complete verse (Acts 5:35)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 5:35:

  • Uma: “After that, then he said to the judges: ‘My relatives, people of Israel! Consider well just what you want to do to these people.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Then he said to the councilors, ‘You, my fellow tribesmen of Isra’il, you be careful whatever you are going to do to these men.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Gamaliel said to his companions, he said, ‘You my companions, the descendants of Israel, let’s not be in a hurry about what we do to these people because we might be mistaken.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “They put-them-out, then Gamaliel said, ‘Fellow descendants of Israel, let’s be circumspect/careful what we do with those-people.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “After they had gone, then he spoke. He said, ‘My fellow-countrymen who are descendants of Israel, we must be careful, and think well about what we intend to do to them.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

everyone (Japanese honorifics)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way to do this is through the usage of appropriate suffix title referred to as keishō (敬称) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017 by either using -san or –sama with the latter being the more formal title.

In these verses, the Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “everyone” or similar in English is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as mina-san (皆さん), combining the word for “everyone” (nī) and the suffix title –san. This creates a higher sense of familiarity and equality than for instance the same term with the more respectful title –sama at young people (Japanese honorifics). (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Japanese benefactives (ki o tsukete)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.

Here, ki o tsukete (気をつけて) or “be careful” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Acts 5:35

The Council replaces the pronoun “them,” and serves to make clear to the reader that Gamaliel is addressing the Council and not the apostles.

Since Gamaliel is also a member of the Council, it may be necessary to employ an expression such as “fellow-men of Israel.”

A translation of be careful may be rendered in a number of ways—for example, “think again,” “be concerned about,” or “have fear about.”

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 5:35

5:35a

“Men of Israel,” he said: The Greek is literally “and he said to them, ‘Men of Israel.’” The Berean Standard Bible places the words he said in the middle of what Gamaliel said. This is good English style. However, in some languages, it may be necessary to follow the Greek order and place these words at the beginning of 5:35a. For example:

and he said to them, “Men of Israel…”
-or-
Then he addressed them: “Men of Israel…” (New International Version)

The Berean Standard Bible does not translate the Greek words “to them.” However, in some languages it may be necessary to include to whom Gamaliel spoke. These words refer to the Jewish leaders here. For example:

the Sanhedrin (New International Version (2011))
-or-
the leaders

Men of Israel: Gamaliel used this phrase to address the Jewish leaders. They descended from Jacob, who was later called Israel. It is another way to refer to the Jews. Gamaliel was also a Jew. See how you translated this phrase in 2:22.

consider carefully what you are about to do to these men: This is a warning to the Jewish leaders to be careful about what they decide to do to the apostles. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

take care what you do with these men (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
be careful what you do to these men (Good News Translation)

what you are about to do: This refers to whatever action the Jewish leaders might decide to take in regard to the apostles. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

what you propose to do (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
in deciding what to do (Revised English Bible)

these men: This phrase refers to the apostles.

© 2001, 2021 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.