The Greek that is translated as “was raised from the dead” is translated as “rose from the dead” (Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac), “came up again from where he was buried” (Huehuetla Tepehua) or “returned from among the dead” (Ojitlán Chinantec). (Source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
“John the Baptist” in Mexican Sign Language (source: BSLM )
In German Sign Language (Catholic) it is translated with the sign for the letter J and the sign signifying a Catholic baptism by sprinkling on the head.
In American Sign Language it is translated with the sign for the letter J and the sign signifying “shout,” referring to John 1:23. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“John” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with the sign for leaping in the womb (see Luke 1:41) and baptism. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)
A question of cultural assumptions arose in Tuvan. The instinctive way to translate this name denotatively would be “John the Dipper,” but this would carry the highly misleading connotation that he drowned people. It was therefore decided that his label should focus on the other major aspect of his work, that is, proclaiming that the Messiah would soon succeed him. (Compare his title in Russian Orthodox translation “Иоанн Предтеча” — “John the Forerunner.”) So he became “John the Announcer,” which fortunately did not seem to give rise to any confusion with radio newsreaders! (Source: David Clark in The Bible Translator 2015, p. 117ff. )
In Noongar it is translated as John-Kakaloorniny or “John Washing” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
A new oral translation into Yao / Ciyawo, spoken in Mozambique, uses John the one who ceremoniously washes/pours water, using a term (kusingula) that “indicates a ceremonial washing or pouring of water on a person in the Yawo’s expression of Islam which can be used for an act done in repentance of sin.” (Source: Houston 2025, p. 236)
Following is a Syriac Orthodox icon of John the Baptist from the 18/19th century (found in the Cathedral of Saints Constantine and Helen, Yabrud, Syria).
The wings are often depicted in icons of John the Baptist because of his status as a messenger. The scroll that John the Baptist holds quotes John 1:29 and reads (translated into English): “I saw and witnessed concerning him, ‘Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.’”
Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
The Greek that is transliterated as “Herod (Antipas)” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for king and and a sign depicting cutting off the head (of John the Baptist), referring to Matthew 14:10 et al. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 9:7:
Noongar: “When Herod was King of Galilee, he heard all the things which had happened. He became very confused because people were saying, ‘John the Baptist has come back to life’.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “At that time, the ruler in Galilea was Herodes Antipas. When Herodes heard all that Yesus had done, he was just confused. Because there were those who said: ‘That Yesus is Yohanes the Baptizer come-to-life again.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “After this, Herod, the king of the place Jalil heard all that Isa had done. He didn’t know (what to think of it)/was confused for some people said that this Isa was Yahiya who bathed the people who had come to life again from death, they said.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And these things that Jesus and company were doing, Governor Herod heard about it in the province of Galilee, and it troubled his breath because there were some who said that Jesus was John the Baptist, raised from the dead.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When Governor Herod in Galilea heard about all these-things that plural Jesus were doing, his thoughts were in-turmoil/disturbed, because some said that Juan the Baptizer had come-to-life again.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Herodes who was that king of Galilea heard news of all those things concerning Jesus. His mind/thinking was agitated for there were those who said that as for this Jesus, maybe he was indeed that Juan who was the first to baptize who had come alive again.” (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®).
ēkousen de Hērōdes ho tetraarchēs ‘Herod, the tetrarch heard.’ The loose connection with the preceding is expressed by renderings like “now” (New English Bible), ‘in the mean time’ for de. For Hērōdes ho tetraarchēs cf. on 3.1, 19.
ta ginomena panta ‘all that was happening,’ i.e. all that Jesus did and said.
kai diēporei ‘and he was perplexed,’ i.e. “and (he) did not know what to make of it” (New English Bible). diaporeō.
dia to legesthai hupo tinōn hoti … hupo tinōn de hoti … allōn de hoti … lit. ‘because of it being said by some that…, by some that…, (by) others that…,’ i.e. ‘because some people said…,’ etc.
Iōannēs ēgerthē ek nekrōn ‘John had risen from the dead.’ For the meaning of egeirō cf. 7.14.
ek nekrōn ‘from (among) the dead,’ i.e. from the realm of the dead.
(V. 8) hoti Ēlias ephanē ‘that Elijah had appeared.’
phainomai (also 24.11) ‘to appear,’ here of someone who had not died but had been transferred to heaven (cf. 2 Kings 2.1-18).
hoti prophētēs tis tōn archaiōn anestē ‘that one of the ancient prophets had risen,’ scil. from the dead. anestē is synonymous with ēgerthē. The reference is to the Old Testament prophets in general.
archaios (also in v. 19) ‘ancient,’ ‘of old times.’
