demon

The Greek, Hebrew and Ge’ez that is typically translated/transliterated in English as “demon” is translated by other languages in the following ways:

  • Central Mazahua: “the evil spirit(s) of the devil” (source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation July, 1967, p. 5ff.)
  • Kupsabiny: “bad spirit(s)” (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “bad bush-spirit(s)” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Hausa: “unclean spirit” (see note below) (source: Hausa Common Language Back Translation)
  • Mandarin Chinese: “dirty spirit” (污灵 / wūlíng) (Protestant); “evil spirit/demon” （邪鬼 / xiéguǐ) (Catholic) (source: Zetzsche)
  • German translation by Fridolin Stier (1989): “false (or: perverted) spirit) (Abergeist).
  • Adioukrou: abŋ ŋuŋ, originally “evil spirit (‘the spiritual/invisible part of a person that leaves the body at death, not an independent spirit being’).” “Exactly what abŋ ŋuŋ evokes for Adioukrou is the question. One thing Adioukrou know is that when a person’s abŋ leaves his or her body after death, it can enter someone else and speak through them to reveal the cause of death, a practice forbidden by the church. It is clear to all that abŋ eŋuŋ in Scripture is not speaking of this, however, because contexts that involve evil spirits in Scripture do not involve the Adioukrou post-mortem interrogation of a corpse. (…) Although the expression abŋ ŋuŋ is made up of Adioukrou words, it does not refer to a category in the Adioukrou worldview.” (Source: Hill 2006)
  • Sissala: kaŋtɔŋ, which traditionally referred to “either a spirit of natural phenomena such as trees, rivers, stones, etc., or the spirit of a deceased person that has not been taken into the realm of the dead. Kaŋtɔŋ can be good or evil. Evil kaŋtɔŋ can bring much harm to people and are feared accordingly. A kaŋtɔŋ can also dwell in a person living on this earth. A person possessed by kaŋtɔŋ does not behave normally.” (Source: Regina Blass in Holzhausen 1991, p. 48f.)
  • Umiray Dumaget Agta: hayup or “creature, animal, general term for any non-human creature, whether natural or supernatural.” Thomas Headland (in: Notes on Translation, September 1971, p. 17ff.) explains some more: “There are several types of supernatural creatures, or spirit beings which are designated by the generic term hayup. Just as we have several terms in English for various spirit beings (elves, fairies, goblins, demons, imps, pixies) so have the Dumagats. And just as you will find vast disagreement and vagueness among English informants as to the differences between pixies and imps, etc., so you will find that no two Dumagats will agree as to the form and function of their different spirit beings.” This term can also be used in a verb form: hayupen: “creatured” or “to be killed, made sick, or crazy by a spirit.”
  • Yala: yapri̍ija ɔdwɔ̄bi̍ or “bad Yaprija.” Yaprijas are traditional spirits that have a range presumed activities including giving or withholding gifts, giving and protecting children, causing death and disease and rewarding good behavior. (Source: Eugene Bunkowske in Notes on Translation 78/1980, p. 36ff.)
  • Lamnso’: aànyùyi jívirì: “lesser gods who disturb, bother, pester, or confuse a person.” (Source: Fanwong 2013, p. 93)
  • Paasaal: gyɩŋbɔmɔ, “beings that are in the wild and can only be seen when they choose to reveal themselves to certain people. They can ‘capture’ humans and keep them in hiding while they train the person in herbalism and divination. After the training period, which can range from a week to many years, the ‘captured’ individual is released to go back into society as a healer and a diviner. The gyɩŋbɔmɔ can also be evil, striking humans with mental diseases and causing individuals to get lost in the wild. The Pasaale worldview about demons is like that of others of the language groups in the area, including the Northern Dagara [who use kɔ̃tɔmɛ with a similar meaning].” (Source: Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)

In the still widely-used 1908 Tswana (also: Setswana) translation (by Robert Moffat, revised by Alfred Wookey), the term badino or “ancestor spirit” is used for “demon,” even though in the traditional understanding there is nothing inherently negative associated with that term. Musa Dube (in: Journal of Society of New Testament 73, 1999, p. 33ff. ) describes this as an example of “engaging in the colonization of the minds of natives and for advancing European imperial spaces. The death and burial of Setswana culture here was primarily championed through the colonization of their language such that it no longer served the interests of the original speakers. Instead the written form of language had equated their cultural beliefs with evil spirits, demons and wizardry. This colonization of Setswana was in itself the planting of a colonial cultural bomb, meant to clear the ground for the implantation of a worldwide Christian commonwealth and European consciousness. It was a minefield that marked Setswana cultural spaces as dangerous death zones, to be avoided by every intelligent Motswana reader or hearer of the translated text.”

In Kachin, the term Nat (or nat) us used for “demon” (as well as “devil” and “unclean/evil spirit“). Like in Tswana, the meaning of Nat is not inherently negative but can be positive in the traditional Nat worship as well. Naw Din Dumdaw (in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 94ff.) argues that “the demonization of Nat created a social conflict between Kachin Christians and Kachin non-Christians. Kachin converts began to perceive their fellow Kachins who were still worshipping Nats as demonic and they wanted to distance themselves from them. Likewise, the Nat-worshiping Kachin community perceived the Kachin converts as betrayers and enemies of their own cultural heritage. (…) The demonization of the word Nat was not only the demonization of the pre-Christian religion but also the demonization of the cultural heritage of the Kachin people. When the word Nat is perceived as demonic, it creates an existential dilemma for Kachin Christians. It distances them from their cultural traditions.”

Note that often the words for “demon” and “unclean spirit / evil spirit” are being used interchangeably.

