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 )
The term that is transliterated as “Paul” in English is translated in American Sign Language 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)
The Hebrew and Greek that is typically translated as “sin” in English has a wide variety of translations.
The Greek ἁμαρτάνω (hamartanō) carries the original verbatim meaning of “miss the mark” and likewise, many translations contain the “connotation of moral responsibility.”
Loma: “leaving the road” (which “implies a definite standard, the transgression of which is sin”)
Navajo (Dinė): “that which is off to the side” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
Toraja-Sa’dan: kasalan, originally meaning “transgression of a religious or moral rule” and in the context of the Bible “transgression of God’s commandments” (source: H. van der Veen in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 21ff. )
Sandawe: “miss the mark” (like the original meaning of the Greek term) (source for this and above: Ursula Wiesemann in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 36ff., 43)
In Shipibo-Conibo the term is hocha. Nida (1952, p. 149) tells the story of its choosing: “In some instances a native expression for sin includes many connotations, and its full meaning must be completely understood before one ever attempts to use it. This was true, for example, of the term hocha first proposed by Shipibo-Conibo natives as an equivalent for ‘sin.’ The term seemed quite all right until one day the translator heard a girl say after having broken a little pottery jar that she was guilty of ‘hocha.’ Breaking such a little jar scarcely seemed to be sin. However, the Shipibos insisted that hocha was really sin, and they explained more fully the meaning of the word. It could be used of breaking a jar, but only if the jar belonged to someone else. Hocha was nothing more nor less than destroying the possessions of another, but the meaning did not stop with purely material possessions. In their belief God owns the world and all that is in it. Anyone who destroys the work and plan of God is guilty of hocha. Hence the murderer is of all men most guilty of hocha, for he has destroyed God’s most important possession in the world, namely, man. Any destructive and malevolent spirit is hocha, for it is antagonistic and harmful to God’s creation. Rather than being a feeble word for some accidental event, this word for sin turned out to be exceedingly rich in meaning and laid a foundation for the full presentation of the redemptive act of God.”
Martin Ehrensvärd, one of the translators for the DanishBibelen 2020, comments on the translation of this term: “We would explain terms, such that e.g. sin often became ‘doing what God does not want’ or ‘breaking God’s law’, ‘letting God down’, ‘disrespecting God’, ‘doing evil’, ‘acting stupidly’, ‘becoming guilty’. Now why couldn’t we just use the word sin? Well, sin in contemporary Danish, outside of the church, is mostly used about things such as delicious but unhealthy foods. Exquisite cakes and chocolates are what a sin is today.” (Source: Ehrensvärd in HIPHIL Novum 8/2023, p. 81ff. )
In many English translations the Greek terms “hieron” (the whole “temple” in Jerusalem or specifically the outer courts open to worshippers) and “naos” (the inner “shrine” or “sanctuary”) are translated with only one word: “temple” (see also for instance “Tempel” in German [for exception see below] and “tempel” in Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans).
Other languages make a distinction: (Click or tap here to see more)
Navajo (Dinė): “house in which worship is carried out” (for naos)
Balinese: “inner part of the Great Temple” (“the term ‘inner part’ denoting the hindmost and holiest of the two or three courts that temples on Bali usually possess”) vs. “Great Temple”
Telugu: “womb (i.e. interior)-of-the-abode” vs. “abode”
Thai: a term denoting the main audience hall of a Buddhist temple compound vs. “environs-of-the-main-audience-hall”
Kituba: “place of holiness of house-God Lord” vs. “house-God Lord”
Shipibo-Conibo: “deep in God’s house” vs. “God’s house” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Germandas Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022): “inner court of the temple” (Tempelinnenhof) vs. “temple”
Languages that, like English, German, Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans, don’t make that distinction include:
Toraja-Sa’dan: “house that is looked upon as holy, that is sacred, that is taboo and where one may not set foot” (lit. “house where-the-belly-gets-swollen” — because taboo is violated — using a term that is also applied to a Muslim mosque) (source for this and the three above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Aguaruna: “the house for talking to God” (source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
Guhu-Samane: “festival longhouse of God” (“The biiri, ‘festival longhouse’, being the religious and social center of the community, is a possible term for ‘temple’. It is not the ‘poro house’ as such. That would be too closely identified with the cult of poro. The physical features of the building, huge and sub-divided, lend it further favor for this consideration. By qualifying it as ‘God’s biiri’ the term has become meaningful and appropriate in the context of the Scriptures.”) (Source: Ernest Richert in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. )
Enga: “God’s restricted access house” (source: Adam Boyd on his blog )
Another distinction that tends to be overlooked in translations is that between hieron (“temple” in English) and sunagógé (“synagogue” in English). Euan Fry (in The Bible Translator 1987, p. 213ff. ) reports on this:
“Many older translations have simply used transliterations of ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ rather than trying to find equivalent terms or meaningful expressions in their own languages. This approach does keep the two terms separate; but it makes the readers depend on explanations given by pastors or teachers for their understanding of the text.
“Translators who have tried to find meaningful equivalents, for the two terms ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ have usually made a distinction between them in one of two ways (which focus on the contrasting components of meaning). One way takes the size and importance of the Temple to make a contrast, so that expressions such as ‘sacred meeting/ worship house of the Jews’ and ‘big sacred meeting/worship house of the Jews’ are used. The other way focuses on the different nature of the religious activity at each of the places, so that expressions such as ‘meeting/worship house of the Jews’ and ‘sacrifice/ceremony place of the Jews’ are used.
