22When he did come out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak.
The Greek in Luke 1:22 that is translated as “see(n) a vision” in English is sometimes translated generically, such as “to see something” (Sranan Tongo, Tae’), “something is made visible” (Western Apache), or “they knew, what he might have seen” (i.e. they knew that something had been seen but not what) (Shipibo-Conibo).
Elsewhere a specification is added, such as “to see a divine sight” (Kannada, Toraja-Sa’dan), “he had seen something supernatural, which had appeared to him” (Tboli) (source for this and all above: Reiling / Swellengrebel), or “something God showed” in Hiligaynon (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation).
Ayutla Mixtec: “see that which will happen” (source for this and seven above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Tagbanwa: “being caused to dream by God” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Chichewa: azidzaona zinthu m’masomphenya: “they will see things as if face-to-face” (interconfessional translation, publ. 1999) (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 69)
The Greek in the books of Revelation and Acts is translated as obq-rmwible: “look-dream” in Natügu. Brenda Boerger (in Beerle-Moor / Voinov, p. 162ff.) tells the story of that translation: “In the book of Revelation, the author, John, talks about having visions. Mr. Simon [the native language translator] and I discussed what this meant and he invented the compound verb obq-rmwible ‘look-dream’ to express it. Interestingly, during village testing no one ever had to ask what this neologism meant.”
In many English translations the Greek terms “hieron” (the whole “temple” in Jerusalem or specifically the outer courts open to worshippers) and “naos” (the inner “shrine” or “sanctuary”) are translated with only one word: “temple” (see also for instance “Tempel” in German [for exception see below] and “tempel” in Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans).
Other languages make a distinction: (Click or tap here to see more)
Navajo (Dinė): “house in which worship is carried out” (for naos)
Balinese: “inner part of the Great Temple” (“the term ‘inner part’ denoting the hindmost and holiest of the two or three courts that temples on Bali usually possess”) vs. “Great Temple”
Telugu: “womb (i.e. interior)-of-the-abode” vs. “abode”
Thai: a term denoting the main audience hall of a Buddhist temple compound vs. “environs-of-the-main-audience-hall”
Kituba: “place of holiness of house-God Lord” vs. “house-God Lord”
Shipibo-Conibo: “deep in God’s house” vs. “God’s house” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Germandas Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022): “inner court of the temple” (Tempelinnenhof) vs. “temple”
Languages that, like English, German, Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans, don’t make that distinction include:
Toraja-Sa’dan: “house that is looked upon as holy, that is sacred, that is taboo and where one may not set foot” (lit. “house where-the-belly-gets-swollen” — because taboo is violated — using a term that is also applied to a Muslim mosque) (source for this and the three above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Aguaruna: “the house for talking to God” (source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
Guhu-Samane: “festival longhouse of God” (“The biiri, ‘festival longhouse’, being the religious and social center of the community, is a possible term for ‘temple’. It is not the ‘poro house’ as such. That would be too closely identified with the cult of poro. The physical features of the building, huge and sub-divided, lend it further favor for this consideration. By qualifying it as ‘God’s biiri’ the term has become meaningful and appropriate in the context of the Scriptures.”) (Source: Ernest Richert in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. )
Enga: “God’s restricted access house” (source: Adam Boyd on his blog )
Another distinction that tends to be overlooked in translations is that between hieron (“temple” in English) and sunagógé (“synagogue” in English). Euan Fry (in The Bible Translator 1987, p. 213ff. ) reports on this:
“Many older translations have simply used transliterations of ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ rather than trying to find equivalent terms or meaningful expressions in their own languages. This approach does keep the two terms separate; but it makes the readers depend on explanations given by pastors or teachers for their understanding of the text.
“Translators who have tried to find meaningful equivalents, for the two terms ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ have usually made a distinction between them in one of two ways (which focus on the contrasting components of meaning). One way takes the size and importance of the Temple to make a contrast, so that expressions such as ‘sacred meeting/ worship house of the Jews’ and ‘big sacred meeting/worship house of the Jews’ are used. The other way focuses on the different nature of the religious activity at each of the places, so that expressions such as ‘meeting/worship house of the Jews’ and ‘sacrifice/ceremony place of the Jews’ are used.
