15Now then, you and the council must notify the tribune to bring him down to you, on the pretext that you want to make a more thorough examination of his case. And we are ready to do away with him before he arrives.”
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.
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 23:15:
Uma: “So then, we (excl.) ask [you] fathers with the religion judges, to send a letter to the head of the Roma soldiers, asking that Paulus be brought back before you, supposedly so that his case is to be examined further. But-actuality we (excl.) will ambush him and kill him on the way.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “So now,’ they said, ‘you and the council members should send word to the colonel telling him to bring Paul here to you. Pretend that you want to investigate his case very well. We (excl.) also will ambush him on the way and kill him, before he reaches you.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as for you and all of the elders, write to the captain of the Roman soldiers and say to him that he should bring Paul here so that you might thoroughly check up on what he did. And as for us we’ll get ready because we’ll kill him before he arrives here.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “So you and the other leaders, send someone to go tell the commander to bring Pablo here, in order that you will reportedly try/interrogate him properly concerning his case. Then we (excl.) will wait-in-ambush to kill-him on the path before their arrival here.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Therefore, now, we (excl.) are asking you to arrange with your companions who are members of the Sanedrin and go to that highest-ranking-officer of soliers. Ask him to stand Pablo in your presence again. Lie that you want to interrogate him to ascertain the truth. And then when he is being brought here, we (excl.) will all really be ready then to kill him for we (excl.) will lie in wait for him.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
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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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
Here, negaidete (願い出て) or “petition” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
You and the Council is more accurately rendered in some languages as “you on behalf of the Council,” since it was not the chief priests, elders, and Council who collectively or individually sent the word to the Roman commander, but the leaders who did this on behalf of the Council as a whole.
Send word is a term which means “to impart official information,” and in the present context it seems to be used at least in a semitechnical sense. The same verb occurs in 23.22; 24.1; 25.2, 15.
Since this message to the Roman commander was primarily a request, it may be necessary to indicate this fact so as not to imply that it was an order—for example, “request the Roman commander, Please bring Paul down to us.”
Pretending … may be translated as “say to him….”
To get more accurate information about him renders a verb phrase in which the verb combines both the ideas of inquiry and of decision. More accurate information may be rendered as “to learn better just what he has done.”
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 .
Now then: Here the word then means “therefore.” The conspirators need the Sanhedrin to help them accomplish their plan. This conjunction introduces the action they ask the chief priests and elders to take. That action is to be a request made by the Sanhedrin to the commander. Other ways to translate this are:
Now therefore (New American Standard Bible) -or-
So (New Living Translation (2004))
you and the Sanhedrin: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and is literally “with.” For example:
You…along with the council (Revised Standard Version)
The conspirators told their plot only to chief priests and elders whom they knew were angry with Paul. These leaders were probably only Sadducees. So these leaders probably called the meeting without informing the Pharisees about the plot. The conspirators probably avoided telling the plot to the Pharisees, since the Pharisees supported Paul at this time.
In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that the Pharisees were involved in this conspiracy. If that is true in your language, you may want to explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
The conspirators probably only told Sadducees in the Sanhedrin. They probably did not inform the Pharisees or teachers of the law, because they supported Paul at this time. The chief priests would call the meeting without telling the Pharisees about the plot. -or-
Those who conspired against Paul probably only told Sadducees in the Sanhedrin. They probably did not inform the Pharisees or teachers of the law, because they supported Paul at that time. The chief priests would call the meeting without telling the Pharisees about what they had plotted.
Sanhedrin: The word Sanhedrin is a Greek word that means “council.” Here it refers to the group of Jewish men with the highest authority over their people. They made laws and decided court cases. Some ways to translate Sanhedrin are:
council (Revised Standard Version) -or-
Jewish council (New Century Version) -or-
Jewish high council (New Living Translation (2004))
See how you translated this word in 4:15 or 22:30.
petition: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as petition refers to officially requesting something. The Sanhedrin could only ask the commander to come. They could not demand that he come. The Greek word probably implies trying to convince the commander to come. Other ways to translate this word are:
convince -or-
ask (New Living Translation (2004))
the commander: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as commander means “leader of one thousand.” A thousand soldiers is implied here. See how you translated this word in 21:31 or 23:10.
23:15b
bring him down: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as bring…down means “bring/lead down.” The Sanhedrin meeting hall was downhill or down some steps from the Roman barracks. In some languages including down would not have the correct meaning (as in “from overhead”). If that is true in your language, translate as the New International Version does:
bring him (New International Version)
23:15c
on the pretext of: This phrase in Greek is literally “as intending.” The messengers would say that the Sanhedrin wanted to examine Paul once again. But this was a lie to bring Paul out of the barracks so that the conspirators could kill him. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
pretend that you want to (Contemporary English Version) -or-
as though you want to (God’s Word) -or-
Lie that you want to
examining his case more carefully: The Greek words are literally “to determine more accurately.” The Greek verb means “to examine and decide about someone or something.” The Greek adverb means “more exactly.” Here it refers to understanding how it really happened. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
to determine his case by a more thorough investigation (New American Standard Bible) -or-
make a more thorough examination (New Revised Standard Version) -or-
determine his case by conducting a more thorough inquiry (NET Bible) -or-
so that his case is to be examined further -or-
so that you might thoroughly check up on what he did
General Comment on 23:15a–c
The words of the request are indirect speech. In some languages the words must be direct speech. For example:
Now then, on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander, “Please bring him before us.”
23:15d
We are ready to kill him on the way: The Berean Standard Bible, like the Greek clause, uses present tense. But the conspirators would first have to go to the place where they could attack Paul. So in some languages it is more natural to indicate a future event. For example:
We will be ready to kill him before he gets here
kill him: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as kill means “end the life of” or “destroy.” It implies that the conspirators wanted to kill Paul. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
do away with him (Revised Standard Version) -or-
destroy him
In some languages the above examples would not clearly mean “kill.” If that is true in your language, translate as the Berean Standard Bible does.
General Comment on 23:15a–d
23:20–21 imply that the chief priests and elders agreed with the conspirators. In some languages the implied information must be explicit for the correct meaning. For example:
Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.” ⌊The chief priests and elders agreed to do what the men asked.⌋
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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