13Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were amazed and recognized them as companions of Jesus.
The Greek that is typically translated as “boldness” in English is often translated in the the widely-used Mandarin ChineseUnion Version with an existing Chinese proverb: tǎnrán wújù (坦然无惧) or “calm and fearless.” (Source: Zetzsche)
In Makonde it is translated as “being strong in heart.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
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.
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 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)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 4:13:
Uma: “Those judges were surprised to hear Petrus and Yohanes speak without any uneasiness. For Petrus and Yohanes, they were just ordinary people who were not highly schooled. And they recognized them, that they ones that followed Yesus previously [lit., yesterday].” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “So-then the councilors were greatly amazed when they saw that Petros and Yahiya spoke boldly, and-what’s-more/yet they were men of little (lit. short) education/study and of low social standing. So-then they remembered that these had been companions of Isa.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when those leaders of the Jews there, when they saw that Peter and John were not afraid to speak and when they knew that they were not highly educated, and they were not high in rank, they were very amazed. And then they recognized that Peter and John were companions long ago of Jesus.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When the leaders of the Jews saw the boldness of Pedro and Juan in answering, they were surprised, because they knew that they were low-status people who were not educated. Then they remembered that they had-been-going-in-a-group-with Jesus,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When those leaders of the Jews observed that the speech of Pedro and Juan wasn’t halting, they were amazed, knowing too that as for those two, they hadn’t had schooling, being yet low-class. And they recognized too that as for those two, they had been companions of Jesus.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Desano: “Hearing the answer of Peter and John, the authorities said, ‘where did they get their boldness?’ They knew them that they had very little knowledge of paper and knew that they were people without prestige. ‘They were with Jesus, and maybe that’s why they know,’ they were saying.”
Tataltepec Chatino: “They heard the word Peter said, and they looked at Peter and John. ‘Why aren’t they afraid, speaking to us?’ they said. ‘Not great people are they, not people who know paper.’ Then those elders realized that they had been walking with Jesus.” (Source for this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.).
The Greek Iēsous is “only” a proper name but one with great importance. The following quote by John Ellington (in The Bible Translator1993, p. 401ff. ) illustrates this:
“In Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus Christ, Joseph is told that when Mary gives birth to a son ‘you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins’ (1:21). This name is a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew name [Yeshua (יֵשׁוּעַ) which is a short form of a name meaning] ‘the Lord [Yahweh] saves.’ The name is very significant and is in itself especially dear to Christians around the world. (…) Unquestionably great importance is attached to the name of Jesus by Christians of all persuasions and backgrounds.”
