The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “sailor(s)” in English is translated in Kouya as “worker(s) in the big canoe.”
Philip Saunders (p. 231) explains:
Acts chapter 27 was a challenge! It describes Paul’s sea voyage to Italy, and finally Rome. There is a storm at sea and a shipwreck on Malta, and the chapter includes much detailed nautical vocabulary. How do you translate this for a landlocked people group, most of whom have never seen the ocean? All they know are small rivers and dugout canoes.
We knew that we could later insert some illustrations during the final paging process which would help the Kouya readers to picture what was happening, but meanwhile we struggled to find or invent meaningful terms. The ‘ship’ was a ‘big canoe’ and the ‘passengers’ were ‘the people in the big canoe’; the ‘crew’ were the ‘workers in the big canoe’; the ‘pilot’ was the ‘driver of the big canoe’; the ‘big canoe stopping place’ was the ‘harbour’, and the ‘big canoe stopping metal’ was the ‘anchor’!”
In Rincón Zapotec, it is translated as “men having the care of the boat” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.) and in Newari as “the ones operating the ship” (source: Newari back-translation).
The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated “boat” or “ship” in English is translated in Chichimeca-Jonaz as “that with which we can walk on water” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.), in Chitonga as a term in combination with bwato or “dugout canoe” (source: Wendland 1987, p. 72), and in Tangale as inj am or “canoe-of water” (inj — “canoe” — on its own typically refers to a traditional type of carved-out log for sleeping) (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
In Kouya it is translated as ‘glʋ ‘kadʋ — “big canoe.”
Philip Saunders (p. 231) explains how the Kouya team arrived at that conclusion:
“Acts chapter 27 was a challenge! It describes Paul’s sea voyage to Italy, and finally Rome. There is a storm at sea and a shipwreck on Malta, and the chapter includes much detailed nautical vocabulary. How do you translate this for a landlocked people group, most of whom have never seen the ocean? All they know are small rivers and dugout canoes.
“We knew that we could later insert some illustrations during the final paging process which would help the Kouya readers to picture what was happening, but meanwhile we struggled to find or invent meaningful terms. The ‘ship’ was a ‘big canoe’ and the ‘passengers’ were ‘the people in the big canoe’; the ‘crew’ were the ‘workers in the big canoe’; the ‘pilot’ was the ‘driver of the big canoe’; the ‘big canoe stopping place’ was the ‘harbour’, and the ‘big canoe stopping metal’ was the ‘anchor’!”
In Lokạạ it is translated as ukalangkwaa, lit. “English canoe.” “The term was not coined for the Bible translation, but rather originated in colonial times when the English arrived in Nigeria on ships. The indigenous term for a canoe was modified to represent the large, ocean-going ship of the English.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 27:30:
Uma: “From there, those workers of the ship wanted to quietly flee from the ship. That is why they lowered the small boat to the sea, pretending that they wanted to tie heavy iron to the front of the ship.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “The men working on the ship were about to escape/flee from the ship. They pretended to go to the prow of the ship to drop anchors and they unfastened the rope on which the lifeboat hung and they let it down to the sea.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The workers there on the ship, they wanted to leave us and get away from the ship. They put down the boat, and they lied to us saying that they were going to put anchors on the front end.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Whereupon those-aforementioned workers on the ship, they wanted to escape. So they lowered the small-boat into the ocean with the pretend reason that they needed to put-on-board some of the irons in order to go lower-them from the front of the ship.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And then when it was now like that, those sailors decided that they would now leave the ship. Therefore they began to lower to the sea the boat which was on board, making pretense of throwing an anchor out in front.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The various Greek, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
This verse and the following comprise one sentence in Greek. Verse 30 is actually a subordinate clause dependent upon the main verb said in verse 31.
The first clause in this verse states the purpose of the sailors, and the remainder of the verse describes the manner in which they were trying to escape. This relationship needs to be made quite clear—for example, “the sailors tried to escape from the ship by lowering the boat into the water” or “in order to try to escape from the ship, the sailors lowered the boat into the water.”
It may be necessary in some instances to indicate specifically what the boat is, that is, “the small boat that was tied on deck.”
The verb pretended is rendered in some languages as “they said, we are going to put out….”
From the front of the ship translates a technical Greek term denoting the “bow” of a ship. Already the back of the ship was being held firmly by anchors, and the sailors’ statement that they wished to put out anchors in the front of the ship was obviously an attempt to get away from the ship and thus to escape with their own lives.
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 .
attempted to escape: The Greek words here are literally “seeking to flee.” The sailors probably thought that trying to reach land in the smaller boat was safer than staying on the ship. Other ways to translate this clause are:
as the sailors were seeking to escape (Revised Standard Version) -or-
the sailors tried to escape (Good News Translation)
27:30b
Pretending: The real goal of the sailors was to escape. This word indicates that they lied to others saying that they planned to lower some anchors from the bow. Other ways to translate this word are:
under pretense of (Revised Standard Version) -or-
as though (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
they lied saying that
to lower anchors from the bow: To prevent the bow of the ship from turning, sailors could take an anchor to the left as far as the anchor rope would let it and drop the anchor, and then would do the same on the right side. If the front of the ship turned sideways to the waves, the waves could capsize the ship. In some languages some implied information is needed for the correct meaning. For example:
they were going to lower some anchors from the bow ⌊to prevent the bow of the ship from turning⌋ -or-
they were going to lower some anchors from the bow ⌊to prevent the ship from turning and the waves hitting the side of the ship⌋
lower anchors from the bow: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as lower is literally “stretch.” It probably indicates that the sailors would take the anchors in the lifeboat away from the ship until the anchor ropes were tight, then they would throw the anchors into the sea.
laying out anchors from the bow (English Standard Version) -or-
⌊row away⌋ with the anchors until the anchor ropes were tight/stretched ⌊and then drop them into the sea⌋
anchors: This is the same kind of anchor as in 27:29.
the bow: The word bow refers to the front of the ship.
let the lifeboat down into the sea: Here the phrase let…down refers to lowering. The smaller boat was tied to the top of the ship (27:17). Here the sailors untied it and lowered it over the side of the ship into the sea. Since the small boat was heavy, they tied ropes to it to help with lowering it. In some languages it is more natural to include some of this implied information. For example:
lowered the lifeboat ⌊with ropes⌋ onto the sea -or-
⌊untied⌋ the lifeboat and lowered it ⌊with ropes⌋ onto the sea -or-
⌊untied⌋ the lifeboat and lowered it ⌊with ropes⌋ ⌊over the side of the ship⌋ onto the sea
lifeboat: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as lifeboat refers to a boat that could hold ten to thirty people, depending on its size. See how you translated this word in 27:16.
into the sea: The word into indicates here that they lowered the smaller boat so that it floated on the sea ready to use. They did not lower it in a way that caused the lifeboat to sink or fill with water. In some languages a different phrase is needed for the correct meaning. 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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