3Therefore, brothers and sisters, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task,
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)
Morelos Nahuatl: “the Holy Spirit enters one’s heart to rule”
Teutila Cuicatec: “God’s Spirit possesses one” / “in all the authority of the Holy Spirit”
Isthmus Mixe: “have the Holy Spirit (in one’s head and heart) very much” or “Holy Spirit enter one completely”
Lalana Chinantec: “one’s heart really obeyed what the Holy Spirit wanted”
Chichimeca-Jonaz: “one’s heart full of God’s Holy Spirit” (source for this and seven above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Yawa: “God’s Spirit gives one power” (source: Larry Jones)
Yakan: “ruled by the Holy Spirit” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “thoroughly controlled by the Holy Spirit” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “the Holy Spirit had-entered-to-indwell one” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The following story is relayed by Martha Duff Tripp as she led the translation of the New Testament into Yanesha’ (p. 310): “I continue to work with Casper Mountain [an Yanesha’ translator] on translation. As we start the book of Luke, we run into another problem. In Chapter 1, verse 15, the text reads (speaking of John the Baptist), ‘and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ The Amueshas [Yanesha’s] have never associated their word for ‘fill’ with anything except pots and baskets. How can a person be ‘filled’? Even their word for a full stomach is not the word for ‘fill.’ We talk together about what ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’ means (obsessed with or possessed by). The thought comes to me of what the Amueshas [Yanesha’s] say about the shaman. They say that he can ‘wear’ the spirit of the tiger, that they can tell when he is wearing the tiger spirit because he then will act like a tiger. Their word for ‘wear’ is the same word as to ‘wear or put on a garment.’ Can this possibly be the way to say ‘filled with God’s Spirit’? As I cautiously question Casper about this, his face lights up immediately. ‘Yes, that is the way we would say it, he is ’wearing’ God’s Holy Spirit.’”
Note that Cheyenne also uses the term for “wear” in these instances. (Source: Wayne Leman)
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the exclusive form (excluding the congregation of the disciples).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff. and Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.
W. R. Hutton (see The Bible Translator April 1953, p. 86ff. ) who worked on the translation into Karbi says this: “In Acts 6:3 a matter of church government comes up. The Revised Standard Version has ‘whom we may appoint to this duty.’ Does the ‘we’ include those who do the picking in the first place as well as the Apostles? It is very likely the answers here will diverge along the lines of church polity and Baptists give one answer and Church of England folk another. It would be convenient not to have to take sides in a translation but for those of us who have an inclusive and an exclusive ‘we’ a decision has to be made.”
The Greek that is translated in English as “brother” or “brother and sister” (in the sense of fellow believers), is translated with a specifically coined word in Kachin: “There are two terms for brother in Kachin. One is used to refer to a Christian brother. This term combines ‘older and younger brother.’ The other term is used specifically for addressing siblings. When one uses this term, one must specify if the older or younger person is involved. A parallel system exists for ‘sister’ as well. In [these verses], the term for ‘a Christian brother’ is used.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae)
In Matumbi is is translated as alongo aumini or “relative-believer.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
In Martu Wangka it is translated as “relative” (this is also the term that is used for “follower.”) (Source: Carl Gross)
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is often translated as Mitchristen or “fellow Christians.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 6:3:
Uma: “So, relatives, it is better that we choose from our companions seven people with good actions, who are controlled by the Holy Spirit, and who are wise [have clear hearts], so that to them we (excl.) give the work of supervising this matter of food.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “So brothers,’ they said, ‘you must/should choose seven men from among you, men whom you really know are controlled/ruled-over by the Holy Spirit and who have deep knowledge. We (excl.) will give them this work.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Therefore, brethren,’ they said, ‘it would be good if you choose seven of our companions who are respected. It is necessary that the ones you choose must be men who are wise whom you know are thoroughly inspired by the Holy Spirit. And we will give to them the authority to divide up.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Therefore you siblings, choose seven intelligent men who are full of the power of the Holy Spirit and whose behavior is well spoken-of. It is they to-whom-we (excl.) -will-entrust the distribution of money,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Therefore now, it would be good for you to choose seven men whom we (excl.) will set up in this job/responsibility of being distributors. It’s necessary that those you choose are people recognized by all of you as being very obedient to the Espiritu Santo who indwells them and their wisdom/understanding is mature/full-strength.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Isthmus Mixe: “Then the twelve sent ones of Jesus ordered that the brethren gather together. Then they said: ‘It is not proper that we (excl.) distribute food. We will thus not be able to teach God’s word well.'”
Teutila Cuicatec: “Then the twelve apostles gather all those who believed in our Lord Jesus and said: ‘It is not right that we should discontinue proclaiming God’s word in order to feed people.'” (Source for this and above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
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 (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.
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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
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