The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in English as “encourage” or “comfort” is translated in Enlhet as “become calm of the innermost.” “Innermost” or valhoc is a term that is frequently used in Enlhet to describe a large variety of emotions or states of mind (for other examples see here). (Source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. )
In Bacama it is translated as “(to) cool stomach” (source: David Frank in this blog post ), in Yatzachi Zapotec as “cause hearts to mature,” in Isthmus Zapotec “hearts may lie quiet” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.) and in Thai “give heart power to” (source: Bratcher / Hatton 2000).
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).
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 16:40:
Uma: “So, Paulus and Silas left the jail, and they went to Lidia’s house. There they met with their one-faith relatives and strengthened their hearts. After that did depart, leaving the town of Filipi.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Then Paul and Silas went to the house of Lidiya. They met with the disciples of Isa there and Paul and company spoke to them to encourage their livers. After that they left.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Paul and Silas went out of the prison, and they went to the house of Lydia. They talked to the believers there and gave them advice so that their faith might be drawn tight. And then they continued on their journey.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When Pablo and Silas left the prison, they then went to the house of Lydia, and they conversed-with the believers who had gathered there to strengthen their mind/thoughts. Then they left.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well, after Pablo-and-companion came out of jail, they went to the house of Lydia to see/meet the believers first. Pablo-and-companion left with them words of strengthening for their believing/obeying, and then when all they wanted to say was ended, they then set out.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Note that though Paul and Silas left the prison, they did not immediately leave the city but went to Lydia’s house. There they met with the brothers, that is, “the fellow believers.”
Words of encouragement are “words which encouraged the people” or, as in some languages, “they encouraged the fellow believers by what they said to them.” The final verb left must refer to “leaving the city.”
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 .
the brothers: This word refers to fellow Christians. See how you translated this word in 15:1.
16:40c
encourage them: Paul and Silas encouraged them to continue believing in the Lord Jesus. See you translated the word “encouraged” in 11:23 or 14:22.
Then they left the city: Paul and Silas left the house and left the city of Philippi. In some languages it is more natural to say what they left. For example:
Then they left town. (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
Then they left the town ⌊of Philippi⌋
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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