town clerk

The Greek in Acts 19:35 that is translated as “town clerk” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with Stadtdirektor or “city manager.”

statue (Japanese honorifics)

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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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God or a person or persons to be greatly honored, the honorific prefix go- (御 or ご) can be used, as the translation for what is typically translated with “statue” or “sacred stone” in English with go-shintai (ご神体), a combination of “object of worship” (shintai) and the honorific prefix go-. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

complete verse (Acts 19:35)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 19:35:

  • Uma: “Finally, a town elder quieted them, and he said to them: ‘Relatives of Efesus! We Efesus people take-care-of the worship house of Artemis, our very powerful anitu. We are the one who keep/store the holy stone that fell from the sky. There is no-one who does not know that, relatives.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “They were eventually all silenced by the official who did the writing in that city. He said to the people, ‘O, people of Epesus. It is known hep by all the people that we (incl.) the people of Epesus are the ones in charge of the house of Artemis our prominent god, and the holy stone that fell from the sky.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “After a long time, the secretary of their town made the people stop rioting. He said to them, ‘My companion Ephesians, everybody knows that as for us Ephesians, the church of the great god Artemisa was entrusted to us and also the stone which is worshipped which fell down from heaven.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then the mayor of the town appeared. When he had quieted them, he said, ‘Companions from-Efeso, is there indeed even one person who doesn’t know that we are the ones who care-for the temple of the honored Artemis and the rock that is her likeness that fell from heaven long ago?” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “It took the sikritaryu of that city a long time to be able to stop them. When he had now been able to stop them, he said to them, ‘My fellow taga Efeso, which person doesn’t know that here at Efeso was the origin of the worship of the praiseworthy god Diana, for here in this city is where the worship-place to her has been built, and here also is where fell-to-the-ground the far-from-ordinary rock/stone which is her image which came from heaven/sky?” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

heaven

Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Aramaic all have one term only that refers to what can be expressed in English as “sky” or “heaven(s)” (as a physical and spiritual entity). While there is a slight overlap between the meaning of the two English terms, “sky” (from Old Norse sky meaning “cloud”) typically refers to the physical entity, and “heaven” (from Old English heofon meaning “home of God”) typically refers to the spiritual entity. While this enriches the English lexicon, it also forces English Bible translators to make decisions that can be found only in the context in the Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic texts. Most versions tend to use “heaven(s)” even if the meaning is likely “sky,” but the Contemporary English Version (NT: 1991, OT: 1995, DC: 1999) is an English translation that attempted to be more specific in the separation of the two meanings and was used as the basis for the links to verses used for this and this record (“sky”).

Norm Mundhenk (in The Bible Translator 2006, p. 92ff. ) describes the difficulty that English translations face (click or tap here to see more):

“A number of years ago an old lady asked me a question. What did Jesus mean when he said, ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away’? I do not remember what answer I gave, but I was surprised at how concerned she seemed to be about the verse. It was only later, after I had left her, that I suddenly realized what it was that she was so concerned about. She knew that death could not be far away, and all her life she had looked forward to being with God in heaven. But this verse said that ‘heaven will pass away’! What did that mean for her hopes? In fact, of course, in this verse Jesus was talking about the skies or the heavens, not about Heaven as the place of God’s presence. If I had realized the problem in time, I could easily have set the lady’s mind at rest on this question that was troubling her so much. However, I suspect that she is not the only person to be misled by the wording of this verse. Therefore, it is very surprising to find that even today many English versions (including the New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Good News Translation) still say ‘heaven and earth’ in verses like Matt 24:35 and its parallels (Mark 13:31 and Luke 21:33). The Contemporary English Version (CEV) and Phillips’ translation seem to be aware of the problem, and in Mark 13:31 both of these have ‘earth and sky’ instead of ‘heaven and earth.’ But in some other passages (such as Matt 5:18) the traditional wording is still found in both of those translations. The New Century Version (NCV) does have ‘earth and sky’ more consistently, and the New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) has ‘sky and earth’ in these passages. (Although ‘sky and earth’ is closer to the Greek, it seems more natural in English to say ‘earth and sky’; but either way, at least the meaning is correct.)

“Louw and Nida’s Lexical Semantics of the Greek New Testament (publ. 1992) suggests that the Greek expression being translated here, ho ouranos kai he ge is ‘a more or less fixed phrase equivalent to a single lexical unit’ and that it means everything that God created, that is, the universe. They then quote Mark 13:31 as an example, using ‘heaven and earth’ in their translation of it. However, they go on to say that there ‘may be certain complications involved in rendering ho ouranos kai he ge as ‘heaven and earth,’ since ‘heaven’ might be interpreted in some languages as referring only to the dwelling place of God himself. The referents in this passage are ‘the sky and the earth,’ in other words, all of physical existence, but not the dwelling place of God, for the latter would not be included in what is destined to pass away.’ In my opinion, English itself is one of the languages where the word ‘heaven’ will be interpreted as referring only to the dwelling place of God himself, and translations into English should not use ‘heaven’ in these passages. It is probably because these passages are so very familiar that translators do not realize the meaning they are giving their readers when they use the expression ‘heaven and earth’ here. In modern English we might talk about a rocket ‘soaring into the heavens,’ but we would certainly not describe it as ‘soaring into heaven,’ because ‘heaven’ is not another way of referring to the sky or to outer space.

