complete verse (Acts 19:19)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 19:19:

  • Uma: “Many who had magic carried their magic books, they gathered them and burned them in the eyes of the masses. The cost of those magic books if it were gathered, was around 50,000 silver moneys.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Many of them who had ‘practiced medicine’ (tawal), they brought and gathered the booklets (kitab-kitab) where they had written their words-for-medicining and they burned them in the sight of the people. They counted the cost of those booklets, it was five thousand pesos.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And those who did sorcery, they brought their books on magic, and they burned them there in front of everybody. And they counted the value of these books, and it was about fifty thousand pieces of silver that they were worth.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “while some, they gathered-together their books and burned them with the many-people spectating. When they counted the value of what was burned, it was about fifty thousand in their money.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “There were many of them who, although they had already believed in the Lord, still had something else they trusted in, like charms, incantations, and other skills/acquired-knowledge (usually supernatural). Well, without anything further, as for the rolled up writings on which were written those skills of theirs, they assembled them all, and then burned them before the eyes of everyone. Someone estimated the cost of all those writings and it came to the sum of over fifty thousand.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Isthmus Mixe: “Many of the ones who practised magic brought the books of magic. Then they burned them before everyone. Then they figured out how much the books were worth. They were found to be worth 50,000 pieces of silver money.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

large numbers in Angguruk Yali

Many languages use a “body part tally system” where body parts function as numerals (see body part tally systems with a description). One such language is Angguruk Yali which uses a system that ends at the number 27. To circumvent this limitation, the Angguruk Yali translators adopted a strategy where a large number is first indicated with an approximation via the traditional system, followed by the exact number according to Arabic numerals. For example, where in 2 Samuel 6:1 it says “thirty thousand” in the English translation, the Angguruk Yali says teng-teng angge 30.000 or “so many rounds [following the body part tally system] 30,000,” likewise, in Acts 27:37 where the number “two hundred seventy-six” is used, the Angguruk Yali translation says teng-teng angge 276 or “so many rounds 276,” or in John 6:10 teng-teng angge 5.000 for “five thousand.”

This strategy is used in all the verses referenced here.

Source: Lourens de Vries in The Bible Translator 1998, p. 409ff.

See also numbers in Ngalum and numbers in Kombai.

Translation commentary on Acts 19:19

Since in one way or another magic is a universal phenomenon, it is not difficult to find some expression which is adequate to translate practiced magic. In some instances it is necessary to describe certain kinds of magic since there are so many varieties and no general term to cover them all. One may, for example, use a phrase such as “hurt (or healed) people by using dark words” or “caused harm by using secret objects.”

It is essential to indicate that their books are those which refer to magical practice—for example, “the books which told them how to do this.”

In the presence of everyone may be rendered as “while all the people were watching” or “while everyone was looking on.”

Fifty thousand dollars is literally “fifty thousand (pieces) of silver.” The reference is to some silver coin, though the commentators are not in agreement as to which one Luke had in mind. The point is that the amount of money was very large, and so the Good News Translation has rendered this as fifty thousand dollars, probably the closest dynamic equivalent.

In translating fifty thousand dollars into some other language there are a number of possibilities. One may, for example, use a somewhat general term: “fifty thousand valuable silver coins.” This would carefully represent the Greek text, and since the particular size of coin is not stipulated, devaluations would not render the text meaningless, as has so often happened in various parts of the world where strictly local currencies were stipulated. It is perfectly legitimate to introduce the term “valuable” since any silver coin in ancient time had considerable more buying power than the equivalent sized coin would have today. One can also translate the fifty thousand dollars into some local currency (provided it is relatively stable); but in making all such adjustments in quantities, it is important to use rounded-off figures rather than attempt some precise or detailed calculations.

