complete verse (Acts 16:27)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 16:27:

  • Uma: “When the head of the jail woke up, what should he see but that all the doors were open. He unsheathed his sword wanting to commit suicide, because he said/thought that all the prisoners had fled.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Then the guard woke up and when he saw that all the prison doors were open, he thought-mistakenly that the prisoners had escaped. Therefore he pulled out his sword (bessi) and was about to kill himself.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then the watcher of the prison woke up, and when he saw that the doors of the prison were all open, he supposed that the prisoners had all run away. So he pulled out his sword. He wanted to stab himself because he would commit suicide.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When the guard then woke-up and saw that the doors were already-open, he drew his sword to kill himself koma, because he thought that all the prisoners had escaped.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “The overseer of the jail awoke. When he saw that the doors were open, he unsheathed his blade to commit suicide, for he mistakenly-thought that the prisoners inside had already been able to run away.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 16:27

The jailer was about to kill himself either for a point of military honor or, more likely, because of the reason given in 12.19: that a jailer who allowed prisoners to escape would receive the same punishment due the prisoners. It may be useful to have at this point some marginal note to explain that the jailer’s intention to kill himself was based upon the fact that in ancient times a jailer who allowed prisoners to escape would receive their punishment, and, in view of the fact that evidently some of the prisoners were slated for capital punishment, the jailer assumed that he himself would be killed. Otherwise, such an action would be regarded as quite incomprehensible in some societies.

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 16:27

16:27a–c

he drew his sword: Here the word drew refers to removing a sword from its sheath (a container that covers the blade). For example:

he pulled out his sword (Good News Translation)

sword: A sword is a hand-held weapon. The swords of that time were 60–120 centimeters (2–4 feet) long and made of metal. The picture shows some of the various kinds of swords used at that time.
If people in your area are not familiar with swords, you may want to:

• Explain the word in your translation. For example:

long knife
-or-
cutting weapon
-or-
war machete/bush-knife

• Use the common language word.

was about to kill himself, presuming that the prisoners had escaped: The jailer probably decided to kill himself because he was ashamed that the prisoners escaped or he feared that the city officials would publicly humiliate him. The city officials probably would not have held him responsible because the earthquake caused the doors to open, but he had just woken up and was perhaps not thinking clearly.

In some languages the reason he was going to kill himself would be unclear. If that is true in your language, you may want to explain it in a footnote. Some example footnotes are:

He thought about killing himself because of the shame of letting the prisoners escape. Or he may have feared that the city officials would publicly humiliate him or even execute him. Roman ideals allowed suicide as an honorable alternative.

kill himself: The jailer would probably have plunged his sword into his heart.

General Comment on 16:27a–c

The reason for killing himself is told after telling he wanted to kill himself. In some languages having the reason first is necessary or more natural. For example:

27aThe jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, 27che thought the prisoners had escaped so 27bhe drew his sword and was about to kill himself.

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