“In fact, it is surely important in all languages to have some way of distinguishing the concept of ‘sky’ from the concept of ‘dwelling place of God.’ In these passages translators should never use a term meaning ‘the dwelling place of God.’ It may not be necessary to use a term meaning ‘sky’ either, if there is some other expression in the language which gives the correct meaning of ‘everything that has been created’ or ‘the universe.’ There are of course places in the New Testament where Heaven, as the place where God lives, is contrasted with the earth. In these passages, translators should be careful to give the correct meaning. A good example of this is in the Lord’s Prayer, in Matt 6:10: ‘Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’ Similarly, 1 Cor 15:47 says that ‘the first man [a reference to Adam] was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.’ Passages like these are referring to Heaven, not to the sky. Other NT passages where heaven refers to God’s dwelling place, in contrast with earth, are Matt 5:34-35, 16:19, 18:18, Acts 7:49, James 5:12, and Rev 5:3.

“Sometimes in the New Testament, the word ‘heaven’ is used because of the Jewish reluctance to use the name of God. ‘Heaven’ in these cases is used in place of ‘God’ and refers to God himself. This is the case in the many references in Matthew to ‘the kingdom of heaven’ where other gospels have ‘the kingdom of God’ (e.g., compare Matt 4:17 with its parallels in Mark 1:15 and Luke 10:9). It is also most likely the case in references like Matt 16:1, Luke 20:4, 5, John 3:27, and even perhaps Col 1:5.

“There are some places, such as Matt 11:25, where God is called ‘Lord of heaven and earth.’ Since God is of course the Lord of Heaven as well as of the universe, it may not matter so much which interpretation is given in these passages (others are Luke 10:21 and Acts 17:24). Nevertheless, the intended meaning here is likely to be ‘the universe.’ This is because this expression in Greek, as Louw and Nida say, is a set expression referring to everything that has been created. Acts 17:24 in fact combines the idea of the creation of the universe with the idea of God as Master or Lord of the universe. (…)

“Old Testament background The use of ‘heaven and earth’ in the New Testament is very similar to what we find in the Old Testament, because it is largely based on the Old Testament.

“The Old Testament begins with the story of creation, which is presented as the creation of the heavens and the earth, with lights to shine in the heavens and give light to the earth. Birds are created to live in the heavens, animals to live on earth, and fish to live in the sea (Gen 1:1-2:4).

“As we can see from the way the creation story is told, it is meant to be understood as the creation of the universe. Although in English the regions above the earth have traditionally been called ‘the heavens’ in the story of creation, they cannot be called ‘Heaven,’ in the sense of the place where God dwells. In terms of modern English, it would probably be better to say ‘the sky and the earth’ or ‘the earth and the sky.’ The story of creation then becomes an important theme throughout the Old Testament. (…)

“In most passages, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, when ‘heaven and earth’ or ‘the heavens and the earth’ are mentioned, the meaning is the created universe. It is not a reference to Heaven, as the dwelling place of God. In English, translators have not been careful to keep this distinction clear, and this is probably true in many other languages as well. However, as we have seen, this can lead to real confusion for ordinary Bible readers. It is better if translators find ways to make the meaning clear in these passages. ‘Heaven’ should be mentioned only in passages which clearly mean the dwelling place of God. In other passages, an expression should be used which means only ‘sky.’ Or else, the whole expression ‘heaven and earth’ can be translated in a way to show that the whole universe is meant.”

Other languages that have a semantic distinction similar to English include (click or tap here to see more):

