, and they dragged him outside the town and they left him there, they said/thought he was dead.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then, there arrived in Listara some Yahudi from Antiyok in Pisidiya and from Ikoni. They were able to persuade the many people to side with them against Paul. They threw stones at Paul. And then they dragged him and brought him outside that city because they thought-mistakenly he was already dead.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then some Jews arrived who were from Antioch there in the province of Pisidia and also some Jews from Iconium. They caused the people to be angry at Paul and company. They threw stones at Paul, and they dragged him out of the town because they thought mistakenly that he was dead.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When that was so, there were Jews who arrived from Antiok in Pisidia and from Iconium. They persuaded the many-people to stone Pablo, then they dragged (him) to the edge of town, because they thought he was dead.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And then some Jews arrived at Listra coming from Antioquia and Iconio. What else but they incited all the people at Listra to throw rocks at Pablo. When they had thrown them, they dragged him to the outside of the city, for they thought he was already dead.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 14:19

Throughout Acts, Luke is careful to point out that Paul’s troubles are almost always caused by the Jews and that sometimes the Jews come from great distances to cause him trouble. Even though Antioch of Pisidia was about 100 miles from Iconium, the cities did share a close connection, as is indicated by the fact that the people of Lystra once built a statue in Antioch. Some Jews should probably be taken as the subject of all the verbs in this sentence, won, stoned, dragged, thinking; but is possible also to consider the crowds as taking part in the stoning and thinking that Paul was dead.

The expression won the crowds to their side may be rendered as “caused the crowds to believe what they said,” “… to follow them,” “… to be on their side,” or “… to go along with them.”

In some languages it may be more appropriate to translate: “dragged his body out of town.” This would reflect more accurately what the people thought they were doing, since they regarded Paul as being dead.

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 .