wine

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that are translated as “wine” in English is translated into Pass Valley Yali as “grape juice pressed long ago (= fermented)” or “strong water” (source: Daud Soesilo). In Guhu-Samane it is also translated as “strong water” (source: Ernest L. Richert in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 198ff. ), in Noongar as “liquor” (verbatim: “strong water”) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), in Hausa as ruwan inabi or “water of grapes” (with no indication whether it’s alcoholic or not — source: Mark A. Gaddis), in sar as kasə nduú or “grape drink” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin), or in Papantla Totonac and Coyutla Totonac as “a drink like Pulque” (for “Pulque,” see here ) (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 169ff. ).

In Swahili, Bible translations try to avoid local words for alcoholic drinks, because “drinking of any alcohol at all was one of the sins most denounced by early missionaries. Hence translators are uncomfortable by the occurrences of wine in the Bible. Some of the established churches which use wine prefer to see church wine as holy, and would not refer to it by the local names used for alcoholic drinks. Instead church wine is often referred to by terms borrowed from other languages, divai (from German, der Wein) or vini/mvinyo (from ltalian/Latin vino/vinum). Several translations done by Protestants have adapted the Swahili divai for ‘wine,’ while those done by Catholics use vini or mvinyo.” (Source: Rachel Konyoro in The Bible Translator 1985, p. 221ff. )

The Swahili divai was in turn borrowed by Sabaot and was turned into tifaayiik and is used as such in the Bible. Kupsabiny, on the other hand, borrowed mvinyo from Swahili and turned it into Finyonik. (Source: Iver Larsen)

In Nyamwezi, two terms are used. Malwa ga muzabibu is a kind of alcohol that people specifically use to get drunk (such as in Genesis 9:21) and ki’neneko is used for a wine made from grapes (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext).

In some Hindi translations (such as the Common Language version, publ. 2015 ), one term (dākharasa दाखरस — grape juice) is used when that particular drink is in the focus (such as in John 2) and another term (madirā मदिरा — “alcohol” or “liquor”) when drunkenness is in the focus (such as in Eph. 5:18).

In Mandarin Chinese, the generic term jiǔ (酒) or “alcohol(ic drink)” is typically used. Exceptions are Leviticus 10:9, Numbers 6:3, Deuteronomy 29:6, Judges 13:4 et al., 1 Samuel 1:15, and Luke 1:15 where a differentiation between weak and strong alcohol is needed. The Mandarin Chinese Union Version (2010) translates that as qīngjiǔ lièjiǔ (清酒烈酒) and dànjiǔ lièjiǔ (淡酒烈酒), both in the form of a Chinese proverb and meaning “light alcohol and strong drink.” (Source: Zetzsche)

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about wine in biblical times (source: Bible Lands 2012)

See also proceeds from the vine / anything that comes from the grapevine, wine (Japanese honorifics), filled with new wine, and wine (Gen 27:28).

complete verse (Acts 2:13)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 2:13:

  • Uma: “But there were also part of them who made fun, they said: ‘They are just drunk!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But there were some they just mocked the disciples of Isa. They said, ‘Those men/persons are drunk.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And some of them, they criticized the believers saying, ‘They are all drunk!'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But there were also others who downgraded/ridiculed the believers saying, ‘Those-people are just drunk.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But others only laughed. They said, ‘Expl., they’re drunk.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 2:13

Though the Greek itself refers to “sweet wine” or “new wine” (that is, in the process of fermentation), the intent was to insist that the believers were drunk. At present drunkenness is a universal cultural feature, for even if it was not practiced in prior times in a particular indigenous society, the state of drunkenness is well-known.

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 2:13

2:13a–b

But others mocked them and said, “They are drunk on new wine!”: Some people in the crowd perhaps did not understand any of the languages. Or perhaps they understood one believer but not the rest. So their explanation was that the believers were drunk and therefore acting foolishly and speaking nonsense. That is what this sentence implies.

2:13a

others: The word others refers to some of the people in the crowd.

mocked: This phrase refers to making fun of people. Instead of seeing a miracle in this event, some of the crowd thought the believers were drunk and so they mocked them. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

ridiculed (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
jeered at (NET Bible)

The Greek tense indicates that they continued to mock for some time.

them: This pronoun refers to the believers.

2:13b

and said: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and said is literally “were saying.” It indicates that they mocked the believers by saying that they had too much wine. The tense of the Greek verb indicates that they said this more than once.

new wine: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as new wine here means “sweet wine.” Wine is made from the juice of a fruit called grapes. The wine may be sweet in one of two ways:

(1) Completely fermented wine with honey added (often called “sweetened wine”),

(2) wine that had only begun to ferment (often called new wine) so still had the natural sweetness from the grapes in it.

If possible, translate in a way that allows either possibility. For example:

sweet wine (God’s Word)

However, some of the crowd were implying that the believers were drunk, so interpretation (1) seems more likely.

In some areas, people may not be familiar with grapes or with wine. If that is true in your area, you may want to:

• Use a general word or phrase for an alcoholic drink or for the condition of being drunk. For example:

They are drunk!

• Use a specific word or phrase that can also be used to refer to alcoholic drinks in general. For example:

millet beer
-or-
palm wine
-or-
something like palm wine

You may then want to explain the literal word in a footnote. Here is an example footnote:

Literally “wine.” This kind of wine was made from the fruit called “grapes.” It ferments like millet beer.
-or-
Literally “grape wine.” This kind of wine was made from the fruit called “grapes.” It ferments like palm wine.

• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:

alcoholic ⌊fruit⌋ juice/water
-or-
fermented ⌊grape⌋ juice

Wine was a common drink among the Jews. But too much wine could make a person drunk.

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