Πέτρος δὲ καὶ Ἰωάννης ἀνέβαινον εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν ἐπὶ τὴν ὥραν τῆς προσευχῆς τὴν ἐνάτην.
Acts 3
Peter Heals a Crippled Beggar
1One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o’clock in the afternoon.
Hand colored stencil print on momigami by Sadao Watanabe (1968).
Image taken with permission from the SadaoHanga Catalogue where you can find many more images and information about Sadao Watanabe.
For other images of Sadao Watanabe art works in TIPs, see here.
See also Beautiful Gate.
Following is a Armenian Orthodox icon of Peter (found in the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shusha, Azerbaijan).
Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
Following is a hand colored stencil print on momigami of Peter by Sadao Watanabe (1970):
Image taken with permission from the SadaoHanga Catalogue where you can find many more images and information about Sadao Watanabe. For other images of Sadao Watanabe art works in TIPs, see here.
In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying “key” (referring to Matthew 16:19). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
“Peter” or “Cephas” in Finnish Sign Language (source )
In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with the sign for “rock,” referring to the meaning of the Greek word for “Peter.”
“Peter” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz
For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .
See also Peter – rock.
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Peter .
The term that is transliterated as “John (the disciple)” in English is translated in American Sign Language with the sign for the letter J and the sign signifying “beloved,” referring to John 13:23 et al. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“John” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts John’s head resting on Jesus’ chest, referring to John 13:23.
“John” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz
In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with with the sign for “young.” This refers to the traditional belief that he was the youngest of the apostles and the fact that he was younger than his brother James (see relative age of James and John. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
“John” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España
For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .
See also John the Evangelist (icon).
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: The Apostle John .
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, and Greek that is translated as “pray” (or “prayer”) in English is often translated as “talking with God” (Central Pame, Tzeltal, Chol, Chimborazo Highland Quichua, Shipibo-Conibo, Kaqchikel, Tepeuxila Cuicatec, Copainalá Zoque, Central Tarahumara).
Other solutions include:
What do begging and praying have to do with each other? Do you beg when you pray? Do I?
“The Ik word for ‘visitor’ is waanam, which means ‘begging person.’ Do you beg when you go visiting? The Ik do. Maybe you don’t beg, but maybe when you visit someone, you are looking for something. Maybe it’s just a listening ear.
When the Ik hear that [my wife] Amber and I are planning trip to this or that place for a certain amount of time, the letters and lists start coming. As the days dwindle before our departure, the little stack of guests grows. ‘Please, sir, remember me for the allowing: shoes, jacket (rainproof), watch, box, trousers, pens, and money for the children. Thank you, sir, for your assistance.’
“A few people come by just to greet us or spend bit of time with us. Another precious few will occasionally confide in us about their problems without asking for anything more than a listening ear. I love that.
“The other day I was in our spare bedroom praying my list of requests to God — a nice list covering most areas of my life, certainly all the points of anxiety. Then it hit me: Does God want my list, or does he want my relationship?
“I decided to try something. Instead of reading off my list of requests to God, I just talk to him about my issues without any expectation of how he should respond. I make it more about our relationship than my list, because if our personhood is like God’s personhood, then maybe God prefers our confidence and time to our lists, letters, and enumerations.”
Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.
See also Nehemiah’s prayer (image).
Other languages make a distinction: (Click or tap here to see more)
Languages that, like English, German, Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans, don’t make that distinction include:
Another distinction that tends to be overlooked in translations is that between hieron (“temple” in English) and sunagógé (“synagogue” in English). Euan Fry (in The Bible Translator 1987, p. 213ff. ) reports on this:
“Many older translations have simply used transliterations of ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ rather than trying to find equivalent terms or meaningful expressions in their own languages. This approach does keep the two terms separate; but it makes the readers depend on explanations given by pastors or teachers for their understanding of the text.
“Translators who have tried to find meaningful equivalents, for the two terms ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ have usually made a distinction between them in one of two ways (which focus on the contrasting components of meaning). One way takes the size and importance of the Temple to make a contrast, so that expressions such as ‘sacred meeting/ worship house of the Jews’ and ‘big sacred meeting/worship house of the Jews’ are used. The other way focuses on the different nature of the religious activity at each of the places, so that expressions such as ‘meeting/worship house of the Jews’ and ‘sacrifice/ceremony place of the Jews’ are used.
“It is not my purpose in this article to discuss how to arrive at the most precise equivalent to cover all the components of meaning of ‘temple’. That is something that each translator really has to work through for himself in the light of the present usage and possibilities in his own language. My chief concern here is that the basic term or terms chosen for ‘temple’ should give the reader of a translation a clear and correct picture of the location referred to in each passage. And I am afraid that in many cases where an equivalent like ‘house of God’ or ‘worship house’ has been chosen, the readers have quite the wrong picture of what going to the Temple or being in the Temple means. (This may be the case for the word ‘temple’ in English too, for many readers.)”
Here are some examples:
Bangandu: “the great house of God” vs. “house of prayer” (Source: Ervais Fotso Noumsi in Le Sycomore, 16/1, 2022 )
See also this devotion on YouVersion .
