The Greek that is translated in English as “bound themselves by an oath” or similar is translated in Lalana Chinantec as “cursed themselves.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
In Vame, “oath” is translated as “swear with a curse.” Drew Maust (in The Bible Translator 2019, p. 35ff. ) explains: Acts 23:12 describes a group of men who bind ‘themselves under a curse not to eat or drink until they have killed Paul’ (Christian Standard Bible). Most French versions, however, lack explicit reference to a curse, translating the verb ἀναθεματίζω ‘to curse’ by s’engager par serment (to swear an oath; Nouvelle Français courant, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). From the information in a standard lexicon and a recent technical exegetical commentary on the passage in question, it is apparent that a fuller translation of ἀναθεματίζω in the context of Acts 23:12 includes the notion of a curse, contrary to the majority of French translations (especially in light of the way the event is recounted two verses later in 23:14 with the addition of ἀναθέματι ‘a curse’). The Vame translators and I discussed the different interpretative options before the translators opted for making explicit the idea of a curse in their translation (‘swear with a curse’).”
The term that is transliterated as “Paul” in English means “little.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
In American Sign Language it is translated with a sign that signifies the many letters he wrote. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Paul” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting putting away a sword, referring to his conversion from a persecutor of Christians to a Christian leader. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a sign that is based on contemporary depictions and refers to the presumed baldness of the top of his head. The description originates from the 2nd-century apocryphal text titled Acts of Paul and Thecla , which represents the earliest and most detailed physical characterization of the apostle in Christian tradition (see also the icon below). (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)
“Paul” in Hungarian Sign Language — note that only the first part refers to “Paul,” the second part refers to “apostle” (source )
Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
Down below you’ll see an ivory carving that is located in the Musée national du Moyen-âge in Paris from the Byzantine empire of the 6th or early 7th century:
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.
“This window is dedicated to St. Paul, the great apostle and missionary, for whom our city is named. At the top of the window is a ship which symbolizes the many missionary journeys of Paul — the Church is our ship, which carries us over the way of life. In the lower section we see Paul on the road to Damascus when he saw a great light and heard our Lord’s voice, which called him to discipleship.”
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 )
Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Paul (source: Bible Lands 2012)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 23:12:
Uma: “The next day, several Yahudi people made-plans to kill Paulus. They vowed/swore, they said: ‘We(excl.) will not eat or drink if we (excl.) have not-yet killed him!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “When it was morning, some Yahudi gathered together and conferred/planned. They swore that they would not eat nor drink as long as they had not been-able-to-kill Paul.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when it was morning the Jews gathered together because they wanted to do something to Paul. They said, ‘Let’s not eat or drink until we have not yet killed Paul.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When it was the next-day, there were more-than forty Jews who agreed-together to kill Pablo. They all vowed that they would not eat and drink until they had killed him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When the next day came, there were some Jews who gathered together and looked for how they might get Pablo killed. What they did was, they vowed that they would not eat or drink water until they had killed him.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The word translated plan in this verse and the word translated planned in the following verse are from two different stems, though there are indications that they are used as synonyms. In each case the meaning may be that of “a plot” or “a conspiracy.”
The verb rendered took a vow is a very strong term, signifying that one has placed himself under God’s curse if he does not achieve what he vows he will do. Immediately following the word “vow” in Greek is the participle “saying.” However, in the context this is merely a marker of indirect discourse, and so most translators have tried to follow the most natural way of introducing indirect discourse into the context. The intensity of the vow is indicated by the fact that the men had sworn neither to eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. The rabbis made it possible for persons to release themselves from such vows, and so it is quite improbable that these persons either starved to death or died of thirst. In a number of languages vow is rendered as “made a promise to God,” “made a strong promise to God,” or “made a promise to God with a threat to themselves.”
In a number of languages the content of the vow may be most appropriately expressed as direct discourse—for example, “made a promise calling God to witness, and they said, We will not eat or drink anything until we have killed Paul.”
In order to express the concept of until some languages require a change in order—for example, “first we will kill Paul and only then will we eat and drink anything.”
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 .
In this section, more than 40 Jews plotted together to kill Paul. They even took an oath that they would not eat or drink until they had killed him. Then they asked the chief priests and Jewish elders to help them with their plans.
But a nephew of Paul heard what they had plotted. He reported it first to Paul, and then to the Roman commander.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
The Plot to Kill Paul (New Revised Standard Version) -or-
Some Jews make a plan to kill Paul
Paragraph 23:12–15
23:12a
When daylight came: The Greek words are literally “And having become day.” It refers to the day after the night of 23:11. For example:
When it was day (Revised Standard Version)
the Jews:
23:13 makes it clear that not all Jews plotted to kill Paul. It probably refers to a group of Jewish men who were not part of the Sanhedrin. For example:
some Jews (Good News Translation)
formed a conspiracy: This phrase refers to meeting together secretly to plan to do something that was unlawful or evil. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
held a secret meeting (New Jerusalem Bible) -or-
gathered for evil purposes
23:12b
bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as bound themselves with an oath means “speaking a curse on themselves should they fail to do as promised.” These Jews promised to kill Paul. The curse and the promise showed that they were completely committed to do as promised.
The verse does not tell us the words of the curse, but they probably asked God to kill them if they did not do as promised. Or they have asked God to exclude them from worship forever if they failed. The Jews had many kinds of curses. The verse does not say which kind of curse they used. Some ways to translate this phrase are:
• Use a word or phrase that refers generally to oaths or curses for not doing as promised. For example:
bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul (King James Version) -or-
They asked God to curse them if they ate or drank anything before they had killed Paul (God’s Word) -or-
promised, with an oath of bad consequences to themselves ⌊should they not fulfill it,⌋ to not eat or drink until they killed Paul
• Use direct speech that can refer generally to bad consequences if they do not do as promised. For example:
promised to not eat or drink before they killed Paul, saying “I/We will do this or else ⌊die trying⌋!” -or-
promised to not eat or drink before they killed Paul, saying “I/We will do this or else ⌊may God kill us⌋!”
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