The Greek that is translated into English as “anchor” in English is, due to non-existing nautical language, rendered as kayo’ barko (“an instrument that keeps the boat from drifting”) in Chol (source: Steven 1979, p. 76), “iron hooks” (“that make the boat stop”) in Isthmus Mixe, “irons called ‘anchors’ with ropes” in Teutila Cuicatec (source for this and above: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.), “weights, and thus they were able to make the boat stand” in Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac (source: Larson 1998, p. 99), “an iron attached to a rope attached to the boat so that it may not drift away” in Lalana Chinantec (source: John Beekman in Notes on Translation, March 1965, p. 2ff.), “a thing that makes the water vehicle stand still” in Kamwe (source: Roger Mohrlang in here), “the metal piece that was in the water that detained the boat” in Eastern Highland Otomi (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), “iron crab” in Bawm Chin (source: David Clark), and “big canoe stopping metal” in Kouya.
Eddie Arthur tells the story of the translation into Kouya: “A slightly more prosaic example comes from Paul’s sea voyages in the Book of Acts. In Acts 27, when Paul’s ship was facing a huge storm, there are several references to throwing out the anchor to save the ship. Now the Kouya live in a tropical rain-forest and have no vessels larger than dug-out canoes used for fishing on rivers. The idea of an anchor was entirely foreign to them. However, it was relatively easy to devise a descriptive term along the lines of ‘boat stopping metal’ that captured the essential nature of the concept. This was fine when we were translating the word anchor in its literal sense. However, in Hebrews 6:19 we read that hope is an anchor for our souls. It would clearly make no sense to use ‘boat stopping metal’ at this point as the concept would simply not have any meaning. So in this verse we said that faith was like the foundation which keeps a house secure. One group working in the Sahel region of West Africa spoke of faith being like a tent peg which keeps a tent firm against the wind. I hope you can see the way in which these two translations capture the essence of the image in the Hebrews verse while being more appropriate to the culture.”
Click or tap here to see a short video clip showing an anchor in biblical times (source: Bible Lands 2012)
The Greek that is translated as “to fear” or “to be afraid” or similar in English is translated in Ashe as agõõi iwei or “hearing fear.” (Source: David Rowbory)
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 addressee).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 27:29:
Uma: “They were afraid that the ship would hit coral rocks. That is why they lowered into the water four pieces of heavy iron at the back of the ship (called balango’) so that the ship was held-back. And they prayed that it soon be light.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “They were afraid the ship would run aground on the rocks, therefore they dropped four anchors from the back part of the ship. And they prayed to God that it might soon be day.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then they became afraid because the ship might run into some rocks. Therefore, they attached four weights on the after end of the ship and then they desired that it might become morning.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “That made-them -frightened lest the ship be-smashed-against the rocks. So they lowered four hooked irons from the rear of the ship in order to cause-it-to-stop koma, after that they prayed that dawn (lit. its-getting-light) would not be-long.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Because they were afraid now that we might run aground on something just under the surface, what they did was, they let four anchors fall from the stern. And they were praying that hopefully day would now dawn.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Our ship is literally “we,” but in most languages our ship would have to be translated as “the ship in which we were traveling.” In a number of languages the appropriate equivalent would simply be “the ship.”
Would go on the rocks must be translated in some languages as “would be blown onto the rocks” or “the wind would blow the ship to where rocks were.”
The four anchors may be translated as “they lowered from the back of the ship four heavy weights to keep it from moving.”
The phrase back of the ship translates a technical Greek term referring to the “stern.”
They … prayed for daylight is appropriately rendered in some languages as “they … prayed that daylight would soon come.” One should not suggest that they were praying for daylight to occur in the middle of the night.
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 .
The two measurements that the sailors took showed that the sea was getting shallow quickly. This indicated that the ship was getting very close to a shore. The sailors were afraid the ship would crash onto rocks and everyone would be killed. So they tried to stop the ship from moving forward.
27:29a
we would run aground on the rocks: The Greek clause can be translated literally as “we would run aground against rough places.” The sailors did not want to crash against a rocky shore. The waves could throw both ship and people against the rocks. Other ways to translate this clause are:
we would run aground on the rocky coast (NET Bible) -or-
we would soon be driven against the rocks along the shore (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
we might hit rocks (God’s Word)
See how you translated the Greek verb in 27:17 (“run aground”).
27:29b
they dropped four anchors: These anchors would sink and dig into the sea bottom. This would prevent the ship from moving further. Four anchors were needed against the powerful waves and wind.
anchors: The purpose of this kind of anchor was to dig into the sea bottom and hold that place. See how you translated this word in 27:13.
stern: This refers to the back end of the ship. For example:
back of the ship (Good News Translation)
27:29c
prayed for daybreak: This clause probably indicates that the sailors prayed to their gods that they would remain safe until daybreak would enable them to see the shore. They wanted the anchors to hold them against the wind and waves during the night. After there was some daylight they could try to sail to a harbor or beach.
In some languages a literal translation would wrongly imply that they wanted daylight in the middle of the night. If so, you may want to explain it in your translation. For example:
prayed ⌊that they would be safe until⌋ daylight
prayed: If your translation for praying refers to God, you should indicate that the sailors believed in many gods. For example:
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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