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 3:1:
In the Greek text there is a problem of transition at the beginning of the first verse. In Greek the conjunction de, usually rendered “but,” may be sufficient to suggest a major change in content. However, the problem of transition was recognized by early scribes who tended to make a difference in the division of verse content, taking the last three words of verse 47 and associating them with the first verse of Chapter 3 so as to provide more satisfactorily for the transition.
In the King James Version this transition is indicated by the conjunctive adverb “now” but this tends to be rather misleading. Accordingly, the Good News Translation has employed simply one day, since this would be normal in English, and probably the closest natural equivalent. Other languages, however, have expressions such as “and then,” “later,” or “at another time.”
It is possible that John is John Mark, but most commentators understand him to be John, the son of Zebedee.
Throughout the New Testament there are two words used for temple: one indicates the central sanctuary itself; the other (used here) is a more comprehensive term and includes the whole temple area. As noted elsewhere, a term for temple may be very well rendered as “the house of God.” However in some languages this becomes confusing since it may already be used for “the church building.” Some have amplified the phrase, for example, “a house of God of the Jews,” but this can become rather ambiguous in indicating that it is only “the God of the Jews.” An expression such as “the house of prayer” can likewise be somewhat confusing since it might also be applicable to a “synagogue.” Therefore, some translators have used a more general expression such as “the house of worship,” and to distinguish this from a synagogue they have called it “the great house of worship” and have called the synagogue “a small house of worship of the Jews.”
Three o’clock in the afternoon is literally “the ninth hour” (see 2.15). Josephus, the Jewish historian, tells that temple sacrifices were offered twice a day: at sunrise and about the ninth hour, that is, about three o’clock in the afternoon.
There are very few languages in which one can use an expression such as “at the ninth hour.” In some languages it has been possible to preserve a rough equivalent such as “nine hours after sunrise,” but this is usually awkward. An adjustment to a modern reckoning of time is no doubt more satisfactory, namely at three o’clock in the afternoon. In some languages, however, this is still a rather artificial way of speaking and therefore a more indigenous expression may be regarded as more satisfactory—for example, “when the sun is halfway down in the sky,” “at the time of the afternoon rest,” or “when the sun is leaning on its side.” If such terms are consistently and habitually used for expressing a time such as three o’clock in the afternoon, they are quite satisfactory in the translation.
An expression such as the hour for prayers can be rendered as “the time when the people habitually pray” or “the time when people normally pray.” Some languages may require a goal for a term such as “prayer,” and therefore it is perfectly acceptable to have “a time when people normally pray (or, talk) to God.”
In the selection of a term for prayer it is important to emphasize the fact of communication rather than primarily “begging for” or “asking for.”
In languages which make a clear distinction between prayer as simply speaking to God and more elaborate religious functions involving prayer, it is preferable to use the latter term in this instance. Therefore it could legitimately be translated essentially as “the time when people normally worshiped.”
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 .
Section 3:1–10
Peter healed a lame man
In this section Peter and John met a lame man. Peter healed him using the power of Jesus. This miracle is similar to Jesus healing the paralytic in Luke 5:17–26, but here Luke indicates that the man had been lame from birth. This makes the miracle even more astonishing. This miracle is an example of the wonders and miraculous signs mentioned in 2:43. One consequence of this miracle was that Peter preached to the people in the temple area (3:11–26).
Here is another possible heading for this section:
Peter heals a crippled man (New Century Version)
Paragraph 3:1–10
3:1a
One afternoon: The phrase One afternoon introduces a new story. 2:42–47 talks about certain events that happened over a period of time. The events of 3:1–10 probably happened during that time. They are an example of miraculous signs mentioned in 2:43. So the Berean Standard Bible uses the introductory phrase One afternoon. Introduce the new events according to the connection described here. Introduce them in a natural way in your language. For example:
Once (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
On one-occasion
Peter and John: Peter and John are the same men mentioned in 1:13b.
were going up to the temple: The Jewish people usually talked about going up to the temple, because the temple was on higher ground than most of the rest of Jerusalem. It was also holy ground. So it was also up for the Jewish people in the sense of approaching God.
In some languages going up indicates a very steep hill. If that is true in your language, translate the meaning as described above. For example:
were going to the temple
-or-
were approaching the ⌊holy⌋ temple
were going up: The Greek grammar probably indicates that Peter and John were on their way to the temple. For example:
were on their way (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
went together going up
temple: Here, the word temple refers to the courtyards that surrounded the temple. Only the priests were allowed into the temple itself. In 2:46, the Berean Standard Bible translates the Greek word as “temple courts.” See how you translated “temple courts” there.
3:1b
at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour: The phrase the ninth hour refers to nine hours after sunrise. This is about three o’clock in the afternoon. It was one of the times when Jews went to the temple each day to pray and worship God. Here are some other ways to translate these words:
at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
at the mid-afternoon time of prayer
-or-
because it was the hour of praying because the sun had gone half-way down
prayer: This word refers to speaking to God. It includes praising God, thanking him, and asking him to do things. It does not refer to speaking words of magic or meaningless repetition. See how you translated this word in 1:14 or 2:42.
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