wisdom

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, Latin, and Greek that is translated as “wisdom” in English is rendered in various ways:

  • Amganad Ifugao / Tabasco Chontal: “(big) mind”
  • Bulu / Yamba: “heart-thinking”
  • Tae’: “cleverness of heart” (source for this and all above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Palauan: “bright spirit (innermost)” (source: Bratcher / Hatton)
  • Ixcatlán Mazatec: “with your best/biggest thinking” (source: Robert Bascom)
  • Noongar: dwangka-boola, lit. “ear much” (source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018 — see also remember)
  • Kwere “to know how to live well” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Dobel: “their ear holes are long-lasting” (in Acts 6:3) (source: Jock Hughes)
  • Gbaya: iŋa-mgbara-mɔ or “knowing-about-things” (note that in comparison to that, “knowledge” is translated as iŋa-mɔ or “knowing things”) (source: Philip Noss in The Bible Translator 2001, p. 114ff. )
  • Chichewa: nzeru, meaning both “knowledge” and “wisdom” (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Uma: “clearness” (source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Kako: “heart thinking” (source: Reyburn 2002, p. 190)

In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a hand gesture referring to God to indicate a human quality to communicate that wisdom does not originate from man but is linked to and connected with the fear of God (source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group):


“Wisdom” in Hungarian Sign Language (source )

See also wisdom (Proverbs) and knowledge.

complete verse (Acts 6:10)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 6:10:

  • Uma: “But they were unable to answer what Stefanus said, because the Spirit of the Lord God gave him wisdom [lit., clearness of heart] to speak.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But the Spirit of God gave Estepan knowledge therefore when he spoke, they could not fight/challenge/win over him in arguing.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “However, the Holy Spirit gave Stephen wisdom. That’s why they could not overcome his arguments.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But they could not defeat him, because the Holy Spirit helped him and he was intelligent/skillful in answering.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But they didn’t defeat the wisdom/understanding of Esteban and the things he was saying by the inspiration of the Espiritu Santo.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Spirit (of God) (Japanese honorifics)

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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 (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-tama (御霊) or “Spirit (of God)” in the referenced verses.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also Holy Spirit

Translation commentary on Acts 6:10

The Greek of this verse is literally “and they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit with which he was speaking.” Most commentators and translators agree that the spirit referred to is the Holy Spirit, and the sentence construction lends itself to the interpretation of the text that the Good News Translation has given: But the Spirit gave Stephen such wisdom that when he spoke they could not resist him (see also Jerusalem Bible, “they found they could not get the better of him because of his wisdom, and because it was the Spirit that prompted what he said”).

Gave … such wisdom is equivalent in some languages to “caused him to be so wise” or “caused him to speak such wise words.”

The expression could not resist him may be rendered as “were not able to answer him” or “were not able to argue against him.”

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 6:10

6:10

they: Here this refers to all the Jews named in 6:9.

could not stand up to: This phrase indicates that the Jewish Freedmen were not able to oppose Stephen’s wisdom and convince themselves or others that they were right and his wise words were wrong. They opposed those words but did not win the argument against them. Here are some other ways to translate this:

could not refute (Good News Translation)
-or-
could not defeat ⌊with their words⌋
-or-
could not overcome

his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as whom can also mean “which,” “what,” or “that.” Here it probably connects to both his wisdom and the Spirit. Translate in a way that by whom he spoke refers to both things. For example:

his wisdom or the Spirit by which he spoke
-or-
his wisdom by which he spoke or the ⌊Holy⌋ Spirit by whom he spoke

wisdom: This word means “the ability to understand events and know the right action.” See how you translated this word in 6:3.

the Spirit: The word Spirit here probably refers to the Holy Spirit.

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