“It is not my purpose in this article to discuss how to arrive at the most precise equivalent to cover all the components of meaning of ‘temple’. That is something that each translator really has to work through for himself in the light of the present usage and possibilities in his own language. My chief concern here is that the basic term or terms chosen for ‘temple’ should give the reader of a translation a clear and correct picture of the location referred to in each passage. And I am afraid that in many cases where an equivalent like ‘house of God’ or ‘worship house’ has been chosen, the readers have quite the wrong picture of what going to the Temple or being in the Temple means. (This may be the case for the word ‘temple’ in English too, for many readers.)”
Here are some examples:
Bambara: “house of God” (or: “big house of worship”) vs. “worship house” (or: “small houses of worship”)
Toraja-Sa’dan: “house where-the-belly-gets-swollen” (see above) vs. “meeting house for discussing matters concerning religious customs” (and “church” is “house where one meets on Sunday”)
Navajo (Dinė): “house in which worship is carried out” vs. “house of gathering” (source for all above: Bratcher / Nida)
Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Herod’s temple (source: Bible Lands 2012)Click or tap here to see a short video clip showing synagogues in New Testament times (source: Bible Lands 2012)
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 1:22:
Noongar: “When he came out, he could not speak, and so they knew he had seen a vision inside the Temple. He gestured, not speaking.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “When he appeared outside, he was no longer able to speak to them. He could just gesture/make-hand-signals and he definitely could not talk. That is why the people knew that there was something he had seen inside the House of God.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “When he came out he couldn’t speak to them, therefore they knew that he had seen something appearing to him there in the temple. He just signaled/made signs to them because he was now dumb.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when he came out he could no longer speak to the people/them, and they knew from that that God had shown him something there inside the church for he could no longer speak, he just made signs to the people and from that time onward he was deaf-and-dumb.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When he then emerged, he made-signs to them because he was not able-to-speak, and that’s how-they -knew that God had shown him something inside.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When Zacarias came out, he truly was dumb. Sign-language was his communicating with those people there outside. Therefore they realized that there was something God has caused Zacarias to see there inside. Well, from then on, Zacarias truly was dumb.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
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®).
exelthōn ‘having come out’; the aorist tense has pluperfect force here.
lalēsai autois ‘to speak to them,’ refers probably to the blessing people expected from the priest.
epegnōsan ‘they realized,’ cf. on v. 4.
hoti optasian heōraken ‘that he had seen a vision.’ This is a conclusion from the fact that Zechariah could not speak, not an observation on the part of the crowd.
optasia (also 24.23) ‘vision,’ always of supernatural appearances.
kai autos ‘and he on his part.’ Different from v. 17 kai autos is used here emphatically and contrasts Zechariah with the crowd.
ēn dianeuōn ‘he continually was making signs,’ periphrastic construction.
dianeuō ‘to beckon with the hand or with the head.’
diemenen kōphos ‘he remained dumb,’ imperfect tense suggesting duration. diamenō, cf. on 22.28.
Translation:
When he came out contrasts with his delay in the temple; hence, “when he did come out” (New English Bible), or, ‘when he had arrived outside.’
He could not speak to them, echoing the wording of v. 20. In Navajo one must say, ‘he tried to speak to them but could not.’
Here and introduces a conclusion; hence, ‘thereby’ (Leyden), ‘so’ (Javanese), ‘(only) then’ (Chinese).
They perceived has been rendered in this context, ‘it became clear to them,’ ‘it-reached their heart,’ i.e. they came to the conclusion (Tae’); Navajo uses the verb ‘to think,’ modified by a particle expressing surprise.
