23with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers and sisters of gentile origin in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings.
The Greek that is translated as “elder” in most English versions (“presbyter” in The Orthodox New Testament, 2000) is translated as “Old-Man Leader” in Eastern Highland Otomi (source: John Beekman in Notes on Translation November 1964, p. 1-22) and in Bacama as mi kpan-kpani vɨnə hiutə: “big/old person of house of prayer” (source: David Frank in this blog post ).
Other translations include:
“person who commands among the people of Jesus” in Lalana Chinantec
“supervisor of the creed” in Guhu-Samane (source for this and three above: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation July, 1967, p. 5ff.)
“older person” with an implication of that being a leader-like person in Matumbi (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
“person who has taken on responsibilities in the congregation” in German (das Buch translation by Roland Werner, publ. 2009-2022)
The German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) chooses for the occurrences in Revelation the translation of Würdenträger or “dignitary.” Elsewhere (for instance in 1 Peter 5:1) it has “elders, your congregational leadership.”
The Greek that is transliterated as “Antioch” in English means “driven against.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997)
In Western Lawa it is given the prefix weīyng (เวียง) to denote it as a larger settlement.
David Clark (in The Bible Translator 2013, p. 54ff. ) explains: “Place names often present difficulties in minority languages in Thailand, where it is normal to prefix unfamiliar names with a ‘classifier’ to show whether the name refers to a town, village, river, mountain, island, and so on. The problem in many such languages is that whereas English has numerous terms for human settlements of different size and importance (metropolis, conurbation, city, town, village, hamlet, etc.), they have only two terms. Generally, one refers to a metropolis like Bangkok, and the other to virtually all other settlements. This kind of contrast does not transfer well into the historical and cultural setting of the Bible, where even quite large towns were relatively small by modern standards. Especially in the Old Testament, what the Hebrew text calls ‘cities’ (because they had a wall) would often be classed as no more than villages in Thai minority languages. What many translators have done is to apply the term for a larger settlement to places of importance in the narrative, even if they were not very large in absolute terms. Thus in Lawa, Antioch, which is of considerable significance in Acts, is given the label for the larger size of settlement (weīyng).”
The Greek term that means “one who is sent off” in its singular form and is usually transliterated as “apostle(s)” in English is (back-) translated in the following ways:
San Blas Kuna: “witnesses to God” (meaning “those who speak up and out for God” (source for this and all above: Bratcher / Nida, except Balanta-Kentohe: Rob Koops)
Mairasi: sasiri atatuemnev nesovnaa or “sent witnesses” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Khmer: Christtout (“messenger representing Christ”) or when Jesus addresses them: Tout robas Preah Ang (“his messengers-representatives”) (source: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 233ff. )
Pwo Karen: “eyeballs” (i.e., “right-hand men”) (source: David Clark)
Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “one who goes about preaching the good word” (source for this and above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
Noongar: Moorta Ngany Waangki-Koorl or “People I (Jesus) Send” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Ayutla Mixtec: “those who bore the word of God’s mouth”
Chichimeca-Jonaz: “elders messengers” (source for this and above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Yakan: “commissioned ones” (source: Yakan Back Translation) — note that Scot McKnight in the EnglishThe Second Testament (publ. 2023) translates it as commissioners
Tenango Otomi: “(Jesus’) representatives” (source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Tsamakko: “ones-who-work-for-Christ” (source: Chris Pluger)
Scot McKnight (in The Second Testament, publ. 2023) translates it into English as commissioner.
In American Sign Language it is translated with a combination of the signs for “following” plus the sign for “authority” to differentiate it from disciple. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“apostles” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a sign that shows the shape of the beard, based on the common and general visual representation of the apostles. This sign differs from the sign for a beard as used in colloquial language. The sign of the apostle does not originate from a specific biblical verse, but rather from the cultural context and later ecclesiastical tradition. “Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.” Lev 19:27. In the biblical era, wearing a beard was the default social and religious norm among Jewish men. The Apostle Peter is generally depicted with a short, curly, white beard. The Apostle Paul appears with a longer, pointed beard. The Apostle John is an exception, as he was the youngest disciple. In iconography, he is often the only one painted without a beard (as a youth) to emphasize his purity and age (see for instance at Transfiguration (icon)). (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo (Dinė)) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).
Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), “other ethnic groups” (source: Newari Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).
In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
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 15:23:
Uma: “After that the apostles of the Lord Yesus wrote the decision of their discussion in a letter, and they turned it over to Silas and Yudas to take to Antiokhia. Its sound was like this: ‘We(excl.) the apostles of the Lord Yesus and the elders of the Kristen people here who are-your-relatives in the Lord Yesus, send this letter to relatives who are not Yahudi people who are in the town of Antiokhia, in the land of Siria and Kilikia. Many greetings!” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “They sent a letter and this is what it said in the letter: ‘This letter is from your brothers here in Awrusalam, the commissioned ones and the elders. We (excl.) are sending this to all of you our (excl.) brothers from other tribes, who are residing there in Antiyok, in Siriya, and in Kilikiya.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And they sent by them the letter which says: ‘We, your brothers who are apostles and elders of the believers of the Jews here, we greet all of you who are Gentiles who are our brethren in the faith there in Antioch and Syria and Silicia.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “This is the letter they had-carried to them: ‘We (excl.) who are your brothers who are apostles and leaders here in Jerusalem, we (excl.) write this to you Gentiles who believe there in Antiok, Syria and Cilicia.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Their letter which was sent with those who went said, ‘Siblings in believing who aren’t Jews there in Antioquia and other places in the districts of Siria and Cilicia, there with you is our (excl.) letter. We(excl.) apostles and overseers of the believers here in Jerusalem greet you there.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
They sent the following letter by them translates the Greek expression “having written through their hands,” which might appear to mean that “they (the apostles and the elders) wrote letters by them (the messengers)” (King James Version). However, most commentators agree that what is meant is that the apostles and elders wrote the letter and sent it by the messengers. In some languages it may be necessary to translate this introductory clause as “They sent the following letter to the believers in Antioch. They caused Judas and Silas to carry the letter.”
“Brothers,” which appears in the Greek without the possessive “your,” is taken by almost all scholars to refer back to the apostles and the elders, and so is translated your brothers (so also Jerusalem Bible). It is interesting to note that the introductory formula “so-and-so send their greetings to so-and-so,” and the concluding expression Good-bye (v. 29), are precisely the forms that were used by letter writers of the first century A.D. In many languages it is necessary to introduce the first person plural pronoun in this introductory sentence; therefore, “we the apostles and elders, your brothers, send our greetings.” The expression brothers of Gentile birth would be “fellow believers who are Gentiles” or, as in some languages, “fellow believers who are not Jews.”
It may be useful and even necessary to distinguish between Antioch as a town and Syria and Cilicia as regions; therefore, “in the city of Antioch and in the provinces of Syria and Cilicia.”
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 .
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