Chichimeca-Jonaz: “who believed that message” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Elhomwe: “those who lived according to the Way of the Lord” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999): “Christian(ity)”
In the Mandarin ChineseUnion Version, the most commonly used Protestant Chinese Bible, it is translated as zhèdào (这道) or “this way.” Note that dào (道) or “way” is the same word that is also used for Logos (usually “Word” in English) in John 1:1 and elsewhere (see Word / Logos).
The Greek that is translated in English as “prison” is translated in Dehu as moapokamo or “house for tying up people” (source: Maurice Leenhardt in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 97ff. ) and in Noongar as maya-maya dedinyang or “house shut” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 22:4:
Uma: “So, that’s why I tried my hardest at that time to oppose people that followed the Teaching of the Lord Yesus. There were some of them that I killed. Many of them I arrested and jailed, whether men or women.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “I persecuted the people following the teaching of Isa until some of them died,’ Paul said. ‘I seized them male and female and imprisoned them.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “That’s why I did bad things to the believers in Jesus, and I killed some of them. I seized men and women and I put them in prison.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Because I mistreated-almost-to-death the believers in Jesus to-the-point that I had-some -killed. Men and women, I arrested them to put-them-in-jail.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Proof is, at that time, my anger was very great toward the people who were following that way/trail of salvation. I would capture/arrest them and tie them up and have then imprisoned. No distinction was made, female or male. I really hounded them. I really wanted that none be allowed to live.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Some commentators understand Paul’s statement that he persecuted to the death the people who followed this Way (see also 26.10) as a generalization of the incident mentioned in 7.54 ff. However, it is more natural to assume that Paul had other cases in mind than the single instance of Stephen’s martyrdom. The people who followed this Way (see 9.2) is literally “this Way”; but, of course, Luke means that Paul persecuted the people who followed this Way. Although Barclay correctly interprets the meaning of “the Way,” he misses the impact of the phrase persecuted to the death, when he translates “I was such a persecutor of the Way that I wished to put its followers to death.”
The expression I persecuted to the death may be rendered as “I persecuted the people and caused their death” or “I caused great trouble to the people, even to the point of causing their death.”
Threw them into prison may need to be translated as a causative: “I caused them to be thrown into prison” or “I ordered officers to put them into prison.” In some languages the equivalent of prison is “to be tied up.”
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 .
I persecuted this Way even to the death, detaining both men and women and throwing them into prison: The verbs detaining and throwing describe how Paul persecuted this Way even to the death. Arresting people and throwing them in prison led to conviction and punishment, which sometimes was death. For example:
I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons (New American Standard Bible) -or-
I persecuted this Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them in prison (New Revised Standard Version) -or-
I persecuted people who followed the way [ of Christ ]: I tied up men and women and put them into prison until they were executed. (God’s Word)
22:4a
persecuted: This word refers to causing people to suffer. Here it refers to Paul causing people to suffer because they believed in Jesus as the Christ. Other ways to translate this word here are:
oppress -or-
harass -or-
caused troubles ⌊because they believe in Jesus⌋
When he believed in Jesus, Paul stopped persecuting followers of the Way. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that Paul still persecuted believers. If that is true in your language, indicate the correct meaning. For example:
⌊used to⌋ persecute -or-
⌊in the past⌋ persecuted
this Way: The Berean Standard Bible translates this Greek phrase literally. Make it clear that Paul persecuted people who obeyed this Way. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
the people of this Way -or-
the followers of this Way (New International Version) -or-
the people who followed this Way (Good News Translation) -or-
the people ⌊who believed⌋ the Way ⌊that Jesus taught⌋
this Way: This phrase refers to “the Way,” as used a number of times in Acts. It refers to believing in Jesus and living as Christians. See how you translated the word Way in 9:2 or 19:23.
even to the death: This phrase in Greek can be translated literally as “even to death” or “as far as death.” Some believers died because Paul persecuted them. He convinced judges to order people to execute them. It is not clear from the New Testament whether Paul personally killed anyone, but he was responsible for their deaths. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
I even had some of them killed (Contemporary English Version) -or-
I persecuted the people who followed the Way of Jesus, and some of them were even killed (New Century Version)
22:4b
detaining: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as detaining literally means “tie.” Here it refers to taking hold of someone for the purpose of putting him under the authority of police or others. It may have included using ropes or chains to prevent the person from escaping. Other ways to translate this word are:
tying up (NET Bible) -or-
seized -or-
captured -or-
arresting (New International Version)
throwing them into prison: This phrase in Greek is literally “put in prison.” Paul forced believers to be locked in prison. Another way to translate this phrase is:
put them in prison -or-
hand them over to prison
See how you translated this phrase in 8:3 (“put them in prison”).
prison: This word refers to a building with rooms that people can lock so that a person cannot escape. Another English word is:
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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