  • Hungarian: ég — “sky”; menny — “heaven”
  • Tagalog: kalawakan — “sky”; langit/kalangitan — “heaven”
  • Swedish: sky — “sky”; Himmel — “heaven”
  • Loma: “up” — “sky”; “God’s place” — heaven”
  • Mossi: saase — “sky”; nyingeri — “the up above”(source for Loma and Mossi: Bratcher/Nida)
  • Roviana: mamaṉa — “sly”; maṉauru — “heaven” (an old word, meaning “empty, open space of the sky”) (source: Carl Gross)
  • Kayaw: mô̄la or “canopy-under”/mô̄khû̄la or “canopy-above-under” — “sky” (atmosphere where there is just air); mô̄khû̄ or “canopy-on/above” — “heaven” (invisible abode of God and angels)
  • Burmese: မိုး ကောင်း ကင်/moe kaungg kain — “sky”; ကောင်း ကင်/kaungg kain — “sky” or “heaven”; ကောင်း ကင်ဗုံ/kaungg kain bone — “heaven”
  • Mairasi: Sinyavi — an indigenous term that is used for both “sky” and heaven”; Surga — loanword from Sanskrit via Indonesian referring to “heaven” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Noongar: worl — “sky”; Boolanga-Yirakang Boodjer — “Country of God” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Kupsabiny: “up” for “sky” vs. “God’s Homestead” for “heaven” (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)

In some languages, such as Yagaria, a term that was originally used as “sky” (gokudana) was adopted by the Christian community as “heaven.” This resulted in a language shift so that now all communities uses “empty space / air” (galogina or hakalogina) as “sky” and gokudana is exclusively used for the Christian concept of heaven. (Source: Renck 1990, p. 133)

Many languages follow the original biblical languages in not making that distinction, such as (click or tap here to see more):

  • Latin: caelum
  • Portuguese: céu
  • French: ciel
  • Italian: cielo
  • Catalan: cel
  • Russian and Ukrainian: небо/‘nebo
  • Finnish: taivas
  • Estonian: taevas
  • Dutch: hemel
  • Czech: nebe
  • Slovak: nebo
  • Danish: himmel
  • German: Himmel (see also heavens)
  • Mandarin Chinese: 天/tiān
  • Matumbi: kunani (lit. “up”) (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
  • Cherokee: galaladi (ᎦᎸᎳᏗ) or “up” — Bender / Belt (2025, p. 23) note that there is a related term — galvlohi (ᎦᎸᎶᎯ) — that is used “for the upperworld of Cherokee cosmology, [but] was not used, possibly to communicate a sharp distinction.
  • Korean: 하늘/haneul
  • Amele: sao (source: John Roberts)
  • Kamo: yamba, which, when capitalized (Yamba), means “God” (source: David Frank)
  • Manchu: ᠠᠪᡴᠠ/abka

In some languages, such as Wandala, the vocabulary for terms for either “heaven” or “sky” is much richer than just to include those two distinction. While zhegela, the term that is specifically used for the physical sky was only used in early translations of the New Testament for “sky,” other terms such as samaya (used for both “sky” and “heaven”), zlanna (specifically used for the perfect abode of God and the goal of the faithful, as in Matthew 8:11), kwárá (a locational term used to speak of a chief’s rule [lit., “voice”] such as Matthew 3:2), or sleksire (“chieftaincy,” “kingship,” or “royalty” [originally from slekse “chief”] and used where there are no locational overtones, such as in Matthew 16:28) are used. (Source: Mona Perrin in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 51ff.)

Under the auspices of the Dhama Mate Swe Association , a new Burmese translation of the New Testament was published in 2024 which uses terminology that attempts to overcome “insurmountable barriers to the Buddhist world.” One term that this version uses is ရွှေမြို့တော် (shway myahoettaw) or “Golden City” for “heaven,” referring it to the golden city described in Revelation 21 but at the same time using a Buddhist term for a desired destination that does not have the Buddhist connotation of ကောင်း ကင် (kaungg kain) as being the Trāyastriṃśa (တာဝတိံသာ) heaven, home of Śakra/Indra. This Burmese translation formed the basis of translations of parts of the New Testament into other languages spoken in Burma, including Sumtu Chin, Ekai Chin, Songlai Chin, Danau, Kadu, Kanan, Khün, Lahta Karen, Rakhine, Marma (Northern Rakhine), Riang Lai, Samtao, Shwe Palaung, Tai Laing, Taungyo, Intha, Danu, Tavoyan (Dawei), and Chak (Thet). (Source: Jay Pratt)

The English translation by Sarah Ruden (2021) uses “sky” throughout. Ruden explains (p. li): “The Greek word ouranos refers evenhandedly to the physical sky and the place—often pictured as a royal court — where supreme divinity resides. ‘Sky’ seems generally better, first of all in avoiding the wackier modern imagery that comes with the English ‘heaven.’ And even when a supernatural realm is meant, ‘sky’ will often do, because the divine realm was thought to be located there, in addition to the weather and the heavenly bodies, whereas ‘heaven’ to us is fundamentally a religious term, and the ancients did not tend to separate linguistic domains in this way. I have retained the plural ‘skies’ where I see it in the Greek, because it is a Hebraism familiar in English translations of scripture and (I hope) not too archaic or jarring.”

everyone (Japanese honorifics)

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 to do this is through the usage of appropriate suffix title referred to as keishō (敬称) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017 by either using -san or –sama with the latter being the more formal title.

