The Greek that is translated as “on the mountains” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with viele Zeugnisse eurer Frömmigkeit or “many testimonies of your piety.”
unknown god
The Greek that is translated “(to an) unknown god” is translated as “the god we don’t know about” in Palantla Chinantec and “there is probably a god we don’t know. This altar is for him” in Isthmus Mixe. (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
altar (Acts 17:23)
The Greek that is usually translated as “altar” in English is translated in Ignaciano in this verse with the Spanish loan word altar. In all other cases in the New Testament, the Ignaciano translators have translated the Greek thusiastérion (also “altar in English) with case-specific solutions that did not include the Spanish loan word (see altar). But the Greek bómos that is being used in this verse was translated with altar because, just like in the general understanding of Ignacio speakers, the “altar” in this verse was “a place for doing ritual,” unlike the many other verses where thusiastérion had to be translated. (Source: Willis Ott in Notes on Translation 88/1982, p. 18ff.)
complete verse (Acts 17:23)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 17:23:
- Uma: “Because during my wandering in your town and seeing your worship-places, I also saw one worship rock that had writing like this: ‘Worship-place to the Lord whose Name is not Known.’ So, that lord whose name you do not know, he is the one I announce to you here.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “Because while I was walking about here in your city, I saw the different things you worship. I saw one place where you worship and this is written there, saying, ‘This is the place for worshiping the god whom we (incl.) do not know.’ Na,’ Paul said, ‘the god whom you do not know but whom you worship, this is the God whom I am explaining to you about now/this moment.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Because as I was wandering around here in your village, I saw the things that you worship. And there was also one offering place which I saw upon which was written the words which say, ‘Here is worshipped the god who is not yet known.’ And the God that you worship, even though you don’t know about him, he is the one that I am preaching to you.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “because when I was walking through your town looking-at the places-where-you -worship the various-gods, there was an altar (loan altar) that I came-upon that was written-on with words saying, ‘For the god that we (excl.) don’t know.’ That-aforementioned God whom you are worshipping even though you don’t know-him, it is he whom I will make-known to you now.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “For when I was walking around looking at the statues which you worship here, I came on one which was written on, saying, ‘Substitute for the god we don’t yet know.’ Well now, that is this one I am teaching you about, that God whom you say you worship, although you don’t yet know him.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)
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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Translation commentary on Acts 17:23
The places where you worship technically means “the object of your worship” (so Revised Standard Version), and is rendered by Jerusalem Bible as “sacred monuments.” Although the word may technically mean “object or thing worshiped,” in reality it was an object set up at a certain place where worship was offered to the god in whose name the object had been erected. It was customary for Greeks and others to dedicate altars to “unknown gods,” for fear that in their worship they had omitted some god who might otherwise be offended. Inscriptions have been found indicating that certain altars were dedicated “to unknown gods,” but thus far no inscription has been found dedicating an altar “to an unknown god,” though no doubt such an altar existed in Athens in Paul’s day. Since in many societies there are almost the exact equivalent of such places where you worship, it is usually not difficult to find a general term for such “shrines.” In any event, one can always translate “the places where you worship various gods.”
In some languages a clear distinction is made between something which is “written” and something which is “cut into stone.” It is quite likely that in this instance the inscription “To an Unknown God” would be cut into stone.
Though you do not know it translates a participle which in Greek modifies the subject “you” rather than the verb “worship.” The King James Version (“whom therefore ye ignorantly worship”) is incorrect in translating the participle by “ignorantly” as though it modifies the verb “worship.” Paul is either telling the Athenians (1) that the unknown god whom they worship is indeed the true God, though they do not know it (Good News Translation that which you worship then, even though you do not know it; Zürcher Bibel “what therefore you worship without knowing it”; Jerusalem Bible “whom you already worship without knowing it”), or (2) that the unknown god whom they worship is the true God, but he is unknown to them (New English Bible “what you worship but do not know”). The essence of Paul’s message to the Athenians may be summed up in the following way: (1) this unknown god whom you worship is the true God though you do not know it; (2) you can learn much about this unknown God by observing what he has done in the creative order; (3) this true God will remain unknown to you until you meet him in the person of Jesus Christ.
Two other observations should be taken into consideration in the translation of this verse: (1) Paul uses the neuter that which … what rather than the masculine “he whom … whom.” He begins with his hearers’ belief in an impersonal divine being and goes from there to tell them about the living God, who is Creator and Judge of all men. (2) In the clause what I now proclaim to you, the pronoun “I” is emphatic.
