The Greek in Acts 16:24 that is typically translated as “stocks” in English is translated in Isthmus Mixe as “notched boards” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.).
In Lalana Chinantec it is translated as “where planks have holes in them and where peoples’ feet are tight,” in Chichimeca-Jonaz as “bit their feet with wood,” and in Morelos Nahuatl as “stuck between two boards.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
“Stocks” is illustrated for use in Bible translations in East Africa by Pioneer Bible Translators like this:
Image owned by PBT and Jonathan McDaniel and licensed with the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
The Greek that is translated in English as “prison” is translated in Dehu as moapokamo or “house for tying up people” (source: Maurice Leenhardt in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 97ff. ) and in Noongar as maya-maya dedinyang or “house shut” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 16:24:
Uma: “That’s why he put them in the part of the jail that was in the very middle, and both their feet were tied to heavy [pieces of] wood.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “When the guard heard that order, he took Paul and company to the prison way inside and put them in stocks.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then he put them in a room in the middle of the prison and as for their feet, they were put in stocks.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Therefore the guard, he took them to the room in its inner corner, and he put their legs/feet in the holed coming-together-place of two planks, then he squeezed-them-together (the planks).” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well, because the instruction to him was like that, he then took Pablo and Silas to the very inside of that jail and also fettered their feet/legs.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
It is not necessary to assume, as some commentators have done, that the inner cell was an underground cell. The inner cell was simply “the farthest cell in prison.” This may be translated in some instances as “the most guarded cell of the prison,” since one would need to pass through several other cells in order to arrive at this inner cell.
Between heavy blocks of wood is rendered by most translators as “stocks.” The term “stocks” was avoided by the Good News Translation for two reasons: (1) it was felt that its meaning would not be readily understood by the readers for whom the Good News Translation was designed and (2) the stocks utilized by the Romans were of a different sort from those otherwise known. The Romans used this as an instrument of torture. It had more than one pair of holes for the legs, so that a prisoner’s legs could be spread wide apart, causing him great pain.
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 .
On receiving this order: The orders were to guard him securely, so Luke used the phrase thisorder. It explains why the jailer put Paul and Silas in the inner cell. The inner cell was more secure than cells along the outer wall of the prison. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
following such instructions (New Jerusalem Bible) -or-
Hearing what ⌊the judges⌋ commanded
inner cell: The inner cell was a room that was not along the outer wall of the prison. It did not have a window to the outside. The door to this room probably could be locked to prevent prisoners from leaving. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
inner ⌊locked⌋ room -or-
a room not near the outside ⌊of the prison⌋ ⌊that had a lock⌋
16:24b
fastened their feet in the stocks: The stocks are two large pieces of lumber with holes cut out of them through which a prisoner’s lower legs are placed. The two pieces of lumber are clamped together, enclosing the prisoner’s lower legs. The prisoner could not remove his legs because the holes were too small to pull his feet through.
In some languages people are not familiar with stocks. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
• Describe the stocks. You may also want to include a picture. For example:
he put their legs in places for legs between two planks, then he locked the planks together -or-
he put their legs between two pieces of wood with slots and tied it
• Describe the function of the stocks. You may also want to include a picture. For example:
he tied their legs to planks ⌊to prevent them from escaping⌋ -or-
put their legs inside holes in wood ⌊and locked it⌋
• Use the common language word. You may then want to explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
Stocks are two large pieces of lumber with holes cut out of them through which a prisoner’s lower legs are placed. The two pieces of lumber are clamped together, enclosing the prisoner’s lower legs. The prisoner could not remove his legs because the holes were too small to pull his feet through.
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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