In these verses, the Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “everyone” or similar in English is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as mina-san (皆さん), combining the word for “everyone” (nī) and the suffix title –san. This creates a higher sense of familiarity and equality than for instance the same term with the more respectful title –sama at young people (Japanese honorifics). (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Acts 19:35

The city clerk was an important city official, and one of his responsibilities was to issue the decrees reached by the public assembly. He could have been, though he usually was not, one of the provincial authorities. Was able to calm the crowd is equivalent to “was able to cause the crowd to keep quiet” or “was able to cause the crowd to listen to him.”

Though the Greek text literally speaks of “men of Ephesus,” it is more natural in some languages to employ an expression such as “people of Ephesus.”

The word translated keeper of the temple was a term originally applied to individuals and later given to cities. A city in which a particular god or goddess was honored, and in which a temple had been dedicated to that god or goddess, was called the keeper of the temple of such and such god. Is the keeper of the temple may be rendered as “has responsibility to take care of the temple,” “has the work of keeping up the temple,” or even “is responsible for guarding the temple.”

The sacred stone that fell down from heaven is literally “that which fell (from heaven).” The reference is to a stone, perhaps a fragment of a meteorite, which fell from heaven and which the people of Ephesus looked upon as being the sacred representation of their goddess Artemis. The worship of a sacred stone, believed to have fallen from heaven, is not uncommon among religions. Sacred stone is simply equivalent to “holy stone” and may, in some languages, be rendered as “taboo stone.” However, the equivalent in other languages is “a stone which is worshiped.”

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 19:35

Paragraph 19:35–41

19:35a

Finally: The city clerk went to the speaking place and quieted the crowd after they had shouted for two hours. Indicate that 19:35 began after the two hours. For example:

⌊Two hours later,⌋
-or-

⌊Then⌋

Some languages will not need to add anything here, because the translation already clearly indicates that the city clerk quieted the crowd after the crowd had shouted for two hours.

the city clerk quieted the crowd: The clause does not say how the city clerk quieted the crowd. He probably went to the place where a person spoke to everyone in the amphitheater. He then held out his hands in the usual way to request people to become quiet. The people recognized him and his authority and so became quiet.

The Greek clause just states that the city clerk quieted the crowd. It does not indicate or imply that it took a long time.

Other ways to translate this clause are:

After quieting the crowd, the town clerk said (New American Standard Bible)
-or-

⌊Going before the crowd and⌋ quieting them, the town clerk…
-or-
Then the city clerk made the crowd be quiet. (New Century Version)

the city clerk: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as city clerk refers to a city leader. He kept records of city business and funds. He was an important official of the city and probably had the most authority of the city officials. He was responsible to the Roman authorities. He would be responsible if there was a riot in the city. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

the chief city official
-or-
the mayor (New Living Translation (2004))

Men of Ephesus: This phrase in Greek is literally “Men, Ephesians.” The address is a polite way to begin speaking to the people. Also, it is not a part of the rhetorical question. For example:

Fellow Ephesians! (Good News Translation)
-or-
Citizens of Ephesus (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
O, people of Ephesus.

Men: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Men usually refers only to men, but can refer to people in general. There were probably both men and women in the crowd. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly exclude women. If that is true in your language, use a word or phrase that includes women. For example:

Citizens (New Jerusalem Bible)

19:35b–d

doesn’t everyone know that the city of Ephesus is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?: This is a rhetorical question. It emphasized the opinion that everyone in the world knew that the city of Ephesus is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven. Emphasize this opinion. Some ways are:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky? (English Standard Version)

• As a statement. For example:

Everyone knows that the city of Ephesus is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of the sacred stone that fell down from heaven. (Good News Translation)

19:35b

doesn’t everyone know: This clause in Greek is literally “for who is of people who does not know.” It implies that everyone knows. It exaggerates how many people know. It implies that the people should stop chanting.

19:35c

the city of Ephesus is guardian of the temple: Certain people in Ephesus were responsible to take care of the temple and protect it. The people of the city supported this.

Here some languages must refer to the people of the city rather than the city itself. Other ways to translate this clause are:

the city of Ephesus is the keeper of the temple (Good News Translation)
-or-
the city of Ephesus is the caretaker of the temple
-or-
the people of Ephesus took care of the temple

19:35d

and of her image, which fell from heaven: The word of indicates that the people of Ephesus also guarded the image.

her image, which fell from heaven: The Greek words are literally “the (thing), fallen from heaven.” The thing that fell was probably a meteorite. It may have been roughly shaped like a person. When people found it, they probably did not carve it or shape it in any way. The people probably thought it looked like Artemis. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

the sacred stone that fell down from heaven (Good News Translation)
-or-
the rock that is her likeness that fell from heaven

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