Saul's conversion (image)

Image taken from the Wiedmann Bible. For more information about the images and ways to adopt them, see here .

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Paul in Damascus

The following artwork is part of a series of 56 paintings on biblical themes by Kazakh artist Nelly Bube (born 1949):

Copyright by Norwegian Bible Society , used with permission.

For other images of Nelly Bube in TIPs, see here.

complete verse (Acts 22:7)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 22:7:

  • Uma: “I fell to the ground and I heard words that said: ‘Saulus! Saulus! Why do you (sing.) persecute me?'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “I fell to the ground and I heard a voice saying, ‘O Saul, Saul. Why do you persecute me?'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And I fell down and then I heard someone say, ‘Hey Saul, why are you doing bad things to me?'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “and I fell-over. Then I heard a voice saying, ‘Saulo, Saulo, why do you (sing.) hardship-me?'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “I at once went-down-on-my-face on the ground and then I heard a voice which was speaking to me, saying, ‘Saulo, Saulo, why are doing like this, you persecuting me?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Morelos Nahuatl: “I fell to the road. Then I heard some one say to me: ‘Saul, Saul. why do you go around persecuting the believers who follow me?'”
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me: ‘Saul, Saul, why are you giving me suffering?'” (Source for this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

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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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Acts 22:7

On this verse see 9.4. A different word is used for ground in these two verses, but they are synonyms (the word used in 9.4 is a more frequently used word).

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 22.7

22:7a

I fell to the ground: Paul fell to the ground because the bright light shone on him. He did not fall because he tripped on something.

In some languages a literal translation would have the wrong meaning. If that is true in your language, translate the correct meaning. For example:

I threw myself to the ground
-or-
I collapsed to the ground
-or-
I at once went-down-on-my-face on the ground

heard a voice say to me: This clause indicates that Paul heard someone speak but did not see him. In some languages, it will be more natural to refer to “someone” rather than a voice. For example:

heard someone say to me

22:7b

Saul, Saul: When God or Jesus wants to speak to someone, he often speaks his name twice. It indicates he wants to say something important. It may also show concern for that person. It does not imply that he was angry. Consider how to indicate that meaning in your language. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

Saul, listen!
-or-
Hey Saul

Saul: This is the Hebrew version of the Greek name Paul. Luke called the apostle Paul Saul until 13:9. 22:4–16 retell the story in 9:1–30, so the name Saul is used again.

why do you persecute Me?: This question demands that Paul think about who he was persecuting. In 22:8 Jesus identifies himself. From this experience, Paul realized that Jesus was the Christ and persecuting his followers was wrong, so he asked, “What should I do?”

This is a rhetorical question. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate or imply that Jesus did not know why Paul persecuted Jesus and his followers. If that is true in your language, you should translate the correct meaning. Some ways are:

You are persecuting me!
-or-
Stop persecuting me. Explain yourself!

persecute Me: The word persecute refers to hurting people or to causing them to suffer because you disagree with them. Other ways to translate this word are:

oppress me
-or-
cause me hardship/suffering

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