Hades / Sheol

The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is often translated in English as “Hades” or “Sheol” is translated in the German Luther Bible 2017 (and pre-1912) as Totenreich or “realm (or: kingdom) of the dead” in these verses. (Source: Jost Zetzsche)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Sheol .

soul

The Hebrew, Greek, and Latin that is translated as “soul” in English is translated in Chol with a term that refers to the invisible aspects of human beings (source: Robert Bascom) and in Elhomwe as “heart” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext).

The Mandarin Chinese línghún (靈魂 / 灵魂), literally “spirit-soul,” is often used for “soul” (along with xīn [心] or “heart”). This is a term that was adopted from Buddhist sources into early Catholic writings and later also by Protestant translators. (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 32, see also Clara Ho-yan Chan in this article )

In Chichewa, moyo means both “soul” and “life.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

See also heart, soul, mind.

show / experience (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 (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “show” or “experience” or similar in English is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as o-mise (お見せ), combining “show” (mise) with the respectful prefix o-. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also show / explain (Japanese honorifics).

complete verse (Acts 2:27)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 2:27:

  • Uma: “Because you (sing.) do not abandon my soul to stay in the dwelling-place of the dead, my body you (sing.) do not abandon in the grave until rotten, because I an your (sing.) servant whom you chose.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Because you will not leave me in the land of the dead. You will not abandon/leave my body to rot. I am your holy servant.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Because I know that you will not just never mind my soul there in the place of the dead. I, your faithful servant, I know also that you will not permit that my body will become rotten.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “that you (sing.) will not abandon-me in the place of the dead. You (sing.) also will not allow my body to rot, because I singlemindedly/persistently serve you (sing.).” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “you won’t leave/desert my spirit there in the wherever of the dead. You won’t leave my body to rot in the grave, I who am always obeying your will.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Chuj: “Because you, my Lord, you will not leave my spirit among the dead. You will not allow to decay the body of the one very precious in your sight.”
  • Morelos Nahuatl: “I have much confidence because you will not leave my soul to remain forever among the dead ones. Neither will you leave my body to decay because I am your son and I am good.”
  • Teutila Cuicatec: “…nor let thy Holy One see corruption nor will you allow me, whom you love, to rot away.”
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “…will not cause my body to rot, your good son.”
  • Isthmus Mixe: “…neither will you leave your clean-hearted son to rot.”

    • (source for this and five above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

Translation commentary on Acts 2:27

The pronoun you of verse 27 refers to God, and in many languages this must be made explicit, “you, God.”

As used in this context, the term for soul should identify that part of the individual which is regarded as going on to the next world—the immaterial portion of man, in contrast to his body, referred to in verse 27b.

For David the meaning of this verse was that God would save him from death, that is, God would not let him die and go down into the world of the dead. Peter has applied the verse to Jesus, and has given the meaning that God will not abandon the soul of Jesus in the world of the dead, that is, God will not let Jesus stay there.

Your devoted servant translates “your holy one,” which is used in the sense of one who belongs to and serves God. The translation of Greek hosion “holy one” is difficult, since it involves in this possessed form two principal components: (1) dependency and (2) dedication to. The Good News Translation has attempted to indicate these two components in the phrase devoted servant. In other languages, one may have “your loyal servant” or “the one who is dedicated to worship you.”

In many languages one cannot speak of a servant suffering decay. Rather, it is the body of such a person which decays; it is the person who dies and the body which rots. This means that in some languages this final clause would be rendered as “you will not permit the corpse of your devoted servant to decay.”

“Decay” is variously expressed in different languages. In some it is specifically associated with worms and maggots, for example, “you will not permit maggots to eat the corpse.”

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 2:27

2:27a

You will not abandon: The word abandon means “leave with no intent to return or help.” Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

you will not leave forever
-or-
you will not forsake

my soul: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as my soul refers to a person’s inner self or life. It includes his personality, his thinking and his feeling. In some languages following the literal Greek is better. For example:

my spirit

Hades: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Hades means “the place of the dead.” Consider how to translate the Greek word.

2:27b

Your Holy One: Here King David refers to himself as Your Holy One. For example:

your holy one (New International Version (2011))

Holy One: Here the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Holy One refers to being morally pure. It may also imply serving God completely or being sent from God. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

the one ⌊who has lived a⌋ holy ⌊life⌋
-or-
faithful servant (Good News Translation)
-or-

⌊Morally⌋ Pure/Blemishless/Clean Man

see decay: This phrase refers to what happens to a dead person’s body. God would not allow the body of his holy one to rot after he died. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

to rot (Good News Translation)
-or-
to undergo decay (New American Standard Bible)

© 2001, 2021 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 2:27

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

© 2001, 2021 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.