“It is not my purpose in this article to discuss how to arrive at the most precise equivalent to cover all the components of meaning of ‘temple’. That is something that each translator really has to work through for himself in the light of the present usage and possibilities in his own language. My chief concern here is that the basic term or terms chosen for ‘temple’ should give the reader of a translation a clear and correct picture of the location referred to in each passage. And I am afraid that in many cases where an equivalent like ‘house of God’ or ‘worship house’ has been chosen, the readers have quite the wrong picture of what going to the Temple or being in the Temple means. (This may be the case for the word ‘temple’ in English too, for many readers.)”
Here are some examples:
Bambara: “house of God” (or: “big house of worship”) vs. “worship house” (or: “small houses of worship”)
Toraja-Sa’dan: “house where-the-belly-gets-swollen” (see above) vs. “meeting house for discussing matters concerning religious customs” (and “church” is “house where one meets on Sunday”)
Navajo (Dinė): “house in which worship is carried out” vs. “house of gathering” (source for all above: Bratcher / Nida)
Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Herod’s temple (source: Bible Lands 2012)Click or tap here to see a short video clip showing synagogues in New Testament times (source: Bible Lands 2012)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 25:8:
Uma: “Paulus refuted their words, he said: ‘I have not done one single thing wrong! I never transgressed the Yahudi law, or dirtied the House of God, or repudiate/oppose King in Roma!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Then Paul spoke on his own behalf/for himself. He said, ‘I have not done anything contrary to the law of our (excl.) Yahudi tribe or contrary to/against the temple, or the Leader King of the land of Roma.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “However, Paul made explanation of defense, saying, ‘I have not disobeyed the law of us Jews, and I have not also done anything against our church, and especially against our king there in Rome.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “After that Pablo answered and he said, ‘I have done absolutely nothing wrong concerning the law of us (excl.) Jews or our (excl.) Temple. Neither have I broken even any of the laws of the Emperor.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “All of it was answered by Pablo in his defence, saying, ‘There really is nothing I have done which is contrary to the handed-down laws of the Jews, against the Templo, or against the Impiradur.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The Greek that is translated in English as “Law” or “law” is translated in Mairasi as oro nasinggiei or “prohibited things” (source: Enggavoter 2004) and in Noongar with a capitalized form of the term for “words” (Warrinya) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
In Yucateco the phrase that is used for “law” is “ordered-word” (for “commandment,” it is “spoken-word”) (source: Nida 1947, p. 198) and in Central Tarahumara it is “writing-command.” (wsource: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
Paul is quick to point out that he has done nothing wrong (literally “not sinned”) against the Law of the Jews (see 21.21), or against the temple (see 21.28), or against the Roman Emperor. The less known term, “Caesar,” appears as the Roman Emperor (see New English Bible “the Emperor”).
I have done nothing wrong against the Law of the Jews may be rendered as “I have done nothing which violates the Law of the Jews” or “… which is contrary to the Law of the Jews.” It may be much more difficult to speak of “nothing wrong against the temple.” In some languages this is “have not harmed the temple in any way,” or “have not caused trouble as far as the temple is concerned.”
Frequently one cannot use the same expression, “doing anything wrong against,” with three such entirely different objects as the Law of the Jews, the temple, and the Roman Emperor. Therefore, especially in the final case, it may be necessary to say, “I have said nothing bad against the Roman Emperor” or “I have said nothing harmful against the Roman Emperor.”
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 .
Paul spoke with respect to Festus. Translate in a way that indicates respect.
Then Paul made his defense: “I have committed no offense against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.”: The quote here is only a summary of the main topics. It is probably a summary of all that Paul said to defend himself. Other ways to translate these clauses are:
Paul, in his defense, said, “I have committed no offense in any way against the Jewish Law, or against the temple, or against Caesar.” -or-
Paul made his defense ⌊and in summary said⌋, “I have done nothing wrong against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.”
The Greek probably indicates that Paul defended himself while the Jews accused him (25:7). It probably indicates that both the Jews and Paul spoke a number of times while in front of Festus. For example:
while Paul made his defense saying that he had done nothing wrong against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar
It does not indicate that they spoke at the same time and Festus had to listen to two people talking at the same time. Perhaps to avoid that, some English versions are ambiguous as to when Paul spoke. For example:
Paul’s defence was this, ‘I have committed no offence whatever against either Jewish law, or the Temple, or Caesar.’ (New Jerusalem Bible) -or-
Paul argued in his defense, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I committed any offense.” (English Standard Version)
25:8a
Paul made his defense: The phrase made…defense refers to responding to accusations and explaining that the person had not done as accused. See how you translated a similar clause in 24:10 (“make my defense”).
25:8b
I have committed no offense: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as committed no offense is often translated “have not sinned.” Here it refers to not breaking any laws of the Jews, doing anything to dishonor the temple, or doing anything against Caesar. Other ways to translate this clause are:
I have done nothing wrong (New International Version) -or-
I am not guilty of any crime (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
I haven’t broken any Jewish law or done anything against the temple or the emperor (God’s Word)
25:8c
against the temple: This phrase indicates that Paul did not harm the temple or say something bad about it. For example:
done anything against the temple (God’s Word)
against Caesar: This phrase indicates that Paul did not harm Caesar or say something bad about him. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
harm Caesar -or-
slander Caesar
Caesar: This word was the family name of the first five Roman emperors. The last, Nero, was ruling at this time. He was the leader of the Romans and all the people groups that the Romans had conquered. See how you spelled this word in 17:7.
If people in your area are not familiar with this name, you may want to explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:
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