council

The Greek that is translated as “council” or “Council” in English is (back-) translated in a variety of ways:

bind (him)

The Greek that is translated as “bind” or “bound” in English cannot be translated in some languages without specifying what is bound. In Quetzaltepec Mixe it says “bound him by the hands.”

Pilate

The name that is transliterated as “Pilate” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language (as well as in French Sign Language) with the sign signifying the washing of hands (referring to Matthew 27:24). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Pilate” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

In American Sign Language it is translated with the sign for “government/governor” plus the sign for “P” with a circular movement. The reference to government indicates Pilate’s position of authority in the Roman Empire. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Pilate” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Pontius Pilate .

elder (of the community)

The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated as “elders” in English is translated in the Danish Bibelen 2020 as folkets ledere or “leaders of the people.”

Martin Ehrensvärd, one of the translators, explains: “The term ‘elder’ turned out to pose a particularly thorny problem. In traditional bibles, you can find elders all of over the place and they never pose a problem for a translator, they are just always elders. But how to find a contemporary term for this semi-official, complex position? This may have been our longest-standing problem. A couple of times we thought we had the solution, and then implemented it throughout the texts, only to find out that it didn’t work. Like when we used city council or village council, depending on the context. In the end we felt that the texts didn’t work with such official terms, and throughout the years in the desert, these terms didn’t make much sense. Other suggestions were ‘the eldest and wisest’, ‘the respected citizens’, ‘the Israelites with a certain position in society’, ‘the elder council’ –- and let me point out that these terms sound better in Danish than in English (‘de fremtrædende borgere,’ ‘de mest fremtrædende israelitter,’ ‘alle israelitter med en vis position,’ ‘de ældste og de klogeste,’ ‘ældsterådet’). In the end we just said ‘leaders of the people.’ After a lot of hand-wringing, it turned out that we actually found a term that worked well. So, we had to give up conveying the fact that they were old, but the most important point is that they were community leaders.” (Source: Ehrensvärd in HIPHIL Novum 8/2023, p. 81ff. )

The German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022) translates likewise as “leader of the people” (Anführer des Volkes).

scribe

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The Greek that is usually translated as “scribe” in English “were more than mere writers of the law. They were the trained interpreters of the law and expounders of tradition.”

Here are a number of its (back-) translations:

  • Yaka: “clerk in God’s house”
  • Amganad Ifugao: “man who wrote and taught in the synagogue”
  • Navajo: “teaching-writer” (“an attempt to emphasize their dual function”)
  • Shipibo-Conibo: “book-wise person”
  • San Blas Kuna: “one who knew the Jews’ ways”
  • Loma: “educated one”
  • San Mateo del Mar Huave: “one knowing holy paper”
  • Central Mazahua: “writer of holy words”
  • Indonesian: “expert in the Torah”
  • Pamona: “man skilled in the ordinances” (source for this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Sinhala: “bearer-of-the-law”
  • Marathi: “one-learned-in-the-Scriptures”
  • Shona (1966): “expert of the law”
  • Balinese: “expert of the books of Torah”
  • Ekari: “one knowing paper/book”
  • Tboli: “one who taught the law God before caused Moses to write” (or “one who taught the law of Moses”) (source for this and 5 above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Noongar: Mammarapa-Warrinyang or “law man” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Mairasi: “one who writes and explains Great Above One’s (=God’s) prohibitions” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Chichewa: “teacher of Laws” (source: Ernst Wendland)
  • North Alaskan Inupiatun: “teachers of law”
  • Huehuetla Tepehua: “writer”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “person who teaches the law which Moses wrote”
  • Alekano: “man who knows wisdom” (source for this and four above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
  • Saint Lucian Creole French: titcha lwa sé Jwif-la (“teacher of the law of the Jews”) (source: David Frank in Lexical Challenges in the St. Lucian Creole Bible Translation Project, 1998)
  • Chichimeca-Jonaz: “one who teaches the holy writings”
  • Atatláhuca Mixtec: “teacher of the words of the law”
  • Coatlán Mixe: “teacher of the religious law”
  • Lalana Chinantec: “one who is a teacher of the law which God gave to Moses back then”
  • Tepeuxila Cuicatec: “one who know well the law” (Source for this and four above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Huixtán Tzotzil: “one who mistakenly thought he was teaching God’s commandments”(Huixtán Tzotzil frequently uses the verb -cuy to express “to mistakenly think something” from the point of view of the speaker; source: Marion M. Cowan in Notes on Translation 20/1966, pp. 6ff.)
  • German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022): “theologian”
  • English translation by Scot McKnight (in The Second Testament, publ. 2023): Covenant Code scholar

In British Sign Language it is translated with a sign that combines the signs for “expert” and “law.” (Source: Anna Smith)


“Scribe” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)

Mark 15:1 - 5 in Mexican Sign Language

Following is the translation of Mark 15:1-5 into Mexican Sign Language with back-translations into Spanish and English underneath:


© La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)

Muy de mañana los líderes de los sacerdotes y los ancianos y los maestros de la ley dialogaron y tomaron una decisión. Ataron las manos de Jesús con una cuerda tras su espalda y lo llevaron ante el gobernador.

Él, Pilato, le preguntó a Jesús: “¿Eres tú el rey de los judíos?” Jesús (respondió): “Tú mismo lo has dicho.”

Los líderes de los sacerdotes hicieron acusaciones contra Jesús y lo criticaron y Pilato otra vez preguntó: “Jesús, ellos (hablan) en contra de ti, ¿no vas a decir nada?”

Jesús guardó silencio, estaba callado, Pilato lo vio preguntandose….


Early in the morning the leaders of the priests and the elders and teachers of the law had a discussion and came to a decision. They tied Jesus’ hands behind his back with a rope and took him before the governor.

He, Pilate, asked Jesus: “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus (answered): “You have said it yourself.”

The leaders of the priests made accusations against Jesus and criticized him and Pilate asked again: “Jesus, they (talk) against you, are you not going to say anything?”

Jesus kept silent, he was quiet and Pilate looked at him and wondered…

Source: La Biblia en LSM / La Palabra de Dios

<< Mark 14:66-72 in Mexican Sign Language
Mark 15:6-15 in Mexican Sign Language >>

complete verse (Mark 15:1)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 15:1:

  • Uma: “Very early in the morning, all the religion judges [sitters] with the leading priests and the religion teachers and other Yahudi elders, they made-plans. They bound Yesus, the took him [and] brought him before ]lit., brought up] Gubernur Pilatus.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When it was morning, the leaders of the priests and the elders and the teachers of the religious law gathered. They were the council members that judged. They planned/conferred as to what/how-they-should-do to Isa. So-then when they had finished planning, they bound (lit. roped) Isa and took him to hand him over to Pilatus.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “When morning came, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and elders of the Jews, and all of the judges, they agreed as to what they would do with Jesus. They tied him up and took him to the Roman governor Pilate.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “In the early-morning (lit. its getting-light), the leaders of the priests, elders, teachers of the law and all who had authority to judge-cases met-together, and they agreed-together as to what they would do to Jesus. After-that they bound him and they went and handed-(him)-over to Gobernador (Governor) Pilato.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “At dawn, the chiefs of the priests, the important tribal leaders, the explainers of law and others too who were members of the Sanedrin had already reached an agreement. They caused Jesus to be bound and then taken to the governor who was Pilato.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)