Ayutla Mixtec: “see that which will happen” (source for this and seven above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Tagbanwa: “being caused to dream by God” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Chichewa: azidzaona zinthu m’masomphenya: “they will see things as if face-to-face” (interconfessional translation, publ. 1999) (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 69)
The Greek in the books of Revelation and Acts is translated as obq-rmwible: “look-dream” in Natügu. Brenda Boerger (in Beerle-Moor / Voinov, p. 162ff.) tells the story of that translation: “In the book of Revelation, the author, John, talks about having visions. Mr. Simon [the native language translator] and I discussed what this meant and he invented the compound verb obq-rmwible ‘look-dream’ to express it. Interestingly, during village testing no one ever had to ask what this neologism meant.”
The term that is transliterated as “Paul” in English means “little.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
In American Sign Language it is translated 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)
In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a sign that is based on contemporary depictions and refers to the presumed baldness of the top of his head. The description originates from the 2nd-century apocryphal text titled Acts of Paul and Thecla , which represents the earliest and most detailed physical characterization of the apostle in Christian tradition (see also the icon below). (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)
“Paul” in Hungarian Sign Language — note that only the first part refers to “Paul,” the second part refers to “apostle” (source )
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.
“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 )
Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Paul (source: Bible Lands 2012)
The name that is transliterated as “Macedonia” in English is translated in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) with a sign that shows pillars, a hallmark of the architecture used there in the Roman period and also prominently used today at Archaeological Museum of the Republic of North Macedonia (see here ). (Source: Missão Kophós )
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 Paul).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 16:9:
Uma: “The night of their sleeping in Troas, Paulus had-a-vision. In that vision, he saw a man from the province of Makedonia standing over there and requesting-help, he said: ‘Come over here to Makedonia to help us (excl.), please!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Then, there in Toroas that night, God showed in a vision to Paul a man from Makedoniya asking help from him. That man said, ‘Cross over and come-here to Makedoniya and help us (excl.).'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as for Paul, that night God showed him something and he saw that which was like a person of Macedonia who begged him saying, ‘Keep on coming here to Macedonia so that you might help us.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When it was night, there was that which God showed Pablo like a dream, he saw a man from-Macedonia standing pleading with him, ‘Cross-over (body of water) here to Macedonia to help us (excl.),’ he said.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When they arrived there at Troas, when it was night, it’s like Pablo dreamed that he was looking at a person who was a taga Macedonia. What that person did was, he was really asking Pablo for grace/help, saying, ‘Please, if it’s possible/acceptable continue on to Macedonia for we (excl.) really need your help.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
Here, tasukete (助けて) or “help” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
It is more natural for the English speaker to say Paul had a vision than to say, as does the Greek, “a vision appeared to Paul.” Luke probably intends to say that the vision came to Paul that night (New English Bible “during the night”), rather than to say, in a general sense, “one night.” The meaning that night (the first night after his arrival) is supported both by the context and by the article which appears in Greek before night (literally “the night”). Macedonia was a Roman province, across the Aegean Sea from the province of Asia, and its capital was Thessalonica.
In translating begging him, one must obviously avoid the connotation of “begging for money.” In many languages the appropriate equivalent is “asking him strongly” or “pleading with him.”
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 .
During the night: This phrase may refer to the first night in Troas or some nights later. For example:
That night (Good News Translation) -or-
One night (New Jerusalem Bible)
Paul had a vision: This clause in Greek is literally “a vision appeared to Paul.” Here the word vision refers to something that appears supernaturally. It is like a dream, but the person is usually awake. It is something or someone that people usually cannot see, but God or Jesus helps them to see it.
Macedonia:Macedonia was a Roman province. It was north of Achaia. The people spoke a dialect of Greek. It was on the other side of the Aegean Sea from Troas.
standing: It is probably implied that in the vision the man was standing in front of Paul.
16:9b
pleading: This word in Greek means “invite” or “summon for aid.” The Greek tense probably indicates that he said “Come over to Macedonia and help us” more than once. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
was…urging (English Standard Version) -or-
begging -or-
earnestly requesting ⌊that we help them⌋
Come over to Macedonia and help us: This is a command. The man in the vision was politely requesting Paul to come and help. Translate this as a polite request. Other ways to translate this command are:
Please come to Macedonia and help us. -or-
Would you come over to Macedonia and help us? -or-
We would like you to come to Macedonia and help us.
In this vision, the man spoke as if he was in Macedonia.
Come over: This phrase in Greek refers to crossing a barrier. Paul would need to cross the Aegean Sea to get to Macedonia. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
Come across (New Jerusalem Bible) -or-
Cross ⌊the sea⌋
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