Ἐγώ εἰμι ἀνὴρ Ἰουδαῖος, γεγεννημένος ἐν Ταρσῷ τῆς Κιλικίας, ἀνατεθραμμένος δὲ ἐν τῇ πόλει ταύτῃ, παρὰ τοὺς πόδας Γαμαλιὴλ πεπαιδευμένος κατὰ ἀκρίβειαν τοῦ πατρῴου νόμου, ζηλωτὴς ὑπάρχων τοῦ θεοῦ καθὼς πάντες ὑμεῖς ἐστε σήμερον·
3“I am a Jew born in Tarsus in Cilicia but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today.
The Greek in Acts 22:3 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.
The name that is transliterated as “Cilicia” in English means “hair cloth,” or “the land of Celix.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
In Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) it is translated with a sign that depicts a natural wall just behind the seashore, which existed in that area. (Source: Missão Kophós )
“Cilicia” in Libras (source )
For more on Cilicia, see here .
For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 22:3:
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. )
The Greek, Hebrew, and Ge’ez 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.” (Source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
In a 1922 translation into Chagatai, a precursor language of both Uzbek and Uighur, it is translated with the Arabic loan word shari’at (شريعت), originally meaning “(Islamic) law (Shari’a).” (Source: F. Erbay and F.N. Küçükballı in Acta Theologica 2025 45/2, p. 133ff. )
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 .
22:3a
I am a Jew: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a Jew is literally “a Jewish man.” But it is more common in English to say a Jew.
Tarsus of Cilicia: Tarsus was the capital city of the province of Cilicia. This phrase occurs in 21:39. See how you translated it there. If you explained that Tarsus was a city and Cilicia was a province in 21:39, you may not want to repeat that implied information here.
22:3b
raised: Here this word refers to what parents do for a child from birth to the time the child becomes an adult. Here it probably refers to the time Paul was one year old or so to the time he was thirteen years old.
This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
⌊my parents⌋ raised
this city: This phrase refers to Jerusalem.
22:3c
I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as in strict conformity is literally “according to strictness.” There are two ways to connect this phrase:
(1) It connects to the law. For example:
educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers (English Standard Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition, English Standard Version, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, King James Version)
(2) It connects to educated. For example:
Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers (New International Version)
(New International Version, Good News Translation, New American Standard Bible, New Revised Standard Version, New Living Translation (2004), NET Bible, Revised English Bible, New Century Version)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because the Greek is literally “according to strictness of the law,” where “of” would normally connect to “strictness.” Other ways to translate this clause are:
as a student of Gamaliel. I received strict instruction in the Law of our ancestors (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
I was educated under Gamaliel to very carefully obey the laws of our fathers
I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel: In the Greek, the phrase at the feet of Gamaliel is emphasized by being placed before the Greek word the Berean Standard Bible translates as I was educated. If possible emphasize this phrase in your language. For example:
At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated
This clause is passive. Some languages must translate it as an active or intransitive clause. For example:
Gamaliel taught me thoroughly
-or-
I was a student of Gamaliel (Contemporary English Version)
educated: This word refers to a teacher teaching his students. Other ways to translate this word are:
trained (New International Version)
-or-
taught (New Jerusalem Bible)
at the feet of Gamaliel: This phrase indicates that Paul was a student of Gamaliel.
Gamaliel: The Jews knew and greatly respected Gamaliel as a teacher of the Jewish law. He spoke in 5:34–39. See how you spelled his name there.
law of our fathers: This phrase refers to Jewish law. It is found in the first five books of the Old Testament. But it probably includes here the traditions of the Pharisees. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
the Law of our ancestors (Good News Translation)
-or-
our Jewish laws and customs (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
the laws that our ancestors gave/passed-on to us
our fathers: Here this phrase refers to the ancestors of the Jews. See the examples above.
22:3d
I am just as zealous for God as any of you here today: These words indicate that Paul was zealous for God like the crowd was. Other ways to translate these words are:
was zealous for God just as you ⌊also⌋ are today
-or-
being zealous for God as you all are this day (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
I was as devoted to God as all of you are today (God’s Word)
zealous: This word refers to being devoted or committed to something. Paul and the Jews were very committed to serving God. Other ways to translate this word are:
was…dedicated (Good News Translation)
-or-
was…eager to obey God (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
was very serious about serving God (New Century Version)
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