soldier

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “soldier” in English didn’t have a direct equivalent in Enlhet so it was translated with “those that bind us” (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. ) and in Noongar it is mammarapa-bakadjiny or “men of fighting” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

complete verse (Acts 27:42)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 27:42:

  • Uma: “From there, the soldiers planned to kill all the prisoners [lit., restrained ones], so that they would not swim to land and straightway escape.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The soldiers thought/decided that they would kill all the prisoners so that none could swim to the shore and escape.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The soldiers decided that they would kill the prisoners so that they might not get ashore and run away from the soldiers.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When that was so, the soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners in order that none would swim to its (the ocean’s) edge to escape.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When it was now like that, what the soldiers wanted was to kill the prisoners, for maybe, if they could yet get ashore, they would run away.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 27:42

The final verb escape may be rendered in some languages as “run away.”

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 27:42

Paragraph 27:42–44

27:42a–b

The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners so none of them could swim to freedom: In some languages indirect or direct speech must be used to describe what the soldiers planned. For example:

The soldiers decided that they should kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping.
-or-
The soldiers decided saying, “We should kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping.”

27:42a

The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners: This clause in Greek is literally “The decision of the soldiers was that they should kill the prisoners.” Other ways to translate this clause are:

The soldiers decided to kill the prisoners (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
The soldiers said to each other, “We need to kill the prisoners.”

27:42b

so none of them could swim to freedom: Roman authorities punished Roman soldiers severely (sometimes even killing them) if they allowed a prisoner to escape. So usually they would kill prisoners rather than allow them to escape. In some languages the implied reason will not be clear. If so, you may want to:

• Translate literally and explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:

Roman authorities punished Roman soldiers severely if they allowed a prisoner to escape. So usually they would killed prisoners rather than allow them to escape.

• Include some implied information. For example:

to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping ⌊because that way the soldiers avoided being punished for allowing them to escape⌋

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