“The elders are both religious and political as indicated by their clothing. Thai scripture is written on folded palm leaf manuscripts and raised on small tables. The object in the bowl is used for ceremonial purposes. The boy’s hair will be cut at age twelve when, according to Thai tradition, he becomes a complete person. This makes his young wisdom all the more amazing.”
There are three different levels of speech in Burmese: common language, religious language (addressing and honoring monks, etc.), and royal language (which is not in active use anymore). Earliest Bible translations used exclusively royal and religious language (in the way Jesus is addressed by others and in the way Jesus is referred to via pronouns), which results in Jesus being divine and not human. Later editions try to make distinctions.
In the Common Language Version (publ. 2005) the human face of Jesus appears in the narrative of the angel’s message to Joseph and what Joseph did in response (Matthew 1:21-25). The angel told Joseph that Mary was going to give birth to a son, not a prince.
Likewise in Luke 2:6-7 the story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem is told simply using the Common language. Again in the description of the shepherds’ visit to the baby Jesus (Mark 1:21-25), in the story of Jesus’ circumcision (Luke 2:6-2:7), and in the narrative of the child Jesus’ visit to Jerusalem (Luke 2:46-51), the human face of Jesus comes to the forefront.
On the other hand, the child Jesus is clearly depicted as a royal or a divine child in the story of the wise men (Matthew 2:9-12), the story of the flight to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-14), and the return to Nazareth (Matthew 2:20-21).
The Greek that is translated as “astonished” or “amazed” or “marvel” in English is translated in Pwo Karen as “stand up very tall.” (In John 5:20, source: David Clark)
Elsewhere it is translated as “confusing the inside of the head” (Mende), “shiver in the liver” (Uduk, Laka), “to lose one’s heart” (Mískito, Tzotzil), “to shake” (Southern Bobo Madaré), “to be with mouth open” (Panao Huánuco Quechua) (source: Bratcher / Nida), “to stand with your mouth open” (Citak) (source: Stringer 2007, p. 120), “ceasing to think with the heart” (Bulu), “surprise in the heart” (Yamba) (source for this and one above: W. Reyburn in The Bible Translator 1959, p. 1ff. ), or “have one’s mouth full” (Maan (source: Don Slager).
In Mark 5:20 and elsewhere where the astonishment is a response to listening to Jesus, the translation is “listen quietly” in Central Tarahumara, “forget listening” (because they were so absorbed in what they heard that they forgot everything else) in San Miguel El Grande Mixtec, “it was considered very strange by them” in Tzeltal (source: Bratcher / Nida), “in glad amazement” (to distinguish it from other kinds of amazement) (Quetzaltepec Mixe) (source: Robert Bascom), or “breath evaporated (or “escaped”)” (Mairasi) (source: Enngavoter 2004).
In Western Dani astonishment is emphasized with direct speech. In Mark 1:22, for instance, it says: “Wi!” yinuk, pi wareegwaarak — “They were all amazed, saying ‘Oh'” (source: Lourens De Vries in The Bible Translator 1992, p. 333ff. )
In Low German it is translated as grote Oken maken or “make big eyes” (sometime followed by: un kreegn dat Stillswiegen: “and became silent”) (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006).
In the Kölsch translation (Boch 2017) it is translated as brummte de Lück de Kopp or “the heads of the people buzzed,” Bauklötz jestaunt, lit. “marvel toy blocks,” and vür Staune de Muhl nit mieh zojekräch or “so full of marvel that they couldn’t close their mouths again.”
In the Pfälzisch translation by Walter Sauer (publ. 2012) it is often translated as baff vor staune or “speechless because of their marvel.” (Source: Jost Zetzsche)
Hand colored stencil print on washi by Sadao Watanabe (1982).
Image taken with permission from the SadaoHanga Catalogue where you can find many more images and information about Sadao Watanabe. For other images of Sadao Watanabe art works in TIPs, see here.
