Stephen

The term that is transliterated as “Stephen” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that combines “S” and the sign for “stoned” or “rocks,” referring to Acts 7:58. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Stephen” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a signs for “see” + “heaven” + “open,” referring to Acts 7:55. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Stephen” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

See also the stoning of Stephen (image) and more information about Saint Stephen .

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

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 on the east wall of the sanctuary shows us St. Stephen, the first martyr to give his life for Christ. Faith and loyalty are symbolized in the top panel by the cross. You will notice that Stephen’s eyes are turned toward heaven and we recall his words: ‘I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’ The bottom section depicts the martyrdom of this great saint who was only in deacon’s orders when he met his death by stoning.”

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 )

complete verse (Acts 22:20)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 22:20:

  • Uma: “So also, when your (sing.) witness Stefanus was killed, I was also there rejoicing that he was killed, and I was the one who watched the clothes of those who killed him.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “And when the people killed Estepan, your witness, I was also there agreeing to that their deed and I was yet the one who watched over the clothes of the people who killed him.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when they killed Stephen, that person who did not cherish his life here on the earth because of you, I was there because I agreed also to his being killed. I am the one whom the ones who killed him had watched their shirts.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “They also know that I was made-happy at their killing of Esteban who confirmed-concerning you (sing.), because I was there guarding the clothes of the ones-who-killed-him,’ I said to the Lord.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And that killing of Esteban, your testifier, I was indeed there for I was also one of those agreeing with that sentence of theirs which was death. I also was the one who took care of the clothes of those who killed him.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Lalana Chinantec: “‘When the blood of Stephen your witness poured out, I was standing alongside watching. They were doing well, they were doing the right thing, I thought back then. I guarded the clothes of the people who killed Stephen.’ That’s what I told the Lord.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

addressing God

Translators of different languages have found different ways with what kind of formality God is addressed.

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Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or modern English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.

As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.

In these verses, in which humans address God, the informal, familiar pronoun is used that communicates closeness.

Voinov notes that “in the Tuvan Bible, God is only addressed with the informal pronoun. No exceptions. An interesting thing about this is that I’ve heard new Tuvan believers praying with the formal form to God until they are corrected by other Christians who tell them that God is close to us so we should address him with the informal pronoun. As a result, the informal pronoun is the only one that is used in praying to God among the Tuvan church.”

In Gbaya, “a superior, whether father, uncle, or older brother, mother, aunt, or older sister, president, governor, or chief, is never addressed in the singular unless the speaker intends a deliberate insult. When addressing the superior face to face, the second person plural pronoun ɛ́nɛ́ or ‘you (pl.)’ is used, similar to the French usage of vous.

Accordingly, the translators of the current version of the Gbaya Bible chose to use the plural ɛ́nɛ́ to address God. There are a few exceptions. In Psalms 86:8, 97:9, and 138:1, God is addressed alongside other “gods,” and here the third person pronoun o is used to avoid confusion about who is being addressed. In several New Testament passages (Matthew 21:23, 26:68, 27:40, Mark 11:28, Luke 20:2, 23:37, as well as in Jesus’ interaction with Pilate and Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well) the less courteous form for Jesus is used to indicate ignorance of his position or mocking.” (Source Philip Noss)

In the most recent Manchu translation of 1835 (a revision of an earlier edition from 1822), God is never addressed with a pronoun but with “father” (ama /ᠠᠮᠠ) instead. Chengcheng Liu (in this post on the Cambridge Centre for Chinese Theology blog ) explains: “In Manchu tradition, as in Chinese etiquette, second-person pronouns could be considered disrespectful when speaking to superiors or spiritual beings. Manchu Shamanist prayers avoided si [‘you’] and sini [‘your’] for this very reason. To use them for God would be, in Lipovzoff’s [one of the two translators] words, ‘the most uncouth and indecent way to speak to the Almighty — as if He were a servant or slave.’ There was also a grammatical problem. In Manchu, si and sini could refer to both singular and plural subjects. For a faith that insisted on the singularity of God, this was potentially confusing. By contrast, repeating ama removed any ambiguity.”

In Dutch, Afrikaans, Gronings, and Western Frisian translations, God is always addressed with the formal pronoun.

See also formal pronoun: disciples addressing Jesus, female second person singular pronoun in Psalms.

Translation commentary on Acts 22:20

When your witness Stephen was put to death is literally “when the blood of Stephen your witness was poured out.” But in biblical language “to pour out someone’s blood” is to have someone put death. It seems possible that this passage moves in the direction of using the word “witness” in the sense of “martyr.” It may be necessary to employ an active expression at this point, “when people killed your witness Stephen.” In this type of context, your witness may be rendered as “Stephen who told people about you.”

Approving of his murder may be rendered as “I agreed with them when they killed him,” “I said yes to their killing him,” or “I favored their killing him.”

The cloaks of his murderers are simply “the coats which belonged to those who killed Stephen.”

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 22:20

22:20a

when the blood of…Stephen was shed: This clause in Greek is literally “when the blood of Stephen was being poured out.” Both the Greek clause and the English phrase “shed blood” refers to killing someone.

This clause is passive. Some languages must translate it as an active or intransitive clause. If possible, translate in a way that does not accuse the Jews of murdering Stephen. For example:

when ⌊they/people⌋ shed the blood of Stephen
-or-
when ⌊they/people⌋ killed Stephen
-or-
when Stephen died

Your witness: There are two ways to interpret the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as witness:

(1) It means witness here. It indicates that Stephen told others about Jesus and his gospel. For example:

your witness (Good News Translation)

(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition, New Living Translation (2004), God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, NET Bible, Revised English Bible, New Century Version, English Standard Version, King James Version)

(2) It means martyr here. A martyr is a person who is killed because he told others about his belief in Jesus.

(New International Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because the meaning of the Greek word as “martyr” probably occurred after Luke wrote Acts.

Other ways to translate this word according to interpretation (1) are:

told people about you
-or-
proclaimed your message

22:20b–c

I stood there giving my approval and watching over the garments of those who killed him: The Greek words are literally “I was standing and agreeing…and protecting…” Paul was doing all three things while other Jews killed Stephen. For example:

I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him. (English Standard Version)

22:20b

I: This word in Greek is literally “even/also I myself.” It emphasizes the meaning I in two ways. Other ways to translate this emphasis are:

I also (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
even I myself
-or-
I myself (Good News Translation)

stood there: The word stood indicates that Paul was already standing. For example:

was standing (Revised Standard Version)

giving my approval: The Greek word is literally “agreeing.” Paul agreed that the other Jews should kill Stephen. Some languages must say what was agreed to. For example:

I approved of his death (God’s Word)
-or-
agreeing ⌊with what they were doing⌋

22:20c

watching over the garments of those who killed him: Paul watched over the clothes so that no one would steal them. Other ways to translate this clause are:

guarding the clothes of those who were killing him (New International Version)
-or-
kept the coats they took off when they stoned him (New Living Translation (2004))

garments: The men who killed Stephen by stoning first removed their outer robes. These are sometimes called “cloaks” in the New International Version. These covered their inner robes. They removed these outer robes so they could better throw stones. Other ways to translate this word are:

cloaks (NET Bible)
-or-
outer garments (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

Wearing only their inner robes, these men were still full clothed. Underneath their inner robes were their undergarments. The outer robe/cloak protected them from cold and protected their inner robes from mud and dust.

See how translated this word in 7:58.

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