37After him Judas the Galilean rose up at the time of the census and got people to follow him; he also perished, and all who followed him were scattered.
The name that is transliterated as “Judas the Galilean” in English is translated in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) with a combinations of the signs for “lies,” “falsehood” and “followers,” depicting as a false prophet with a following. (Source: Missão Kophós )
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 5:37:
Uma: “One other time, during the census, there was also one Galilea person, his name Yudas. He also led many people to oppose the government. But he was killed also, and his followers were just scattered-scattered also.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “After Tudas, another one followed, a man of Jalil named Judas, during the time when the names of the people were listed. He also was able to bring many people to follow him, but he was also killed and all his followers were scattered.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then followed Judas of Galilee at the time when the government took census of all the people. There were also those who followed him, however he was also killed, and his followers also scattered.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “There was also Judas from-Galilea who appeared (lit. came-out) in the time of the people’s being-censused. Many also were those whom he persuaded to join-in-accompanying him. But they killed him too, and his disciples were also scattered.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “The next one to do like this was Judas the taga Galilea, at the time of the censusing of the people. Many also were the people he was able to cause to follow him, but when he too was killed, nothing came of it either for like the other in the past, they too were scattered.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Galilean is simply “a man from the province of Galilee.”
During the time of the census may require some descriptive equivalent in some languages, for example, “while all the people were being counted,” or “while officers were writing down the names of all the people.” However, since census taking is increasingly more frequent in most parts of the world, there is usually a convenient expression for this process of registration.
Drew a crowd after him may be equivalent to “caused many people to follow him” or “caused many people to become his helpers.”
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 .
After him: The Greek is more literally “after this(masculine).” The word “this(masculine)” probably refers to Theudas (5:36). The phrase then refers to some time after Theudas died. For example:
After this man (New American Standard Bible) -or-
After that man (God’s Word)
Judas the Galilean: This Judas was a different man than Judas Iscariot. If you think that readers of your translation will confuse the two men, you may want to explain in a footnote. Here is an example footnote:
This man was a different man than Judas Iscariot.
the Galilean: This indicates that this Judas lived in the land of Galilee. Here are some other ways to translate this:
of Galilee (King James Version) -or-
from Galilee (God’s Word) -or-
a Galilee man
appeared: This is the same word as the word that the Berean Standard Bible translated as “rose up” in 5:36a. See how you translated this word there.
in the days of the census: Here the phrase in the days of means that this Judas rebelled during the time that the Romans were going around and taking this census. Roman officials took this census in Judea in AD 6. It was done about ten years after the one that Luke wrote about in Luke 2:1–2. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
during the time of the census (Good News Translation) -or-
at the time of the census (Revised English Bible)
The Romans probably took the census over some weeks or months.
census: This word refers to when the Roman government registered all people in a province. They usually did this to determine how much tax had to be collected from that province. See how you translated the similar Greek word in Luke 2:2 that the Berean Standard Bible also translates as “census.”
5:37b
drew away people after him: This Judas persuaded some people to rebel against the Roman rule over the Jews. Here are some other ways to translate this:
caused people to follow him in revolt (LEB) -or-
led some people to oppose the ⌊Roman⌋ government ⌊over the Jews⌋
people:
The Greek article usually translated as “the” is not present, often implying “some,” as it does here. Here are some other ways to translate this Greek word:
people (New American Bible, Revised Edition) -or-
some of the people (Revised Standard Version)
5:37c
He too perished: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as perished means “die in a violent or untimely way.” The Romans probably killed him. Here are some other ways to translate this:
He too was killed (New International Version) -or-
he also died a violent death
too: Here this word indicates that the situation of Judas the Galilean was similar of Theudas. Both were killed for rebelling. Here is another way to translate this:
also (Revised Standard Version)
all his followers were scattered: The clause is passive. Some languages must translate it as an active clause. For example:
⌊soldiers⌋ scattered all his followers
all his followers: See how you translated this phrase in 5:36c.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.