ἐκινήθη τε ἡ πόλις ὅλη καὶ ἐγένετο συνδρομὴ τοῦ λαοῦ, καὶ ἐπιλαβόμενοι τοῦ Παύλου εἷλκον αὐτὸν ἔξω τοῦ ἱεροῦ καὶ εὐθέως ἐκλείσθησαν αἱ θύραι.
30Then all the city was aroused, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.
In Gbaya, the notion of rising up in large numbers in the referenced verses is emphasized in with the ideophone gɛrɛm.
Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)
The term that is transliterated as “Paul” in English means “little.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
In American Sign Language it is translated with a sign that signifies the many letters he wrote. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Paul” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting putting away a sword, referring to his conversion from a persecutor of Christians to a Christian leader. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
“Paul (and Saul)” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España
In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a sign that is based on contemporary depictions and refers to the presumed baldness of the top of his head. The description originates from the 2nd-century apocryphal text titled Acts of Paul and Thecla , which represents the earliest and most detailed physical characterization of the apostle in Christian tradition (see also the icon below). (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)
“Paul” in Hungarian Sign Language — note that only the first part refers to “Paul,” the second part refers to “apostle” (source )
For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .
Following is a Georgian Orthodox icon of Paul the Apostle from the 14th century (located in the Art Museum of Georgia, Tbilisi).
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 following is a contemporary stained glass window from the Messiah Episcopal Church in St. Paul, Minnesota by Peter Dohmen. Individual glass pieces were made in Germany in accordance with Dohmen’s design, using a technique first developed by Irish monks in the 9th and 10th centuries.
Source for the image and description below: The Stained Glass Windows of Messiah Episcopal Church
“This window is dedicated to St. Paul, the great apostle and missionary, for whom our city is named. At the top of the window is a ship which symbolizes the many missionary journeys of Paul — the Church is our ship, which carries us over the way of life. In the lower section we see Paul on the road to Damascus when he saw a great light and heard our Lord’s voice, which called him to discipleship.”
Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Paul .
Other languages make a distinction: (Click or tap here to see more)
Languages that, like English, German, Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans, don’t make that distinction include:
Another distinction that tends to be overlooked in translations is that between hieron (“temple” in English) and sunagógé (“synagogue” in English). Euan Fry (in The Bible Translator 1987, p. 213ff. ) reports on this:
“Many older translations have simply used transliterations of ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ rather than trying to find equivalent terms or meaningful expressions in their own languages. This approach does keep the two terms separate; but it makes the readers depend on explanations given by pastors or teachers for their understanding of the text.
“Translators who have tried to find meaningful equivalents, for the two terms ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ have usually made a distinction between them in one of two ways (which focus on the contrasting components of meaning). One way takes the size and importance of the Temple to make a contrast, so that expressions such as ‘sacred meeting/ worship house of the Jews’ and ‘big sacred meeting/worship house of the Jews’ are used. The other way focuses on the different nature of the religious activity at each of the places, so that expressions such as ‘meeting/worship house of the Jews’ and ‘sacrifice/ceremony place of the Jews’ are used.
“It is not my purpose in this article to discuss how to arrive at the most precise equivalent to cover all the components of meaning of ‘temple’. That is something that each translator really has to work through for himself in the light of the present usage and possibilities in his own language. My chief concern here is that the basic term or terms chosen for ‘temple’ should give the reader of a translation a clear and correct picture of the location referred to in each passage. And I am afraid that in many cases where an equivalent like ‘house of God’ or ‘worship house’ has been chosen, the readers have quite the wrong picture of what going to the Temple or being in the Temple means. (This may be the case for the word ‘temple’ in English too, for many readers.)”
Here are some examples:
Bangandu: “the great house of God” vs. “house of prayer” (Source: Ervais Fotso Noumsi in Le Sycomore, 16/1, 2022 )
See also this devotion on YouVersion .
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 21:30:
Confusion spread through the whole city is literally “the whole city was stirred up” (see New English Bible “the whole city was in a turmoil” and An American Translation* “the whole city was thrown into confusion”). In some languages, however, one cannot speak of “confusion spreading.” One must say that “throughout the whole city people were being stirred up” or “people were beginning to riot throughout the whole city.”
Luke is very picturesque in his description of the events. Dragged translates a verb tense which describes progressive action in past time, whereas all the other verb tenses in this verse describe punctiliar action in past time. It is interesting to note how this lynch mob was particular in the way in which it went about trying to kill Paul: the people would not kill him within the temple precincts for this would have defiled the temple; rather, they dragged him outside and closed the door so he could not run back in for refuge. The passive expression, the temple doors were closed, may be rendered as “they closed the doors of the temple.”
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 .
21:30a
The whole city was stirred up: The news of trouble at the temple caused everyone or nearly everyone in the city to be upset and provoked to react angrily. Other ways to translate this clause are:
Then all the city was provoked (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
Then all the city was stirred up (English Standard Version)
-or-
The whole city was in an uproar (Contemporary English Version)
The whole city: In some languages it is more natural to speak of the people in the city. For example:
everyone in the city
21:30b
the people rushed together: This clause in Greek is literally “there was a running together of the people.” It indicates that many people in the city ran to the temple. It implies that they became a huge crowd. Other ways to translate this clause are:
people came running from all sides (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
people came running ⌊and a crowd gathered quickly⌋
-or-
people ran there ⌊and a mob formed⌋
21:30c
They seized Paul: This phrase indicates that some of the crowd grabbed Paul at that time. The Jews from Asia already grabbed him in 21:27c. They were still holding him but now more people grabbed him.
dragged him: The word dragged indicates that they pulled Paul. He was forced to walk in the direction they pulled him. They did not actually drag him like people might drag a dead person. In some languages a literal translation would not have the correct meaning. If that is true in your language, translate the correct meaning. For example:
they pulled him
-or-
they forced him
dragged: The Greek grammar indicates that they dragged him for some time. They probably grabbed Paul in the temple courtyard for the Jewish women or the courtyard for the Jewish men. If they were in the courtyard for the men, they dragged Paul through the courtyard for the Jewish women and through the courtyard for the Gentiles. They dragged him somewhere beyond the temple area, but perhaps not far beyond.
However, the English “began to drag” would imply that they did not finish dragging him out of the temple area. The phrase “were dragging” also does not have the correct meaning here. So the English versions translate the Greek word with the simple past tense.
21:30d
and at once the gates were shut: As soon as the crowd dragged Paul outside the wall surrounding the temple courtyard, the temple guards shut the gates. The crowd continued dragging Paul after the gates were shut. For example:
and as soon as ⌊they were outside⌋ the gates were shut
The temple guards shut the gates to prevent people who were rioting to enter the temple area. In many languages, that implied information will be clear. But in some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate a different reason. If that is true in your language, make the implied information explicit. For example:
and as soon as ⌊they were outside⌋ the gates were shut ⌊to prevent the crowd from rioting in the temple area⌋
the gates were shut: This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. Probably the temple guards shut the gates. For example:
⌊the temple guards⌋ shut the gates
-or-
⌊others⌋ shut the gates
the gates: The word gates probably refers to the gates in the wall that surrounded the courtyard for the Jewish women. It is probably not important here to explain which gates of the temple these were.
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