The Greek that is translated as “Pentecost” in English is translated in Huichol as “festival of the 7th week” It was rendered thus because the name of Pentecost would be equated with a sect only, and a harvest festival in late May would strain credibility. (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated as “the fiftieth day after Passover, on the Jewish Pentecost” (in Acts 2:1).
In Huichol, it is translated as “festival of the 7th week,” “because the name of ‘Pentecost’ would be equated only with [Pentecostal Christians], and a harvest festival in late May would strain credibility. (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Hand colored stencil print on washi by Sadao Watanabe (1969).
Image taken with permission from the SadaoHanga Catalogue where you can find many more images and information about Sadao Watanabe. For other images of Sadao Watanabe art works in TIPs, see here.
The following is the image “Pentecost” by Sister Marie Claire , SMMI (1937–2018) from Bengaluru, India:
The Greek in Acts 2:1 that is translated as “were all together” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with “all the apostles and the female disciples were sitting together with Mary and the male relatives of Jesus.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 2:1:
Uma: “When the big day of the Yahudi that was called Pentakosta Day really came, all the followers of Yesus gathered in-one-group.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “When the day arrived which they called Pentekostes, all the disciples of Isa gathered in a certain house.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when it was already the day of the feast which is called Pentecost, all the believers were gathered in one house.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When the fiesta called Pentecostes arrived, all who believed in Jesus were gathered-together in one house.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “The Day of Petecostes arrived again. All the apostles, together with those other believers in Jesus, were gathered together up in a house.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “When the day of the feast called Pentecost arrived, all the believers gathered in one house.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Mairasi: “Eventually the Yehudi peoples’ big day Pentakosta arrived then all the people who believed/honored Yesus gathered together in one place.” (Source: Enggavoter 2004)
Bariai: “It came about that the big feast of Pentekos came about, and so all the disciples went and gathered together in one place.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
Kupsabiny: “When the day of Pentecost reached, all those disciples gathered themselves in one place.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
The day of Pentecost (Greek pentecostē “the fiftieth [day]”) was the fiftieth day after Passover; it was the day the Jews celebrated the Feast of the Grain Harvest (see Exodus 23.16; 34.22; Leviticus 23.15-21; and Deuteronomy 16.9-12). It is important to have a marginal note at this point to explain what Pentecost is. In the text, one can employ a phrase such as “day which was called Pentecost,” or “day which was called fifty days after,” but this latter type of expression is rarely acceptable.
All the believers represents the Greek word all which may refer either to all the Christians or merely to all the apostles. Most translations choose to make this ambiguous, whereas the Good News Translation has made it explicit, that is, the total Christian community. In a number of languages one cannot employ a term such as “believers” without indicating the one in whom they believed, for example, “all those who believed in Jesus.” There may be in some languages a problem with the use of “all,” since this is obviously not an absolute “all.” Therefore, it may be necessary to say “all the believers there,” referring to the believers who were presumably associated with the group in Jerusalem.
In one place translates the Greek phrase which was discussed in 1.15; whereas it had one meaning in the earlier verse, it is obvious that it is used here in the sense of “at the same place.” The expression in one place is further expanded in verse 2 to indicate that this refers to a particular house. It may, therefore, be necessary to be somewhat more specific and indicate “in the same house.” Otherwise the reader may have the impression that it was the same town or the same land, since a general term such as “place” may not exist in the receptor language.
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 .
The Holy Spirit came and empowered Jesus’ followers
In this section, Jews from many other countries had gathered in Jerusalem for the feast and holy day of Pentecost. They had grown up speaking the languages of those countries. At the feast, the Holy Spirit came to be with the believers and enabled them to immediately speak the languages of those countries, praising God. The people who heard the believers speaking those languages reacted in various ways. Some were amazed and some mocked the believers.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
The Holy Spirit Comes (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
The Holy Spirit and the Day of Pentecost (NET Bible) -or-
The first Pentecost for the young Church (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
Paragraph 2:1–4
2:1a
When the day of Pentecost came: The word Pentecost refers to the Jewish Feast of Weeks (Exodus 34:22), which is also called the Harvest Feast (Exodus 23:16). Many Jews came to Jerusalem each year to celebrate this festival. The word itself means “fiftieth,” because this feast occurred fifty days after the Passover Feast. This day, the day of Pentecost, also became the Christian name for the events described in 2:2–13.
When the day…came: This phrase refers to some time during the day.
2:1b
they were all together in one place: The words they and all probably refer to the entire group of believers. In 1:15, Luke stated that the number of believers at that meeting was about one hundred and twenty. So it is possible that there were more than one hundred and twenty believers.
together in one place: The word place refers to a house or large room. It may have been the upstairs room of 1:13. However, you should translate this phrase to refer generally to any house or large room. For example:
together in one location/house -or-
together (New Jerusalem Bible)
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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