24Since we have heard that certain persons who have gone out from us, though with no instructions from us, have said things to disturb you and have unsettled your minds,
The Hebrew, Greek, and Latin that is translated as “soul” in English is translated in Chol with a term that refers to the invisible aspects of human beings (source: Robert Bascom) and in Elhomwe as “heart” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
The Mandarin Chineselínghún (靈魂 / 灵魂), literally “spirit-soul,” is often used for “soul” (along with xīn [心] or “heart”). This is a term that was adopted from Buddhist sources into early Catholic writings and later also by Protestant translators. (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 32, see also Clara Ho-yan Chan in this article )
In Chichewa, moyo means both “soul” and “life.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the exclusive form (excluding the addressees in Antioch).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 15:24:
Uma: “‘We(excl.) have heard that several people from us (excl.) here went there and confused you and shook up your faith with their teaching. So, so that you know, it was not we (excl.) who sent them.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “We (excl.) heard that there are reportedly disciples of Isa from us (excl.) here who went there to trouble your minds because of their teaching. We (excl.) did not tell them to do that.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “We have heard a report that there are some of our companions who are Jews who have troubled you because you are confused by their teaching. However, we did not send them.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “There are reportedly those who came-from here who went to disturb you by teaching what is wrong/different. But we (excl.) had not given them authority to do that.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “We(excl.) have sent a letter for we (excl.) heard news that some people coming from us (excl.) here have been troubling you for they have been agitating your minds/thinking with their teaching. It’s necessary for you to know that we (excl.) didn’t send them to do that which they were doing.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The Greek that is translated in English as “Law” or “law” is translated in Mairasi as oro nasinggiei or “prohibited things” (source: Enggavoter 2004) and in Noongar with a capitalized form of the term for “words” (Warrinya) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
In Yucateco the phrase that is used for “law” is “ordered-word” (for “commandment,” it is “spoken-word”) (source: Nida 1947, p. 198) and in Central Tarahumara it is “writing-command.” (wsource: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
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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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
Some men of our group is a deliberately vague phrase (cf. v. 1). Upset you is literally “upsetting your souls,” with “souls” used as equivalent to “persons.” The word rendered upset is a very strong term, and it refers to reversing what has been done or to tearing down what has been built.
The final clause they had not, however, received any instructions from us to do this may be equivalent to “we did not, however, tell them that they should do this.”
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 .
In the Greek, 15:24–25 is one sentence and 15:24a begins with the word “since.” This word introduces the reason (15:24) for what the apostles and elders agreed to do in 15:25. The Berean Standard Bible begins 15:25 with “So” to translate this connection.
15:24a
our: This pronoun refers to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem.
some went out from us: There is a textual issue here.
(1) Some early Greek manuscripts have the verb that means went out. For example:
some who went from our group (Good News Translation)
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Translation, New Revised Standard Version, God’s Word, NET Bible, English Standard Version, King James Version)
(2) Some early Greek manuscripts do not have that verb. For example:
some persons from us (Revised Standard Version)
(Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, New Century Version)
It is recommended that you follow option (1), because the UBS Handbook Greek NT supports it.
us: This pronoun probably refers generally to the believers in Jerusalem, including the apostles and elders.
without our authorization: This phrase indicates that the apostles and elders did not tell anyone to go to Antioch and preach that believers must be circumcised. For example:
without any authority from ourselves (New Jerusalem Bible) -or-
with no orders from us (NET Bible)
In some languages it is necessary or more natural to translate this phrase as a separate clause. For example:
they had not, however, received any instruction from us (Good News Translation ) -or-
but we did not tell them to go
If that is true in your language, you may need to move this phrase to the end of the verse. Here is another way to translate this:
We have heard that some of our group have come to you and said things that trouble and upset you. But we did not tell them to do this. (New Century Version)
15:24b
unsettled: This verb refers to being upset emotionally and mentally. The false teachers from Jerusalem upset the believers by teaching that they must be circumcised. This was contrary to what the believers had learned from Paul and others. Other ways to translate this word are:
troubled (Revised Standard Version) -or-
upset (Good News Translation)
troubling your minds by what they said: The Greek is literally “unsettling your souls.” The Greek verb refers to a figurative “destroying” or “demolishing” something. The false teachers tried to destroy the ways of living by faith of the believers. Other ways to translate this are:
destroying your peace of mind -or-
causing you to be distressed -or-
troubled you deeply
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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