See also devil and formal pronoun: demons or Satan addressing Jesus.

Translation commentary on Luke 9:49

Exegesis:

apokritheis ‘answering,’ cf. on 1.60.

epistata ‘master,’ cf. on 5.5.

eidomen tina en tō onomati sou ekballonta daimonia ‘we saw somebody casting out demons in your name,’ i.e. “using your name” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation). en tō onomati sou recalls epi tō onomati mou in v. 48.

kai ekōluomen auton ‘and we tried to stop him’; conative imperfect.

hoti ouk akolouthei meth’ hēmōn, scil soi ‘because he does not follow (you) with us,’ i.e. he is not together with us in following you.

Translation:

John answered, lit. ‘answering John said,’ or, ‘thereupon John said,’ “here, J. said to him” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation), ‘then J. broke in’ (Javanese).

We … we are best taken as exclusive (e.g. in Tae’).

In your name has instrumental force; hence, “with your name” (An American Translation), ‘by-means-of your name’ (Balinese, similarly Sranan Tongo, lit. taking your name). Other useful, more or less descriptive renderings are, ‘borrowing your name’ (Tae’ 1933), ‘mentioning your name’ (Sundanese), ‘relying upon your name’ (Batak Toba).

Forbade him, or, ‘tried to stop/check/prevent him’; or, “told him not to do so” (An American Translation), ‘said, “Don’t do that” ’ (Navajo).

Because. Enga conveys the causal idea by using ‘seeing that.’

He does not follow with us, or, ‘he does not follow you as we do,’ ‘he is not your follower as we are’ (the pronoun ‘we’ having exclusive force), ‘he does not join (us) in following you’ (Bahasa Indonesia, Balinese); or, ‘he is not with us, or, one of us’ (cf. New English Bible, Southern Subanen), ‘us’ having inclusive force, since the speaker himself is one of Jesus’ followers. For to follow see on 5.11.

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.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 9:49

Section 9:49–50

Jesus told who is for him and who is against him

The connection of this section to the previous section is probably in the phrase “in my name.” In the previous Section 9:46–48, Jesus taught his disciples that a truly great person was one who humbly welcomed even a little child in his name. In this section, the disciple John responded that he and the other disciples had tried to stop a man from expelling demons in Jesus’ name. They did this because the man was not one of the twelve disciples. Jesus then taught them that anyone who did not oppose them was on their side.

Some other examples of headings for this section are:

Whoever Is Not against You Is for You (Good News Translation)
-or-
Those who do not oppose you help you

There is a parallel passage for this section in Mark 9:38–40.

Paragraph 9:49–50

9:49a

In Greek, this verse begins literally, “And answering, John said.” One way to translate this is:

John answered and said (New American Standard Bible)

However, John was not answering a question. He was probably responding to Jesus’ statement in the previous section about welcoming a little child in his name. Therefore the Berean Standard Bible and some other English versions do not use a verb such as “answer.” Here are other ways to translate this:

Then John responded and said (Translator’s Reference Translation)
-or-
When John heard what Jesus said, he responded/said to him
-or-
John spoke up (Good News Translation)

Master: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Master was used to show respect when people addressed a person who had authority over them. John used this word here to show his respect for Jesus as well as his close relationship with him as his teacher and spiritual leader. See the note on 9:33b, where the same word is used.

said John: The Berean Standard Bible places the words said John in the middle of John’s spoken words. It also puts the subject John after the verb said. In Greek, these words occur at the beginning of 9:49, as part of the clause “And answering, John said.” Place the words said John or “John replied” where it is natural in your language.

John: Here the name John refers to one of Jesus’ twelve disciples. It does not refer to John the Baptizer. If people in your area will think that this name refers to John the Baptizer, you may want to include some implied information. For example:

⌊the disciple⌋ John

Another option would be to add a footnote giving this information.

driving out: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as driving out was also used in 9:40. See the note there for translation suggestions.

demons: The word demons also occurs in 9:1b. See the note there for information about translating this term.

in Your name: In this context the phrase in Your name refers to invoking or using Jesus’ name, with all the power and authority associated with that name. Some ways to translate it are:

by using the power and authority of your name (God’s Word)
-or-
using your name (New Century Version)
-or-
through your power

A similar phrase “in my name” occurs in 9:48a. Both phrases refer to Jesus’ name, but the context here is different. In some languages it may be possible to use the same expression in both contexts. In other languages, you will have to use different expressions.

9:49b

we tried to stop him:
The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as tried to stop is literally “were preventing” or “were forbidding.” The tense indicates that the disciples tried to make the man stop. They did this with words. They did not try to restrain him physically. Probably more than one of the disciples told him to stop. But the man probably continued to cast out demons.

Some other ways to translate this are:

we tried to hinder him (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
we were forbidding him to do that
-or-
We told him to stop (New Century Version)

to stop: It is implied that the disciples tried to make the man stop using Jesus’ name to cast out demons. If your language needs to say what was stopped, you could say:

to stop ⌊doing that⌋
-or-
to stop ⌊driving/casting out demons using your name⌋

because he does not accompany us: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as he does not accompany us is literally “he does not follow with us.” The word us probably refers to Jesus and the twelve disciples. Some other ways to translate this are:

he doesn’t belong to our group (Good News Translation)
-or-
he is not associated with us(incl)

General Comment on 9:49b

In some languages it may be more natural to reverse the order of the two clauses in 9:49b. It may be necessary to say first why the disciples tried to stop the man:

He is not one of us(incl), so we(excl) tried to stop him.
-or-
He does not follow you(sing) as we(excl) do. That is why we(excl) tried to stop him.

© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.