Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
The Greek that is translated in English as “brother” or “brother and sister” (in the sense of fellow believers), is translated with a specifically coined word in Kachin: “There are two terms for brother in Kachin. One is used to refer to a Christian brother. This term combines ‘older and younger brother.’ The other term is used specifically for addressing siblings. When one uses this term, one must specify if the older or younger person is involved. A parallel system exists for ‘sister’ as well. In [these verses], the term for ‘a Christian brother’ is used.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae)
In Matumbi is is translated as alongo aumini or “relative-believer.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
In Martu Wangka it is translated as “relative” (this is also the term that is used for “follower.”) (Source: Carl Gross)
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is often translated as Mitchristen or “fellow Christians.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 21:17:
Uma: “When we (excl.) arrived in Yerusalem, our (excl.) one-faith relatives received us (excl.) with glad hearts.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “When we (excl.) arrived there in Awrusalam, the disciples of Isa there were very happy to meet us (excl.).” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when we arrived in Jerusalem, the believers greeted us with joy.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When we (excl.) arrived there, the brothers were happy to receive us (excl.).” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When we (excl.) arrived in Jerusalem, we (exl) were received happily by our siblings in believing there.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the exclusive form (excluding the addressee).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
The brothers are best understood as a spontaneous and unofficial group of Christians who came out to meet Paul. Warmly (see Jerusalem Bible, Phillips “gave us a very warm welcome”) is rendered in other translations “gladly” (New English Bible, Revised Standard Version). The equivalent of the brothers may be, in some languages, “some believers,” and welcomed us warmly may be rendered as “were very happy to greet us” or “greeted us with great joy.”
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 .
This division is the history about the years when Paul went to Jerusalem and was arrested, tried, and sent to Rome. It mentions other people only as they interacted in some way with Paul.
Section 21:17–26
Paul began to participate in a Jewish ritual
In this section, Paul reported to the Jerusalem church leaders what God had done through him. Luke mentions the apostle James, perhaps as the chief leader of the church. Then the leaders asked Paul to participate in a Jewish ritual of purification with four Jewish believers in Jesus. They wanted to show that Paul did not teach Jewish believers to abandon the law. He agreed to do that. He told the Jewish authorities at the temple what he planned to do.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
Paul’s first days in Jerusalem -or-
Paul at Jerusalem (New American Standard Bible) -or-
The church leaders asked Paul to do something
Paragraph 21:17–19
21:17
we: The pronoun we began to be used in 20:5. It probably refers to Paul, Luke, and the others who traveled with them, perhaps five to twelve men in total.
the brothers: Here the word brothers refers to believers in Jesus, both men and women. The word indicates a close relationship because all believers become children of God. If people in your area will think that the word brothers refers to literal brothers, you may want to explain it in your translation. Some examples are:
our brothers ⌊and sisters⌋ ⌊in Christ⌋ -or-
the believers (Good News Translation) -or-
the brothers, ⌊the disciples of Jesus⌋
See how you translated this word in 1:16 or 21:7.
welcomed: Here this word refers to welcoming Paul and the others. It implies that they accepted them as fellow believers. For example:
received (New International Version) -or-
welcomed us ⌊and accepted us into their fellowship/group⌋
joyfully: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as joyfully means “gladly.” The believers in Jerusalem were very happy to see Paul and the others.
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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