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 Greek that is translated in English as “brother” or “brother and sister” (in the sense of fellow believers), is translated with a specifically coined word in Kachin: “There are two terms for brother in Kachin. One is used to refer to a Christian brother. This term combines ‘older and younger brother.’ The other term is used specifically for addressing siblings. When one uses this term, one must specify if the older or younger person is involved. A parallel system exists for ‘sister’ as well. In [these verses], the term for ‘a Christian brother’ is used.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae)
In Matumbi is is translated as alongo aumini or “relative-believer.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
In Martu Wangka it is translated as “relative” (this is also the term that is used for “follower.”) (Source: Carl Gross)
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is often translated as Mitchristen or “fellow Christians.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 15:13:
Uma: “When the speech of Paulus and Barnabas was finished, Yakobus said: ‘Relatives, please listen to my words.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “After they had spoken, Yakub took his turn to speak. He said, ‘My brothers, listen to me.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when they had finished speaking, James spoke. He said, ‘Brethren, listen to what I have to say.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “That talk of theirs being finished then, after-that Santiago spoke saying, ‘You brothers, please listen to this that I will say.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When that story of theirs was ended, Santiago was next to speak, saying, ‘Brethren, listen to me.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, kīte (聞いて) or “listen” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”
The James referred to here is presumably the brother of the Lord (Galatians 1.19; Mark 6.3; see also 12.17), but this is general background information and should not be made explicit in the text. Spoke up is literally “answered,” but the verb is quite often used in this more general sense.
On the expression brothers, see 1.16.
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 .
When they had finished speaking: This clause in Greek is literally “After they were silent.” Barnabas and Paul finished speaking, then James spoke. For example:
After they had stopped speaking (New American Standard Bible)
James: This name is spelled Iakobos in the Greek language. In the Old Testament this name is written in English as “Jacob.”
This James was probably the brother of Jesus, not the brother of the apostle John. You may want to include a footnote to explain this. An example footnote is:
This James was probably the brother of Jesus.
declared: The Greek phrase is literally “responded saying.” James responded to what Peter and the others had said and so spoke as he did in 15:13b–21b. For example:
responded and said
In some languages a simple “said” is all that is needed. This allows the context to indicate he responded to the previous speeches. For example:
said (Contemporary English Version)
15:13b
Brothers: The Greek phrase here is literally “Men, brothers.” See how you translated this phrase in 15:7.
listen to me: This phrase is a command to listen. It is a polite request for people to listen to what he wants to say. James was a leader in the church at Jerusalem, so he had some authority.
In some languages a command to listen would not be polite. If that is true in your language, translate in a way that is polite in this situation. For example:
I would like you to listen to me. -or-
Could you please listen to me?
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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