While Iēsous (pronounced: /i.ɛː.suːs/) is transliterated as “Jesus” (pronounced /ˈdʒiːzəs/) in English (but was translated as “Hælend” [the “healing one”] in Old English — see Swain 2019) it is transliterated and pronounced in a large variety of other ways as well, following the different rules of different languages’ orthographies, writing systems and rules of pronunciation. The following is a (partial) list of forms of Jesus in Latin characters: aYeso, Azezi, Cecoc, Chesús, Chi̍i̍sū, Chisɔsi, Ciisahs, Ciise, Ciisusu, Djesu, Ɛisa, Ƹisa, Eyesu, Gesù, Gesû, Gesü, Ġesù, Ghjesù, Giêsu, ꞌGiê‑ꞌsu, Giê-xu, Gyisɛse, Hesu, Hesús, Hisus, Hisuw, Ià-sŭ, Iesen, Ié:sos, Iesu, Iesui, Iesusɨn, Iesusiva, Ié:sos, Ihu, Iisus, Iisussa, Ijeesu, iJisọsị, Iji̍sɔ̄ɔsi, Iosa, Íosa, Ìosa, İsa, I’sa, Isiso, Isõs, Ísu, Isus, Isusa, Iisussa, Isuthi, Itota, Îtu, Isuva, Izesu, Izesuq, Jasus, Jeeju, Jeesus, Jeesuse, Jeezas, Jehu, Jeisu, Jeju, Jejus, Jeso, Jesoe, Jesosa, Jesoshi, Jesosy, Jesu, Jesû, Jesua, Jesuh, Jesuhs, Jesuo, Jesús, Jésus, Jesúsu, Jethu, Jezed, Jezi, Jézi, Ježiš, Jezu, Jezus, Jézus, Jėzus, Jēzus, Jezusi, Jėzus, Jezuz, Jiijajju, Jíísas, Jiizas, Jíìzọ̀s, Jisas, Jisase, Jisasi, Jisasɨ, Jisaso, Jisesi, Jisɛ̀, Jisos, Jisọs, Jisɔs, Jisu, Jiszs, Jizọs, Jizɔs, Jizọsi, Jizọsu, Jòso, Jusu, Jweesus, Ketsutsi, Njises, Sesi, Sisa, Sísa, Sisas, Sīsū, Sizi, Txesusu, uJesu, Ujísɔ̄si, ŵaYesu, Xesosi, ´Xesús, Xesús, Yasu, Ya:su, Ɣaysa, Yecu, Yeeb Sub, Yeeh Suh, Yeesey, Yeeso, Yeesso, Yēēsu, Yēēsu, Yehsu, Yëësu, Yeisu, Yeisuw, Yeshu, Yeso, Yesò, Yëso, Yɛso, ye-su, Yésu, Yêsu, Yẹ́sụ̃, Yésʉs, Yeswa, Yet Sut, Yetut, Yexus, Yezo, Yezu, Yiesu, Yiisa, Yiisu, Yiitju, Yis, Yisɔs, Yisufa, Yitati, Yusu, ‑Yusu, :Yusu’, Zeezi, Zezi, Zezì, Zezwii, Ziizɛ, Zisas, Zîsɛ, Zjezus, Zozi, Zozii, and this (much more incomplete) list with other writings systems: ᔩᓱᓯ, ᒋᓴᔅ, Հիսուս, ᏥᏌ, ኢየሱስ, ያሱስ, ܝܫܘܥ, Ісус, Їисъ, 耶稣, იესო, ईसा, イエス, イイスス, イエスス, 예수, येशू, येशो, ਈਸਾ, ພຣະເຢຊູ, ජේසුස්, যীশু, ଯୀଶୁ, ཡེ་ཤུ་, ‘ঈছা, இயேசு, ಯೇಸು, ພຣະເຢຊູ, ယေရှု, ઇસુ, जेजू, येसु, เยซู, យេស៊ូ, ᱡᱤᱥᱩ, ယေသှု, యేసు, ᤕᤧᤛᤢ᤺ᤴ, އީސާގެފާނު, ਯਿਸੂ, ꕉꖷ ꔤꕢ ꕞ, ⵏ⵿ⵗⵢⵙⴰ, ଜୀସୁ, يَسُوعَ,ㄧㄝㄙㄨ, YE-SU, ꓬꓰ꓿ꓢꓴ, 𖽃𖽡𖾐𖼺𖽹𖾏𖼽𖽔𖾏, ꑳꌠ, ᠶᠡᠰᠦᠰ (note that some of these might not display correctly if your device does not have the correct fonts installed).
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In some languages the different confessions have selected different transliterations, such as in Belarusian with Isus (Ісус) by the Orthodox and Protestant churches and Yezus (Езус) by the Catholic church, Bulgarian with Iisus (Иисус) by the Orthodox and Isus (Исус) by the Protestant church, Japanese with Iesu (イエス) (Protestant and Catholic) and Iisusu (イイスス) (Orthodox), or Lingala with Yesu (Protestant) or Yezu (Catholic). These differences have come to the forefront especially during the work on interconfessional translations such as one in Lingala where “many hours were spent on a single letter difference” (source: Ellington, p. 401).
In Literary and Mandarin Chinese where transliterations of proper names between the Catholic and Protestant versions typically differ vastly, the Chinese name of Jesus (Yēsū 耶稣) remarkably was never brought into question between and by those two confessions, likely due to its ingenious choice. (Click or tap here to see more).
