zealous for God

The Greek that is often translated in English as “zealous for God” is translated as “very much I was always ready for the word of God with all my heart” in Eastern Highland Otomi, as “very much wanted to do as I thought God wanted” in Lalana Chinantec, and as “every day I obey with all my innermost being all that God commands” Teutila Cuicatec. (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

See also zeal / zealous.

ancestral law

The Greek that is translated as “ancestral law” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with väterliches, jüdisches Gesetz or “paternal (or: “ancestral”), Jewish law.”

complete verse (Acts 22:3)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 22:3:

  • Uma: “‘I am a Yahudi person. The town of my birth [is] Tarsus in the land of Kilikia, but from my childhood I stayed here in Yerusalem. And I was also well-schooled, my teacher was Gamaliel, a very respected teacher. He taught me all the laws that Musa gave to our ancestors. I faithfully followed God, like you here relatives.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “‘I am a Yahudi. I was born there in Tarsus in the land of Kilikiya, but I grew up here in Awrusalam. I was a pupil of Gamaliel, and I was taught very well in the law of our ancestors. And I have followed God wholly just like you now.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “‘I am a Jew. I was born in the province of Cilicia in the town of Tarsus, however I grew up here in Jerusalem because I was taught by Gamaliel. I was taught to thoroughly obey the law that was followed by our ancestors. And just like you today, I kept very carefully what I thought God wanted me to do.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘I am a Jew who was born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but here in Jerusalem is where-I-grew-up. Gamaliel was my teacher, and he thoroughly/carefully taught me all the laws of our ancestors. I also single-mindedly/persistently served God just like you.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “‘I really am a Jew. Where I was born was in Tarso in the district of Cilicia. However here in Jerusalem is where I was educated, my teacher being Gamaliel. He taught me very well what was strict obeying of our handed-down laws. Therefore my obeying God wasn’t only-when-reminded-of, but on the contrary, really with perseverance. Indeed like you now/today.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

everyone (Japanese honorifics)

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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 to do this is through the usage of appropriate suffix title referred to as keishō (敬称) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017 by either using -san or –sama with the latter being the more formal title.

In these verses, the Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “everyone” or similar in English is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as mina-san (皆さん), combining the word for “everyone” (nī) and the suffix title –san. This creates a higher sense of familiarity and equality than for instance the same term with the more respectful title –sama at young people (Japanese honorifics). (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

law

The Greek that is translated in English as “Law” or “law” is translated in Mairasi as oro nasinggiei or “prohibited things” (source: Enggavoter 2004) and in Noongar with a capitalized form of the term for “words” (Warrinya) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

In Yucateco the phrase that is used for “law” is “ordered-word” (for “commandment,” it is “spoken-word”) (source: Nida 1947, p. 198) and in Central Tarahumara it is “writing-command.” (wsource: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)

See also teaching / law (of God) (Japanese honorifics).

Translation commentary on Acts 22:3

By the use of three verbs, Paul gives the essential points in his biography: born … brought up … received (strict) instruction in the Law of our ancestors. Once again Paul emphasizes his Jewish origin: I am a Jew … brought up here in Jerusalem (literally “in this city,” that is, in Jerusalem). In some languages born in Tarsus is more naturally rendered as “Tarsus, in the province of Cilicia, is my hometown” or “Tarsus … is the town from which I come.”

There is some question regarding the relationship of the phrase as a student of Gamaliel to the context. It may be taken either with the verb that precedes it, brought up, or with the verb that follows, received … instruction. The Good News Translation follows the first alternative; the Jerusalem Bible follows the second: “I was brought up here in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was taught the exact observance of the Law of our ancestors.” (See also New English Bible, which parallels Jerusalem Bible.) As a student of Gamaliel is literally “at the feet of Gamaliel,” a reference to the way that the Jewish teachers taught their students; the teacher himself would sit on a stool with his students sitting on the ground in front of him. As a student of Gamaliel may be rendered either as “I learned from Gamaliel,” “Gamaliel was my teacher,” or “Gamaliel taught me.”

I received strict instruction in the Law is equivalent to “I learned carefully just how to obey the Law” or “I was taught just how I must obey the Law.”

The Law of our ancestors is merely another way of speaking of the Law of Moses and the traditions which had developed around it. The Law of our ancestors may be rendered as “the Laws which our ancestors followed,” “the Law which was given to our ancestors,” or “the Law which was passed on to us by our ancestors.”

Luke’s phrase (literally “being zealous for God as all of you are today”) refers to Paul’s dedication to God: I … was just as dedicated to God as all of you here today are (see Barclay “I am as whole-heartedly devoted to God as any of you here today” and Jerusalem Bible “I was as full of my duty towards God as you are today”). By making this statement, Paul was trying to point out to his listeners that he recognized their sincere dedication to God, but that he was no less dedicated to God than they.

An expression such as dedicated to God may be rendered as “I gave myself just as much to God” or “I gave myself just as much to work for God.”

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 .