Image taken from He Qi Art . For purchasing prints of this and other artworks by He Qi go to heqiart.com . For other images of He Qi art works in TIPs, see here.
The following is an artwork by Vinayak Shivaram Masoji (1897–1977):
“V.S. Masoji is a Bengali Indian artist who studied at Shantiniketan, an artist’s institution founded by the national poet of Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore.” (Source for this and the image: The Bible Through Asian Eyes by Masao Takenaka and Ron O’Grady 1991)
Following is a 1973 painting of the JESUS MAFA project, a response to New Testament readings from the Lectionary by a Christian community in Cameroon, Africa. Each of the readings was selected and adapted to dramatic interpretation by the community members. Photographs of their interpretations were made, and these were then transcribed to paintings:
Jesus sits in front of some religious leaders listening and asking questions as they listen to him, their astonishment evident in their facial expressions. In the background we see Mary and Joseph approaching, undoubtedly relieved to find their child safe and sound. We are reminded of Jesus’ humanity in this story. He was a child who did not fully consider the feelings of his parents and the consequences of his actions. He grew not only physically, but intellectually and emotionally as well. Through Jesus’ increase in wisdom, we are reminded that we too are called to grow into deeper understanding. And that requires that we ask questions whose answers may challenge our long-held beliefs and theologies.
From Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. Image retrieved March 23, 2026. Original source: librairie-emmanuel.fr.
The following is a stained glass window from Mary Lowndes after William Holman Hunt, made by Lowndes and Drury, 1910. From St Martin & All Saints Church, Oxford:
Photo by the wub, hosted by Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication license
Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 2:47:
Noongar: “All the people listening to Jesus were surprised because of his knowledge and his words.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “All the people who heard him said: ‘No kidding his smartness! No kidding the clearness of his answers!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “All who heard him marvelled very much because his knowledge was deep and his answers were right/hit the mark.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And everyone who heard his answers to the questions were very surprised because he was really wise.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “All who were listening to him were amazed, because all he was-saying-in-answer was good.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “All who heard him were really amazed at his wisdom/understanding and the good-quality of his answers.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Luke 2:41-52:
Every year Mary and Joseph went to Jerusalem for Passover,
and when Jesus was twelve, they went there as usual.
After Passover, his parents left,
not knowing Jesus had stayed on in the city.
They thought he was traveling with friends,
and they went a whole day before looking for him.
When they could not find Jesus with relatives or friends,
they returned to Jerusalem and for three days
anxiously searched everywhere.
Finally, they found Jesus in the temple,
listening to the teachers, asking them questions,
and surprising everyone by his wisdom and knowledge.
“Son, why have you done this to us?” asked his mother.
“Your father and I’ve been frantically searching for you.”
“Why did you have to search for me?” questioned Jesus.
“Didn’t you know I’d be here in my Father’s house?”
But they didn’t understand what he meant.
Jesus returned home to Nazareth with his parents,
and was always obedient to them.
But his mother never stopped thinking about all of this.
As Jesus grew up, he grew wiser and stronger —
so much so that God and people were pleased with him.
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®).
And all who heard Him: The clause all who heard Him indicates that other people gathered around to listen to the conversation between Jesus and the teachers. It was so interesting that people in the temple stopped to listen.
astounded: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as astounded is a very strong word. It means more than just surprised. For example:
his answers stunned everyone who heard him (God’s Word) -or-
all who heard Jesus were astonished (NET Bible)
His understanding: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as understanding can refer to the ability to understand something or to the content of what is understood. Because of this, the word may also be translated as “intelligence” (as in the Revised English Bible and the New Jerusalem Bible).
His answers: The phrase His answers implies that the teachers were also asking Jesus questions. They were amazed because he answered their questions so well.
In some languages, it may be more natural to make this explicit. For example:
the answers he gave (Revised English Bible) -or-
the way he answered the questions that the teachers asked him
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