The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo (Dinė) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).
Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), “other ethnic groups” (source: Newari Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).
In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 26:17:
Uma: “I will free you (sing.) from the power of the Yahudi people and from the power of the non-Yahudi people. I send/apostle you (sing.) to take my Word to people who are not Yahudi people.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “I will save you when you are persecuted by your fellow Yahudi or non-Yahudi tribes to whom I will soon send you.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “I will watch over you and I will not permit that you be harmed by the Jews or by the Gentiles. And I will send you to people who are not Jews.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “I will save/rescue you (sing.) from your (sing.) fellow Jews and from the Gentiles to whom I will send you (sing.).” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “I will free/save you from the hand of the Jews, and also from the hand of people who aren’t Jews, these being the ones to whom I will send you.” (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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
Although the word rendered save may also mean “appoint,” all translators understand it in this sense in the present passage. It is also used in the sense of “save” or “rescue” in 7.10, 34; 12.10; 23.27. The words addressed to Paul reflect those spoken to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1.7-8). In some languages the concept of “being saved from” is expressed as “I will save you from the people of Israel, and the Gentiles will not harm you” or “I will cause you not to be harmed by the people of Israel and by the Gentiles.” In this circumstance a term such as “harm” must be a relatively strong expression.
People of Israel is literally “people,” but here as elsewhere the term is used with the specific meaning of the people of Israel.
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 .
26:17a in Greek continues the sentence begun in 26:16. For example:
delivering you… (Revised Standard Version)
But in many languages shorter sentences are more natural and easier to read. The Berean Standard Bible and the Display give several ways to translate using several sentences.
26:17a
I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles: Both Jews and non-Jews tried to kill Paul at various times, but Jesus rescued him each time until Paul’s work was done.
The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as I will rescue is present tense, like 26:17b with “I am sending.” Paul was not in need of rescue at the time Jesus said this, but 9:23 indicates that many days (perhaps a few weeks or months) later that the Jews tried to kill him. In some languages it may be more natural to use the future tense, as many English versions do.
your own people: This phrase refers to the Jews. For example:
the people of Israel (Good News Translation)
Gentiles: The word Gentiles refers to non-Jewish people. For example:
nations (New Jerusalem Bible)
See how you translated this word in 18:6 or 22:21.
26:17b
I am sending you to them: This clause in Greek is literally “to whom(plur) I am sending you.” Many scholars believe the word “whom” refers to both the Jews and the Gentiles (26:17a). Whenever Paul went to a new town, he preached first in the Jewish synagogue and then to the Gentiles. Translate in a way that allows the word them to refer to both the Jews and the Gentiles.
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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