The proper name of God in the Old Testament, Yahweh (YHWH), is rendered in most Chinese Bible translations as Yēhéhuá 耶和華 — Jehovah. According to Chinese naming conventions, Yēhéhuá could be interpreted as Yē Héhuá, in which Yē would be the family name and Héhuá — “harmonic and radiant” — the given name. In the same manner, Yē 耶 would be the family name of Jesus and Sū 稣 would be his given name. Because in China the children inherit the family name from the father, the sonship of Jesus to God the Father, Jehovah, would be illustrated through this. Though this line of argumentation sounds theologically unsound, it is indeed used effectively in the Chinese church (see Wright 1953, p. 298).
Moreover, the “given name” of Sū 稣 carries the meaning ‘to revive, to rise again’ and seems to point to the resurrected Jesus. (Source: J. Zetzsche in Malek 2002, p. 141ff., see also tetragrammaton (YHWH))
There are different ways that Bible translators have chosen historically and today in how to translate the name of Jesus in predominantly Muslim areas: with a form of the Arabic Isa (عيسى) (which is used for “Jesus” in the Qur’an), the Greek Iēsous, or, like major 20th century Bible translations into Standard Arabic, the Aramaic Yēšūaʿ: Yasua (يَسُوعَ). (Click or tap here to see more.)
Following are languages and language groups that use a form of Isa include the following (note that this list is not complete):
In Indonesian, while most Bible translations had already used Yesus Kristus rather than Isa al Masih, three public holidays used to be described using the term Isa Al Masih. From 2024 on the government is using Yesus Kristus in those holiday names instead (see this article in Christianity Today ).
Some languages have additional “TAZI” editions (TAZI stands for “Tawrat, Anbiya, Zabur, and Injil” the “Torah, Prophets, Psalms and Gospel”) of the New Testament that are geared towards Muslim readers where there is also a translation in the same language for non-Muslims. In those editions, Isa is typically used as well (for example, the Khmer TAZI edition uses Isa (អ៊ីសា) rather than the commonly used Yesaou (យេស៊ូ), the Thai edition uses Isa (อีซา) rather than Yesu (เยซู), the Chinese edition uses Ěrsā (尔撒) vs. Yēsū (耶稣), and the English edition also has Isa rather than Jesus.)
In German the name Jesus (pronounced: /ˈjeːzʊs/) is distinguished by its grammatical forms. Into the 20th century the grammatical rules prescribed a unique Greek-Latin declination: Jesus (nominative), Jesu (genitive, dative, vocative), Jesum (accusative), from which today only the genitive case “Jesu” is still in active use. Likewise, in Seediq (Taroko), the morphological treatment of “Jesus” also occupies a special category by not falling under the normal rule of experiencing a vowel reduction when the object-specific suffix an is added “since it was felt that the readers might resent that the name has been changed that drastically.” (Compare Msian for “Moses” (Mosi) as an object, but Yisuan for “Jesus” (Yisu).) (Source: Covell 1998. p. 249)
In Lamba the name ŵaYesu consists of a transliteration Yesu and the prefix ŵa, a plural form for “proper names when addressing and referring to persons in any position of seniority or honor.” While this was avoided in early translations to avoid possible misunderstandings of more than one Jesus, once the church was established it was felt that it was both “safe” and respectful to use the honorific (pl.) prefix. (Source C. M. Doke in The Bible Translator 1958, p. 57ff. )
In virtually all sign languages, “Jesus” is signed with the middle finger of each hand pointing to the palm (or wrist) of the other in succession (signing the nails of the cross). In the context of Bible translation this has been pointed out as theologically problematic since the “semantic connections of the original name Jesus do point towards ‘salvation,’ they do not naturally lead to crucifixion.” (Source: Phil King in Journal of Translation 1 (2020), p. 33ff.)
Following is the oldest remaining Ethiopian Orthodox icon of Jesus from the 14th or possibly 13th century (found in the Church of the Saviour of the World in Gurji, Ethiopia). As in many Orthodox icons, Jesus’ right hand forms the Greek letters I-C-X-C for IHCOYCXPICTOC or “Jesus Christ.” Another interpretation of the right hand is that it shows three fingers pointing to the Trinity, while the two other fingers point to Jesus’ two natures.