There are a number of difficulties involved in the translation of the last sentence of verse 23. In the first place, it is impossible in a number of languages to represent the neuter forms that which, it, and what. Having once spoken of God, it is necessary to use some personal pronoun—for example, “the one whom you worship.” Furthermore, there are difficulties with the embedded clause even though you do not know it. In fact, in many languages this must be placed at the end of the sentence as a kind of contrastive clause—for example, “the one whom you worship is the one I am proclaiming to you but you do not realize this.” On the other hand, if one adopts another exegesis of this final sentence, it is possible to translate: “you do not know the one whom you worship, but this is the one that I am now telling you about.”
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 17:23
17:23a
For: The word For introduces an explanation for why Paul said that the people of Athens were very religious.
I walked around: This clause refers to visiting various parts of the city. For example:
I walked through your city (Good News Translation)
examined: This phrase indicates that Paul studied the altars and statues of the gods. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
looked carefully (New International Version)
-or-
observed closely (NET Bible)
your objects of worship: This phrase refers to images and statues of the gods that the people of Athens worshiped. It also included the altars at these images and statues where people would pray to the gods and leave offerings. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
your sacred monuments (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
your worship places
-or-
your altars and images/statues of your gods
17:23b
I even found an altar: Here the verb found indicates that he happened to see an altar to an unknown god while he walked through the city. The verb does not imply that he was searching for this altar. Other ways to translate this clause are:
I noticed…an altar (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
And one of your altars (New Living Translation (2004))
an altar: This word refers to a platform that people use for religious activities. People sacrifice animals on it to honor the god to whom they dedicated the altar. Greek altars of that time were usually made of stone. The picture below is an example of a pagan altar.
Some languages do not have a word for that meaning. If that is true in your language, you may want to:
• Describe what an altar is. For example:
a platform for sacrificing
-or-
a place for putting something to honor a god
• Use the common language word. If the word is not well known, you may want to explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
The word “altar” refers to a platform that people use for religious activities. People sacrifice animals on it to honor the god to whom the altar was dedicated. At that time Greek people usually made their altars from stone.
this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD: The word inscription indicates that someone carved the words TO AN UNKNOWN GOD into the altar.
TO AN UNKNOWN GOD: This saying is like a title for the altar. Other ways to indicate that this saying is a title are:
‘To an unknown god.’ (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
To An Unknown God (New Jerusalem Bible)
The phrase “This altar is dedicated” or “We dedicate this altar” is implied at the start of this saying. In some languages a full sentence is more natural. If that is true in your language, include the implied information. For example:
This altar is dedicated to an unknown god
-or-
This altar honors a god that we do not know
-or-
We(incl) dedicate this altar to an unknown god
AN UNKNOWN GOD: The word AN indicates a particular god, but the people did not know his name or anything about him. The Greek people believed that there were many unknown gods. English versions do not use the word “the,” because in English “the” implies that there was only one unknown god.
17:23c
Therefore: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Therefore is a common connector that introduces the result of what was stated previously. Some English versions do not use a connector, while others use a different one. For example:
Now (New International Version)
Connect these sentences in a natural way in your language.
what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you: The phrase what you worship as something unknown is emphasized by being first in the clause. If possible emphasize the phrase. If not, translate in the normal order. For example:
Now I am going to proclaim to you the God that you worship as something unknown.
what you worship as something unknown: The Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translate as what and something refers generally to any kind of thing. The people did not know anything about the unknown god, even what kind of being it was. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
the thing/being you worship as someone unknown
-or-
the god whom you worship as someone you do not know
This phrase indicates that the Greek people worshiped this god but did not know anything about him. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
That which you worship, then, even though you do not know it (Good News Translation)
-or-
the unknown God you revere (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
You worship this God, but you don’t really know him. (Contemporary English Version)
I now proclaim to you: This clause in Greek is literally “I proclaim to you.” Paul began to proclaim him in the next verse. Other ways to translate this clause are:
I now proclaim to you. (Good News Translation)
-or-
I am here to proclaim to you! (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
I am about to proclaim to you.
proclaim: This word refers to publicly announcing something. Other ways to translate this word are:
declare (King James Version)
-or-
tell (Contemporary English Version)
© 2001, 2021 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.