Seen a vision. Several languages can use a rather generic expression, leaving the specific meaning to become clear from the context, e.g. ‘to see something’ (Sranan Tongo, Tae’), ‘something is made visible’ (Apache), and cf. ‘they knew, what he might have seen,’ i.e. they knew that something had been seen but not what (Shipibo-Conibo). Elsewhere a specification must be added, cf. ‘to see a divine sight’ (Kannada, Toraja-Sa’dan), ‘he had seen something supernatural, which had appeared to him’ (Tboli). A term for ‘vision’ having the connotation of ‘an illusion,’ suggesting unreality, should be avoided.
He made signs, or, ‘he addressed (lit. talked-to) them in signs only’ (Kituba), ‘he made illustrations/examples’ (Tboli), ‘he beckoned’ (Balinese), ‘he gesticulated’ (Navajo). The noun refers to a motion or gesture by which a wish or command is made known or a thought expressed. The closest natural equivalent may be a term that refers to a specific gesture, cf. ‘to nod’ (Santali, Thai), ‘to wave the hand’ (Sranan Tongo). The meaning of the movement used should be carefully checked; where, for instance, ‘to wave the hand up and down’ means a command to draw near (as in Indonesia) it does not fit the context here.
And he remained dumb, or, ‘he was dumb, he uttered no word’ (Toraja-Sa’dan, emphasizing duration by the use of two synonymous expressions). In some languages (e.g. Balinese), the term ‘dumb’ includes deafness, as it does in the Greek, cf. on v. 62. In others the rendering simply is ‘not able to speak’ (Kituba, Navajo).
Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.
was unable to speak to them: Zechariah was unable to talk, so he was not able to tell the people what he had seen in the temple.
1:22b
they realized: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as realized indicates that the people “understood” or “came to know” that Zechariah had seen a vision. Some other ways to say this are:
they perceived (Revised Standard Version) -or-
it became clear to them
he had seen a vision: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a vision implies here that the angel appeared to Zechariah in a supernatural way. A human being is not able to see an angel unless God makes him able to see the angel. The meaning in this context is a little different from the usual meaning of vision. Usually, a vision refers to something similar to a dream, except that a person is awake when he sees it.
Some other ways to translate this are:
he had seen something supernatural -or-
God had showed him something
1:22c
There is a Greek conjunction at the beginning of this verse part that is often translated as “and” in English. It introduces an explanation of how the people realized that Zechariah had seen a vision. Some translations, such as the New International Version, translate it as “for.” Other translations, including the Berean Standard Bible, do not translate it. Connect this part of the verse to 1:22b in a natural way in your language. See the General Comment on 1:22a–d at the end of the notes on 1:22d for suggestions about reordering the parts of this verse.
He kept making signs to them: The phrase making signs describes the way in which Zechariah tried to communicate with the people. He did this by moving his hands and perhaps also his head. The form of the verb indicates that he did this action many times.
1:22d
but: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but is often translated as “and” in English. Some English versions use but because it is natural in English to indicate a contrast between what Zechariah could do (1:22c) and what he could not do. Other English versions translate the conjunction as “and,” or they do not translate it. Connect 1:22d to 1:22c in the way that is most natural in your language in this context.
remained speechless: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as remained speechless can mean unable to speak, unable to hear, or both. Here it includes the idea that Zechariah remained speechless, since that is what Gabriel had said. Luke 1:62 may indicate that Zechariah was also deaf. If your language has a word that means both unable to speak and unable to hear, you may use it here.
This verse refers specifically to Zechariah as he tried to communicate with the people at the temple. Luke 1:62–64 indicates that he remained speechless for a long time (for at least nine months).
General Comment on 1:22a–d
In some languages, it may be necessary to reorder this verse. One way to do that is to put the description of Zechariah’s behavior first and then give the people’s conclusion that Zechariah had seen a vision. For example:
22aWhen Zechariah came out of the temple, he could not talk to them. 22cHe made hand signals to them 22dbut remained mute. 22bThen/so the people realized that he had seen a vision. -or-
22aWhen he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. 22bThen they realized 22cfrom his gestures 22dand his silence 22bthat he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary. (New Living Translation (2004))
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