amazed / astonished / marvel

Click here to view graphically

The Greek that is translated as “astonished” or “amazed” or “marvel” in English is translated in Pwo Karen as “stand up very tall.” (In John 5:20, source: David Clark)

Elsewhere it is translated as “confusing the inside of the head” (Mende), “shiver in the liver” (Uduk, Laka), “to lose one’s heart” (Mískito, Tzotzil), “to shake” (Southern Bobo Madaré), “to be with mouth open” (Panao Huánuco Quechua) (source: Bratcher / Nida), “to stand with your mouth open” (Citak) (source: Stringer 2007, p. 120), “ceasing to think with the heart” (Bulu), “surprise in the heart” (Yamba) (source for this and one above: W. Reyburn in The Bible Translator 1959, p. 1ff. ), or “have one’s mouth full” (Maan (source: Don Slager).

In Mark 5:20 and elsewhere where the astonishment is a response to listening to Jesus, the translation is “listen quietly” in Central Tarahumara, “forget listening” (because they were so absorbed in what they heard that they forgot everything else) in San Miguel El Grande Mixtec, “it was considered very strange by them” in Tzeltal (source: Bratcher / Nida), “in glad amazement” (to distinguish it from other kinds of amazement) (Quetzaltepec Mixe) (source: Robert Bascom), or “breath evaporated (or “escaped”)” (Mairasi) (source: Enngavoter 2004).

In Western Dani astonishment is emphasized with direct speech. In Mark 1:22, for instance, it says: “Wi!” yinuk, pi wareegwaarak — “They were all amazed, saying ‘Oh'” (source: Lourens De Vries in The Bible Translator 1992, p. 333ff. )

In Low German it is translated as grote Oken maken or “make big eyes” (sometime followed by: un kreegn dat Stillswiegen: “and became silent”) (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006).

In the Kölsch translation (Boch 2017) it is translated as brummte de Lück de Kopp or “the heads of the people buzzed,” Bauklötz jestaunt, lit. “marvel toy blocks,” and vür Staune de Muhl nit mieh zojekräch or “so full of marvel that they couldn’t close their mouths again.”

In the Pfälzisch translation by Walter Sauer (publ. 2012) it is often translated as baff vor staune or “speechless because of their marvel.” (Source: Jost Zetzsche)

See also amazed and astonished, astonished (Mark 6:51), and I’m astonished.

amazed and astonished

The Greek in Acts 2:7 that is translated as “amazed and astonished” or similar in English is translated as “remained speechless and marveled” in Morelos Nahuatl, “their thinking went round and round” in Coatlán Mixe, “They lost their abdomens. They stared very much” in Chuj, and “it startled them and they were thinking it over inside their hearts” in Chichimeca-Jonaz. (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

See also amazed / astonished / marvel.

complete verse (Acts 2:7)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 2:7:

  • Uma: “No kidding their surprise, they said: ‘What do you think is happening here? For those speakers there are all Galilea people.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “They were amazed and greatly surprised, so they said, ‘What’s this? These who are speaking are men from Jalil hep.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Therefore they were startled and amazed, and they asked each other saying, ‘What maybe is this? They are Galileans who are speaking.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “They were extremely amazed saying, ‘What truly is this? Aren’t all those who are speaking from-Galilea don’t-you-suppose?” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “They were really very amazed and were quesioning-one-another, saying, ‘Isn’t it so that these ones speaking in many different languages are all taga Galilea?” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “They said, ‘What is this? They are all from-Galilee!” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Mairasi: “They themselves their breath kept escaping as they looked at them, then they said: ‘Wow! We say in our hearts: ‘These very people who are speaking are all Galileans!’ we say.” (Source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Bariai: “They were startled and amazed and said, “Yo, these people who are talking, they are all from Galili, eh?” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Kupsabiny: “Then these people said, ‘This is unheard of! Are not all these people Galileans?” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 2:7

The nominal expression in amazement and wonder must often be shifted to a verbal form, “they were amazed and wondered.” However, in some languages it is quite impossible to find two verbs which have essentially the same area of meaning. Therefore, one can employ one verb, but qualify it with an intensive, for example, “they were completely amazed,” since in Greek the use of the two verbs is essentially a device to indicate intensity. In other words, the second verb does not introduce any semantic components which are not already suggested in the first verb.

These men who are talking like this—they are all Galileans! represents the translation of a Greek rhetorical sentence (“Are not all of these who are talking Galileans?”), in which the expected answer to the question is “Yes.” The mention that the persons talking are Galileans is here probably intended to indicate nothing other than the fact that the languages which they are speaking are not their own native languages.

Rather than attempt to make up some adjectival form such as “Galileans,” one can often retain the name of the country and produce a text which is more idiomatic, for example, “they are all from Galilee.” On the other hand, many languages have regular formatives which indicate people from a particular town or region, in which case, of course, one should certainly use such forms.

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 2:7

2:7a

Astounded and amazed: The Greek is literally “they were amazed and marveling.” The two verbs emphasize that the Jews were very surprised. The tense of these two verbs indicates that they continued to be amazed and to marvel. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

Utterly amazed (New International Version)
-or-
In amazement and wonder (Good News Translation)

they asked: The Greek is literally “saying.” The context implies that they said this to each other rather than to the believers. In some languages it is more natural to say who they spoke to. For example:

they were asking ⌊each other⌋

The tense of the verb indicates that they continued to ask and ponder the questions of 2:7b and 2:8.

2:7b

In the Greek, the spoken words begin with the word “Look.” It emphasizes the words that follow. It is not a command to look at something. Here are some ways to translate this word:

Look! (New Century Version)
-or-
Listen, (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans?: This is a rhetorical question. The Jews used this question to express surprise and to emphasize that Jesus’ followers were Galileans.

Here are some ways to translate this emphasis:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

Aren’t all these people that we hear speaking from Galilee? (New Century Version)

• As a statement. For example:

These people who are talking like this are Galileans! (Good News Translation)

Translate this surprise and emphasis in a way that is natural in your language.

The rhetorical question implies that Galileans could not know all those different languages, because they grew up in Galilee. This implied information is made clear in 2:8.

these men: The Greek word is just “these.” Your translation should allow for both men and women. For example:

These people (Good News Translation)

Galileans: This word indicates that the Jews thought the believers were from the region of Galilee. Here are some other ways to translate this word:

people of Galilee
-or-
from Galilee (New Century Version)

© 2001, 2021 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.