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.)
chief priest
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “chief priest” in English is translated in Muyuw as tanuwgwes lun or “ruler-of peace offering.” (Source: David Lithgow in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 118ff. )
Paul (icon)
Following is a Russian Orthodox icon of Paul the Apostle from the first quarter of the 18th century (found in Kizhi monastery, Karelia, Russia).
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 )
inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Acts 23:14)
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the exclusive form (excluding the chief priests and elders).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
complete verse (Acts 23:14)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 23:14:
- Uma: “So, those that had vowed went to the leading priests and other leaders of the Yahudi people, they said: ‘We(excl.) really promised with vowing, that we (excl.) would not first eat anything if we (excl.) have not-yet killed Paulus.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “Then they went to the leading priests and to the elders to tell about this. They said, ‘We have sworn that we really will not eat as long as we (excl.) have not been-able-to-kill Paul.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then they went to the chiefs of the sacrificers and of the elders and they said, ‘Our agreement is drawn very tight that we should not eat or drink until we have killed Paul.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “Then they went to the leaders of the priests and elders of the Jews and said, ‘We (excl.) have sworn that we (excl.) will not eat until our (excl.) killing of Pablo.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “After they had vowed, they then went to the chiefs of the priests and important tribal-leaders. On arriving, they said, ‘There is something we (excl.) have vowed, which is that we (excl.) won’t taste food until we (excl.) have killed Pablo.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)