Asia

The Greek that is translated as “Asia” or similar in English is translated in German with Provinz Asia (or: “Asien”) or “province of Asia.”

complete verse (Acts 20:18)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 20:18:

  • Uma: “When they indeed arrived in Miletus, Paulus said to them: ‘Relatives, you know how my behavior was with you, from my first arrival in this province of Asia here until right now.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When the elders arrived, Paul spoke to them. ‘You do know,’ he said, ‘as to what was my work while I was there with you from the time I first arrived in Asiya.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when they arrived, he said to them, ‘You know how I really took care how my actions were among you from the first day that I came here to the province of Asia.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When they arrived, he said to them, ‘You know my manner-of-life during my staying-with you starting-from my first coming to the province Asia.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When they had now arrived, he said to them, ‘You really know how my life-style was there with you, from that first coming of mine here to the province of Asia.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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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 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. )

know (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 (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 in go-zonji (ご存じ), a combination of “know” (zonji) and the honorific prefix go-.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Acts 20:18

In Greek, verses 18 and 19 form one long involved sentence, which the Good News Translation has divided into two sentences for the sake of clarity (see also Phillips). From the first day I arrived in the province of Asia is the emphatic element in verse 18, and the entire clause how I … in the province of Asia is best understood as the object of the verb know.

The expression how I spent the whole time may be rendered in some languages as “how I lived and worked the whole time.”

The temporal expression from the first day would suggest a continuation of Paul’s activity until the time he left. Therefore, in some languages this last clause is rendered as “from the very first day I arrived in the province of Asia, I lived and worked in the same manner until the day that I left.”

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 .