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 19:19

19:19a–b

And a number of those who had practiced magic arts: The Greek is literally “a number of the ones having practiced sorcery.” The Greek is the normal past tense (called “aorist”). There are two ways to interpret the Greek past tense here:

(1) It indicates that this group of people stopped practicing sorcery at some time in the past. It would imply that they stopped when they began believing in Jesus. For example:

A good many of those who formerly practised magic (Revised English Bible)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition, English Standard Version, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version, NET Bible, Revised English Bible , New Century Version)

(2) It indicates that this group of people stopped practicing sorcery at this time. It could be that this group began believing in Jesus at this time, or that they believed earlier and only stopped at this time. For example:

a number of those who practiced magic arts (Revised Standard Version)

(Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, King James Version)

Two other decisions about the context affect which interpretation to choose:

(a) Does Luke imply that the believers stopped practicing sorcery immediately upon believing in Jesus?

(b) Is this part of the group Luke mentions in 19:18, a separate group that believed earlier, or a separate group that believed at this time?

Interpretation (1) assumes that the believers stopped practicing when they believed and that this group began believing earlier. Interpretation (2) assumes either that this group began believing at this time, or that they believed earlier and only on this day stopped practicing magic.

The Greek seems to imply that this group is separate from the group in 19:18, but it could be some of that group. If it was the same group, this author would have expected “a number of them” here. But whether this group believed earlier or on this day is not clear at all. Both interpretations are possible.

And a number of those who: The word number refers to an unknown amount. It is less than “all” but more than “a few.” Other ways to translate this phrase are:

Many of those who (Good News Translation)
-or-
Some of them who (New Century Version)

had practiced: Here the word practiced refers to doing something regularly. Other ways to translate this word are:

did
-or-
used (New Century Version)

magic arts: This word refers to the use of secret sayings and rituals that are supernaturally powerful. People would use these sayings and rituals to cause things to happen that they could not do by their own power. Other ways to translate this word are:

magic (Good News Translation)
-or-
witchcraft (Contemporary English Version)

brought their books and burned them in front of everyone: These clauses probably imply that all who became believers and who had scrolls of magic burned them. In some languages a literal translation would not have the correct meaning. If that is true in your language, translate the correct meaning. For example:

A number who had practiced sorcery had scrolls of magic. They ⌊all⌋ gathered those scrolls and burned them publicly.

books: This word refers to strips of papyrus paper or animal skin (leather or parchment) which people have written on. They were rolled around a stick. Magic scrolls were usually small.

The difference between a scroll and a book is not important here. In some languages to translate the word “scrolls” would need a long descriptive phrase. If that is true in your language, you may want to translate this word as books, as the Berean Standard Bible does.

19:19c

When the value of the books was calculated: The word calculated probably refers to adding the value of all the scrolls. Or someone may have estimated the number of scrolls and multiplied that number by a typical value for those kinds of scrolls. For example:

they counted the value of them (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
They added up the price of the books (Good News Translation)
-or-
The value of these was calculated to be (New Jerusalem Bible)

value: Here this word refers to the price or cost of something.

19:19d

fifty thousand drachmas: This phrase in Greek is literally “fifty thousand (pieces of) silver.” For example:

fifty thousand silver pieces (New Jerusalem Bible)

These “pieces of silver” were probably the Greek silver coins called “drachma.” For example:

fifty thousand silver coins (Good News Translation)

But a “drachma” was the wage of a farm worker for one day. It has the same value as a Roman denarius coin (Matthew 18:28, Mark 12:15, Luke 7:41). In some languages using the word “coin” or “pieces” would imply a small value. If that is true in your language, you may want to:

• Translate “pieces of silver” as “denarii” or “drachma.” For example:

fifty thousand drachma/denarii

Then you may want to explain the value of this coin in a footnote. An example footnote is:

The drachma/denarius was the wage of a farm worker for one day.

• Translate using “pieces of silver” or “coins” and explain the value in a footnote. An example footnote is:

These coins were very valuable. One coin was equal to the wage of a farm worker for one day.
-or-
These silver pieces were very valuable. One piece was equal to the wage of a farm worker for one day.

• Indicate in your translation that fifty thousand pieces of silver was a lot of money. For example:

⌊the large/huge amount of⌋ fifty thousand drachma/denarii

• Translate the value using the wages of a farm worker. For example:

the same amount of money as the wages of about 160 farm workers working for a year

You may then want to indicate the literal words in a footnote. An example footnote is:

Literally “fifty thousand pieces of silver.” These “pieces of silver” were probably the Greek silver coins called drachma. One drachma was the wage of a farm worker for one day.

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