All that was done, or, ‘all-things done by Jesus’ (Javanese), or simply, ‘all those events,’ ‘all that was happening.’
Perplexed is expressed variously, e.g. by ‘oppressed of heart’ (Tae’), or by a reduplicated derivation of the adverb ‘how’ (Batak Toba, thus rendering in one word what New English Bible says in a phrase).
Because it was said by some, or in the active, ‘because some people said’; similarly in the subsequent clauses.
The series some … some … others may have to be adjusted, e.g. ‘some … others … still others,’ cf. on 8.5. The three clauses beginning with that may better be rendered in direct discourse.
Had been raised (or, had risen) from the dead, cf. on 7.22. The prepositional phrase is not explicitly rendered in several cases; if it is, one may have to say, ‘from among dead people,’ ‘from where dead people are’ (Toraja-Sa’dan).
(V. 8) Had appeared, or, ‘had shown himself (again)’ (Sundanese, Sranan Tongo), ‘had become-visible/been-seen (again)’ (Tae’). Some languages (e.g. Balinese) possess a specific term for gods or deified persons showing themselves (again) on earth.
Old prophets, cf. on ‘prophets from of old’ in 1.70.
Had risen, short for ‘had risen from the dead,’ cf. above.
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.
Herod the governor heard about the amazing things that Jesus and his apostles were doing. However, Herod did not know what that implied about the kind of person that Jesus was. People said that Jesus was a prophet who had become alive again (9:19), but they could not decide which prophet he was. Some people thought that Jesus was John the Baptizer. Herod had caused John to be executed, and he was confused about who Jesus was and how he got his power.
Some other headings for this section are:
Herod’s confusion about Jesus -or-
Herod was worried
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 14:1–12 and Mark 6:14–29.
Paragraph 9:7–9
9:7a
When: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as When introduces a change of topic in this story. It does not refer to present time. Some English versions do not translate this word here. Some other ways to introduce the topic are:
When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, heard about everything Jesus was doing (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
Herod, the governor, heard about all the things that were happening (New Century Version)
Herod: This Herod was Herod Antipas. His father was Herod the Great.
the tetrarch: A tetrarch was the ruler or governor of a fourth part of a kingdom. When Herod the Great died, Caesar divided the land that he ruled. Caesar appointed some of Herod’s sons to rule different parts. Herod Antipas became the ruler of the province/district called Galilee.
The focus here is not on the meaning of the word tetrarch. For this reason, you may translate tetrarch in a general way. You may want to make “Galilee” explicit in order to distinguish this Herod from the other rulers in the New Testament who were also named Herod. For example:
Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
Herod, the leader/governor ⌊of Galilee⌋ -or-
Herod ruled/governed ⌊the province called Galilee⌋.
The term tetrarch also occurred in 3:1c.
heard about all that was happening: The phrase heard about all that was happening indicates that Herod heard about all the amazing things that Jesus and his apostles were doing.
9:7b
This part of the verse expresses Herod’s reaction to the things that Jesus and his disciples were doing. Herod was perplexed. The next part of the verse (9:7c) gives the reason why he was perplexed. People were saying different things about Jesus, and Herod did not know which things were true. Express the connections in this verse in a natural way in your language. Here is one way to do this in English:
7aWhen Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard about all the things that were happening, 7bhe was very confused, 7cbecause some people were saying… (Good News Translation)
he was perplexed: The clause he was perplexed means “he (Herod) was puzzled.” Herod did not know what to think about Jesus. He was confused because people had different ideas about who Jesus was. In some languages you may have an idiom to express this kind of confusion. Other ways to translate the clause in English are:
He was very confused -or-
He did not know what to think about it
9:7c
For: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For introduces the reason why Herod was perplexed. Different people were saying different things about Jesus.
some were saying that: The word some means “some people” and refers to the first of three different groups of people who had different ideas about who Jesus was.
John had risen from the dead: Some people said that Jesus was really John the Baptizer, who had become alive again. In some languages you may need to make the meaning more explicit. For example:
Some were saying that ⌊Jesus was⌋ John, who had been raised from the dead
The verb phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates with an active form, had risen, is passive in Greek. This indicates that John did not rise from the dead on his own. Someone raised him from the dead. In some languages it may be natural to use an active verb and say who did the action. For example:
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