trembling / afraid

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “trembling,” or “afraid” in English is translated in the Protestant Mandarin Chinese Union Version with an established Chinese idiom: zhànzhàn jīngjīng (戰戰兢兢 / 战战兢兢) or “trembling (lit. “trembling and fearful”).” (Source: Toshikazu S. Foley in Hong Kong Journal of Catholic Studies, 2011, p. 45ff.)

See also trembling / in awe and trembling / shaking / dancing.

dancing, shaking, trembling

The interconfessional Chichewa translation (publ. 1999) uses the ideophone njenjenje (“shake-shake”) to emphasize movements like trembling, dancing, or shaking in these verses. (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 105)

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

Paul

The term that is transliterated as “Paul” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that signifies the many letters he wrote. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Paul” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting putting away a sword, referring to his conversion from a persecutor of Christians to a Christian leader. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Paul (and Saul)” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Paul (source: Bible Lands 2012)

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Following is a Georgian Orthodox icon of Paul the Apostle from the 14th century (located in the Art Museum of Georgia, Tbilisi).

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 following is a contemporary stained glass window from the Messiah Episcopal Church in St. Paul, Minnesota by Peter Dohmen. Individual glass pieces were made in Germany in accordance with Dohmen’s design, using a technique first developed by Irish monks in the 9th and 10th centuries.

Source for the image and description below: The Stained Glass Windows of Messiah Episcopal Church

“This window is dedicated to St. Paul, the great apostle and missionary, for whom our city is named. At the top of the window is a ship which symbolizes the many missionary journeys of Paul — the Church is our ship, which carries us over the way of life. In the lower section we see Paul on the road to Damascus when he saw a great light and heard our Lord’s voice, which called him to discipleship.”

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Paul .

complete verse (Acts 16:29)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 16:29:

  • Uma: “From there the head of the jail requested a torch, and he ran entering into the jail. He trembled kneeling in front of Paulus and Silas.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The guard called out asking for a torch and hurriedly entered. He threw himself down trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Now as for the watcher, he commanded that a light be brought in, and he went quickly inside, and he knelt down, shaking before Paul and Silas.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “That being so, the guard immediately-called his companions to bring-him a light. Then immediately he hurried to enter to where-Pablo and Silas -were, and he knelt trembling before them.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When he heard that, he caused a light to be brought hurriedly. And then he entered that jail running and bowed down in the presence of Pablo-and-companion. He was trembling with fear.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 16:29

The word translated light is actually plural (“lights”), but the Good News Translation takes it in a collective sense, meaning simply “light” and not “lamps.” In a number of languages, however, it would be very appropriate to have a translation such as “called for someone to bring a lamp.”

The expression fell trembling must not be rendered so literally that it implies the jailer stumbled at the feet of Paul and Silas. Rather, “he threw himself down…” or “he bowed down at the feet of Paul and Silas.” It may also be necessary to explain the significance of trembling, that is, “trembling with fear.”

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 16:29

Paragraph 16:29–30

16:29a

Calling for lights, the jailer: This phrase in Greek is literally “having asked for lights.” The jailer probably asked his servants or his prison guards to go and bring lamps. Other ways to translate this clause are:

The jailer asked for ⌊someone to bring⌋ lamps
-or-

⌊He heard this and⌋ asked that ⌊someone go and bring⌋ ⌊lighted⌋ lamps

lights: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as lights probably refers to clay lamps. At that time a lamp was shaped for a wick on one side and burned oil. The exact kind of lamp is not important here. So you should use a general word for a lamp or light producing device. Some of the styles of lamps used at this time are shown below.

Such lamps had a single flame so were not very bright. The jailer asked for more than one lamp so that his prison guards could check the whole prison, or he wanted the place where he was to be well lit.

16:29b

fell: Here the word fell refers to quickly kneeling and putting the face to the ground with arms outstretched toward someone. The jailer did this deliberately in order to show humility and respect. In some languages a literal translation will not have the correct meaning. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Translate the meaning of this phrase. For example:

prostrated himself
-or-
threw himself…at the feet of (New Jerusalem Bible)

• Translate the figure of speech literally and explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:

Here the word “fell” refers to quickly kneeling and putting the face to the ground with arms outstretched toward someone.

• If your language has a different action that shows humility and respect to someone, you may want to use that word or phrase. You may then want a footnote to explain the literal word. An example footnote is:

Literally “fell.” Here the word refers to quickly kneeling and putting the face to the ground with arms outstretched toward someone.

trembling: This word indicates that the jailer was afraid or overwhelmed by all that had just happened. If he was afraid, he was probably afraid that some god had caused all this. He probably assumed that Paul and Silas were the god’s representatives.

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