The Greek and Latin that is translated as “resurrection” in English is translated in Chicahuaxtla Triqui and Pohnpeian as “live-up” (i.e. return to life) (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel) and in Iloko as panagungar: a term that stems “from the word ‘agungar,’ an agricultural term used to describe the coming back to life of a plant which was wilting but which has been watered by the farmer, or of a bulb which was apparently dead but grows again.” (Source: G. Henry Waterman in The Bible Translator 1960, p. 24ff. )
Likewise, in Matumbiyu’ya carries the meaning of “raise from the dead, resuscitate, come back from near death” and is used for dry plants that come back to life when you water them or sick children who revive after being healed. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
In Estado de México Otomi, it is translated as “people will be raised from the dead,” in Teutila Cuicatec as “the dead having to come to life again,” in San Mateo del Mar Huave as “arose from the grave” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), and in Kriol as gidap laibala brom dedbala or “get up alive from the dead” (source: Sam Freney in this article .)
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 17:32:
Uma: “When they heard these words of Paulus, some of them laughed at him, because they did not believe that there were people who lived again from death. But there were also a portion who said: ‘We(excl.) still want to hear more of those words of yours.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “When they heard Paul speak about being alive again from the dead, some just made fun of Paul. But others also said, ‘We (excl.) want to hear you speak again about this.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when they heard Paul talk about resurrection, some of them mockingly rejected what he had to say. But there were some who said, ‘Come back here again because we would like to hear more of your explaining this to us.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Upon their hearing what Pablo said that there was a person who came-to-life again, some mocked (him) while others said, ‘We (excl.) would like to listen on-a-future-occasion to that-aforementioned which you (sing.) are teaching.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Just when Pablo mentioned that coming alive again, some of those listening to him smiled/laughed for they were attributing lies to it. However, as for others, they said, ‘We(excl.) will indeed listen to you again about these things.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
In the same way that the Jews rejected the idea that the Messiah should suffer, so the Greeks refused to believe that someone could be raised from the dead. In some languages it is quite difficult to speak about a raising from death. One can, of course, always speak about “a person being raised from death” or “causing a person to live again.” Therefore it may be necessary to introduce a person as the subject of such a raising from death.
It is impossible to know whether the statement We want to hear you speak about this again is to be taken as an attempt on the part of the people to make fun of Paul, or whether they were serious in their desire to hear further information. The Greek construction would imply that there were two sets of people, those who made fun of Paul and those who wanted to hear more of what he had to say. Again refers to another occasion.
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 .
began to mock him: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to mock can also mean “mocked.” Some of the Athens city council members thought that causing a person to become alive again was ridiculous. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
made fun of him (Good News Translation) -or-
laughed at him
17:32c
but: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but indicates a clear difference between the two groups. The first group mocked but the second group was interested enough to hear more.
We want to hear you again on this topic: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as want to hear is literally “we will listen.” It indicates that some of the city council members planned to listen again. They wanted Paul to speak more about the religion he was preaching. They wanted to meet again at a different time or on a different day. For example:
We will hear more about this from you later. (New Century Version)
again: The Greek is literally “and/yet again.” The first word “and/yet” emphasizes that they wanted to hear him speak again. For example:
indeed again
this topic: This phrase refers to all of Paul’s speech. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
this subject -or-
that teaching -or-
what you are teaching
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®).
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.