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 )
The style of the following drawing of Jesus by Annie Vallotton is described by the artist as this: “By using few lines the readers fill in the outlines with their imagination and freedom. That is when the drawings begin to communicate.” (see here )
Illustration by Annie Vallotton, copyright by Donald and Patricia Griggs of Griggs Educational Service.
The Council was the supreme religious court of the Jews; it was composed of seventy leading Jewish men and was presided over by the High Priest. Though the Greek text itself (which simply has “they”) makes no specific reference to the Council, this is an important device in identifying the group of individuals who were meeting together to consult on this matter. A phrase such as “those who were consulting together” may be an appropriate way of identifying the various individuals brought together for this consultation.
Bold comes from a word which literally means “freedom of speech,” and may indicate that the members of the Council were amazed at the boldness with which Peter and John had spoken in the name of Jesus. How bold Peter and John were can be expressed as “how Peter and John spoke without fear.” In some languages this may be expressed idiomatically as “how they said everything” or “how they did not cover up anything.”
The expression for learn must not imply either formal instruction or any outside information. This is something which the members of the Council deduced from the way in which Peter and John had spoken.
Ordinary men of no education translated two words, the first of which, “ordinary men,” means a person who is not a specialist in a particular field; while the second, “of no education,” means a persons who is unschooled, and in the papyri even refers to one who cannot write. This latter term is taken by some translators to refer to a person who is untrained in the Jewish Law, though it is doubtful if that is the meaning in the present context. For the two words Jerusalem Bible has “uneducated laymen,” New English Bible “untrained laymen,” and An American Translation* “uneducated, ordinary men.”
Expressions for ordinary men vary widely in different languages, for example, “the little people,” “those who do not count for much,” “those who live at the edge of the village,” and “those who command others.”
Lack of formal education (in the rabbinical sense) is not so easily expressed. In some situations this is expressed in rather unique ways, for example, “they did not know paper,” “they could not instruct from books,” or “they had not gone off to school.”
The meaning of the Greek clause “they had been with Jesus” is they had been companions that is, close friends, of Jesus. It is important to indicate that Peter and John had been with Jesus over a period of time. It is for that reason that the Good News Translation has employed companions of Jesus. In other languages one may have “experienced living with Jesus,” “associated with Jesus,” or “followed along with Jesus for some time.”
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 .
When they saw the boldness of Peter and John: This clause indicates that the leaders noticed that the apostles were bold and confident. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
When they saw that Peter and John were confident -or-
The Jewish leaders saw that Peter and John were not afraid to speak (New Century Version)
they: The pronoun they refers to the Jewish leaders (4:5).
4:13b
realized: This verb indicates that the leaders learned something about the apostles that they had not known before. Perhaps by how Peter and John spoke and dressed, the leaders discovered that they were unschooled and ordinary men. Here are some other ways to translate this word:
perceived (Revised Standard Version) -or-
discovered
unschooled: Here this word indicates that the apostles had gone to school until the age of twelve as most Jewish children did, but they had not studied in the advanced Jewish schools where rabbis taught. Here are some other ways to translate this word:
had no schooling/training from rabbis -or-
not well educated (Contemporary English Version) -or-
not highly schooled
ordinary men: The phrase ordinary men indicates that no one had trained Peter and John to interpret the Scriptures or the Jewish law. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
untrained (New American Standard Bible) -or-
of ordinary/normal social standing
4:13c
they marveled: This clause indicates that the leaders were surprised about how bold and confident Peter and John were. It also indicates that they continued to be surprised for some time. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
they were amazed (New American Standard Bible) -or-
they were surprised (God’s Word)
took note that these men had been with Jesus: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as took note means “to connect new information with what was known before.” Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
they recognized that they had been with Jesus (English Standard Version) -or-
They realized then that they had been companions of Jesus (Good News Translation)
had been with Jesus: Make it clear here that Peter and John had been with Jesus for some time. (They were with Jesus for about three years. But you should not include “three years” in your translation.) For example:
had been ⌊going around⌋ with Jesus -or-
had been ⌊staying⌋ with Jesus
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