brother (fellow believer)

The Greek that is translated in English as “brother” or “brother and sister” (in the sense of fellow believers), is translated with a specifically coined word in Kachin: “There are two terms for brother in Kachin. One is used to refer to a Christian brother. This term combines ‘older and younger brother.’ The other term is used specifically for addressing siblings. When one uses this term, one must specify if the older or younger person is involved. A parallel system exists for ‘sister’ as well. In [these verses], the term for ‘a Christian brother’ is used.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae)

In Matumbi is is translated as alongo aumini or “relative-believer” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext), in Martu Wangka as “relative” (this is also the term that is used for “follower”) (source: Carl Gross), and in Mairasi as “in-law” (source: Enggavoter 2004).

In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is often translated as Mitchristen or “fellow Christians.” The German translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022) alternates between “brothers and sisters,” “sisters and brothers,” and “siblings” (Geschwister).

See also brothers.

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Acts 28:14-16)

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 (only including Refers to Luke, Paul, and Aristarchus).

Source: SIL International Translation Department (1999).

complete verse (Acts 28:14)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 28:14:

  • Uma: “When we got off the ship, we met with several one-faith relatives. They called us to go to their home and had us as their guests for a week. From there we walked to Roma.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “There we (excl.) found some disciples of Isa. They urged us (excl.) to stay there with them one week. After that we (excl.) proceeded to Roma.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “There were some believers there which we found, and they persuaded us that we stay with them for a week. And then we continued walking, going to Rome. When the believers in Rome heard that we were arriving, they met us there in the market of Appio, and there also in the place called the Three Houses of Staying Overnight. And when Paul saw them, he gave thanks to God and he was filled with hope.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “There we (excl.) came-upon some of our (excl.) companions who believed in Jesus, and they persuaded (lit. held-onto) us (excl.) to stay-with them for a week. Then we (excl.) walked to go to Roma.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When we had gone ashore, some siblings in believing came to see/meet us. They asked us that if possible/acceptable we would stay there with them for a week. And then we set out and continued on to Roma.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 28:14

The verb found should probably not be interpreted as meaning “looked for and then discovered.” It is more appropriate to render this as “there we met some believers” or even “there were some believers there who asked us….”

Believers is literally “brothers” (New English Bible “fellow-Christians”); and a week (so New English Bible, Jerusalem Bible) is literally “seven days.”

And so we came to Rome may be rendered as “and this is the way we arrived at Rome,” “and this was the kind of journey we had in coming to Rome,” or “… in going to Rome” (depending, of course, upon the point of view of the narration). Since Luke himself is accompanying those who went to Rome, one would assume that the point of view would be “going.” If one assumes that this account was written in Rome, it might very well be rendered as “coming.” In Greek the same verb is used for either “coming” or “going.”

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 28:14

28:14a

found: This word indicates that Paul did not know where the believers of Puteoli lived or worked. He probably walked around until he saw someone he knew.

In English we can use “met” here for that meaning. But in some languages “met” refers to both Paul and the Puteoli believers knowing ahead of time about the meeting. But the Puteoli believers did not know exactly when Paul was coming. Translate the correct meaning.

brothers: Here the word brothers refers to believers in Jesus. The word indicates a close relationship because all believers become children of God. If people in your area will think that the word brothers refers to literal brothers, you may want to explain it in your translation. Some examples are:

our brothers ⌊in Christ⌋
-or-
fellow believers
-or-
some of the Lord’s followers (Contemporary English Version)

See how you translated this word in 15:1.

28:14b

who invited us to spend the week with them: This clause tells the reader more about the believers. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that Luke was thinking of many groups of believers and only this group invited them. If that is true in your language, translate this information in a way that tells more about the believers who met Paul and his companions. One way to do that is to start a new sentence here. For example:

They invited us to spend a week with them.

invited us to spend the week with them: It is implied that they did stay the week with these believers. In some languages the clause without the implied information indicates that they did not stay. If so, include the implied information:

invited us to stay a week with them. ⌊So we did.⌋

28:14c

And so we came to Rome: This clause probably indicates that they came to the district of Rome. Paul and everyone did not arrive in the city of Rome until 28:16. For example:

And so we came to the district of Rome
-or-
And so we came to the Rome region/land

we: This includes at least Paul, Julius the centurion, and Luke, but may include several other believers who traveled with them from Caesarea.

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