kingdom (of God / heaven) (God's finalized creation in the future)

In the German Gute Nachricht (Good News) translation of 1982, this occurrence of the Greek term which is translated in most English versions of “kingdom (of God or heaven)” is translated with a form of “once God finalizes his creation (or “work”) . . . ” (Wenn Gott sein Werk vollendet . . .). For an explanation of the differentiated translation in German as well as translation choices in a number of languages, see Kingdom (of God / heaven).

complete verse (Acts 20:25)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 20:25:

  • Uma: “‘Relatives all, for a long time I worked in your midst, I visited you and taught you to believe in the Lord Yesus to become God’s people in his Kingdom. But it has become clear in my heart, that you will no longer see me.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “‘I have already gone to all of you preaching to/teaching you about the rule of God. And I know that until now only/that this is the last time we (incl.) will see each other.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “I have preached to you one by one about God’s rule, and now I know that you will not see me anymore.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘You with-whom-I-have-stayed when-I-was-preaching about the ruling of God, I know we will not see-each-other again.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Well now, all you whom I taught concerning this kingdom of God, I am sure that after today, we won’t set-eyes-on-each-other again here under the heavens.” (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. )

Translation commentary on Acts 20:25

In the Greek text verse 25 begins with a transitional phrase, literally “and now behold.” This clearly marks a shift in viewpoint and content. However, the expression which is placed first in the Good News Translation text, namely, I have gone about among all of you, preaching the Kingdom of God serves as a type of summary for the contents of the preceding paragraph.

Although Paul literally says preaching the Kingdom, it is agreed by the commentators that the reference is to the Kingdom of God, and so a number of translators have made this reference explicit (Phillips, An American Translation*).

The Good News Translation has rendered the Hebraic idiom “see my face again” into meaningful contemporary English: see me again.

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 20:25

Paragraph 20:25–31

20:25a–c

Now I know that none of you among whom I have preached the kingdom will see my face again: The clause among whom I have preached the kingdom is more information about the people that Paul spoke to. It interrupts the clause none of you…will see my face again. The extra information is last in the Greek. You may want to:

• Put the extra information last. For example:

Now I know that none of you will ever see me again, you whom I have traveled among preaching the kingdom

• Put the extra information first. For example:

I have gone about among all of you, preaching the Kingdom of God. And now I know that none of you will ever see me again. (Good News Translation)

• Put the extra information in the middle, as the Berean Standard Bible does.

20:25a

Now: Here the word Now introduces a new topic. Here it is not a time word. Introduce this new topic in a way that is natural in your language.

There are three words here in the Greek: “and now, look.” The word “and” is a general connecting word. It is often not translated in English when at the beginning of a sentence. The word “look” is used to get the attention of the listeners. Paul has something important to say in the following verses. For example:

And now, behold, (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Now, listen/hey,

20:25b

preached the kingdom:
This phrase refers to preaching about the kingdom of God. It is similar in meaning to “testifying to the good news” (20:24d).

In Greek this clause has a phrase that means “gone around.” It refers to traveling around from place to place. Paul lived in Ephesus for almost three years and during that time went to other villages and towns and preached. Although the Berean Standard Bible leaves this phrase untranslated, some ways to translate it are:

traveled about/around preaching the kingdom
-or-
went here and there preaching the kingdom
-or-
went to various places to preach the kingdom

preached: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as preached refers to publicly telling people something important. The word should not only refer to what a preacher does in church. Some other ways to translate preached are:

announced
-or-
proclaimed
-or-
told people

kingdom: Here this word refers to the kingdom of God. For example:

the kingdom of God (New Century Version)

The phrase “kingdom of God” refers to God’s activity of ruling and caring for his people as their king. It does not refer to a land or country that he rules over. It refers to the relationship that he has with his people. He leads, protects, and cares for them. They obey, trust, and submit to him as their king.

Some ways to translate this are:

• As a noun. For example:

⌊God’s⌋ rule/reign
-or-

⌊God’s⌋ kingship
-or-

⌊God’s⌋ chieftaincy

• Using a verb. For example:

the way ⌊God⌋ rules ⌊his people⌋
-or-
the way ⌊God⌋ cares for ⌊his people⌋ as king

See how you translated the phrase “kingdom of God” at 1:3 or 19:8.

20:25c

see my face again: The Berean Standard Bible translates the Greek literally as see my face again. Here face is an idiom referring to the whole person, not just the face.

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