The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated “boat” or “ship” in English is translated in Chichimeca-Jonaz as “that with which we can walk on water” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.), in Chitonga as a term in combination with bwato or “dugout canoe” (source: Wendland 1987, p. 72), and in Tangale as inj am or “canoe-of water” (inj — “canoe” — on its own typically refers to a traditional type of carved-out log for sleeping) (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
In Kouya it is translated as ‘glʋ ‘kadʋ — “big canoe.”
Philip Saunders (p. 231) explains how the Kouya team arrived at that conclusion:
“Acts chapter 27 was a challenge! It describes Paul’s sea voyage to Italy, and finally Rome. There is a storm at sea and a shipwreck on Malta, and the chapter includes much detailed nautical vocabulary. How do you translate this for a landlocked people group, most of whom have never seen the ocean? All they know are small rivers and dugout canoes.
“We knew that we could later insert some illustrations during the final paging process which would help the Kouya readers to picture what was happening, but meanwhile we struggled to find or invent meaningful terms. The ‘ship’ was a ‘big canoe’ and the ‘passengers’ were ‘the people in the big canoe’; the ‘crew’ were the ‘workers in the big canoe’; the ‘pilot’ was the ‘driver of the big canoe’; the ‘big canoe stopping place’ was the ‘harbour’, and the ‘big canoe stopping metal’ was the ‘anchor’!”
In Lokạạ it is translated as ukalangkwaa, lit. “English canoe.” “The term was not coined for the Bible translation, but rather originated in colonial times when the English arrived in Nigeria on ships. The indigenous term for a canoe was modified to represent the large, ocean-going ship of the English.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
The Greek that is translated as “possessed by a demon” in English is translated in Matumbi in two ways. Either as mundu mwene moka / “having a demon” or bandu babalobi moka / “being drunk with a demon.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
“In Thai society, those who are possessed by evil spirits are usually the weak or mentally unstable. This man is shown as freed from his spiritual and physical chains. Even though he is naked Jesus is not ashamed to be close to him.”
Jesus and His disciples were traveling in a boat. They came to the other side of the lake. There was a place called Gerasa. There was a place where there were many caves. People who had died were buried there. There was a man there. He was possessed by a demon. The man lived in these caves.
People tried to grab him and tie him up, but he tore all the ropes. They even tried to tie him up with chains. Many times they caught him, tied him up, but still he tore the chains, broke free and ran away. Day and night he walked there among the graves, climbed up the mountain and shouted loudly, and beat himself with stones, he was all scarred.
When Jesus arrived at the shore in a boat, the demon-possessed man saw Jesus, ran up to him, and knelt down before him.
Jesus looked at him and commanded, Demon, get out of this man!
The demon inside the man began to shout angrily, You, Jesus, are the Son of God! What do you want? I beg you before God — don’t torture me!
Jesus said: What is your name?
The demon answered: My name is Legion! It means a great multitude of warriors.
The demon continued: I beg you, if you drive us out of this area, where will we go?
Not far away, on a mountain, a large herd of pigs was grazing.
The demons began to ask Jesus: Permit us to go out and take possession of the pigs!
Jesus allowed it. The demons began to come out of this man and took possession of the pigs. And there were about two thousand pigs. The pigs began to be demonized. And there was a mountain, and all the pigs began to fall off the mountain into the sea and they all sank. The shepherds who were herding the pigs, when they saw that the pigs were drowned, were very frightened. They ran to the city of Gerasa and also to its surrounding villages, they said to the people, Look, look what has happened!
A large crowd gathered, the people went to that place. They saw Jesus and the man who was demon-possessed. He was healed, he became normal, he was sitting quietly, with his clothes on.
The people were frightened and began to ask: Is this the man who was demon-possessed?
Others began to say: Yes, it was him, he was healed. The demons came out of him and entered the pigs, and the pigs fell from the mountain into the sea.
That’s what the witnesses said. The people were frightened and began to ask: Who did it? Jesus?
And they said to Jesus, Don’t come to our land, go away from here!
Jesus turned around and got into the boat to sail on. The man who used to be demon-possessed came to Jesus and begged Him: Take me with you! May I come with you?
Jesus commanded: No! Go home to your family. God has healed you. Go tell all the people what God has done to you, that he has had mercy on you.
The man went around the ten cities, telling what Jesus had done for him, and all the people marveled.
Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):
Иисус с учениками плыли в лодке. Они пристали к другому берегу. Там был город Гераса. Там было место, где было много пещер. Там хоронили умерших людей. Там был один человек. В него вселился бес. Человек жил с этих пещерах.
Люди пытались его схватить и связать, но он рвал все веревки. Даже цепями его пытались связать. Много раз его ловили, вязали, но все равно он рвал эти цепи, вырывался и убегал. Днем и ночью он ходил там среди могил, забирался на гору и громко кричал, и сам себя бил камнями, был весь израненный.
Вот Иисус причалил на лодке к берегу, сошел на землю, и тут бесноватый увидел Иисуса, подбежал к нему и бросился перед ним на колени.
Иисус посмотрел на него и приказал: Бес, выйдете вон из этого человека!
Бес внутри этого человека стал злобно кричать: Ты, Иисус, Сын Божий! Чего тебе надо? Умоляю тебя перед Богом — не мучь меня!
Иисус сказал: Как твое имя?
Бес ответил: Мое имя — Легион! Оно означает «великое множество воинов».
Бес продолжал: Умоляю тебя, если ты выгонишь нас из этой местности, куда нам деваться?
А недалеко оттуда, на горе, паслось большое стадо свиней.
Бесы стали просить Иисуса: Разреши нам выйти и вселиться в свиней!
Иисус позволил. Бесы начали выходить из этого человека и вселялись в свиней. А свиней было около двух тысяч. Свиньи начали бесноваться. А там была гора, и все свиньи начали срываться с горы в море и все потонули. Пастухи, которые пасли свиней, когда увидели, что свиньи утонули, очень испугались. Они побежали в город Герас, а также в его окрестные деревни, они сказали людям: Посмотрите, посмотрите, что случилось!
Собралась большая толпа, народ пошел к тому месту. Они увидели Иисуса и того человека, который был бесноватым. Он исцелился, стал нормальным, он спокойно сидел, в одежде.
Люди испугались, стали спрашивать: Точно ли это тот человек, который был бесноватым?
Другие стали говорить: Да, это он, он исцелился. Бесы из него вышли и вселились в свиней, и свиньи попадали с горы в море.
Так говорили свидетели. Народ испугался, стали спрашивать: Кто это сделал? Иисус?
И они обратились к Иисусу: Не ходи в наши края, уходи отсюда!
Иисус развернулся и сел в лодку, чтобы плыть дальше. Человек, который раньше был бесноватый, подошел к Иисусу и стал умолять Его:
Возьмите меня с собой! Можно, я пойду с вами?!
Иисус приказал: Нет! Иди домой к своим родным. Бог излечил тебя. Иди, расскажи всем людям, что Бог сделал с тобой, что он помиловал тебя. Этот человек ходил по десяти городам, что совершил Иисус для него, и все люди удивлялись.
Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)
Después vino el barco y Jesús salió del barco. El hombre con el demonio adentro vio a Jesús y bajo corriendo hacia él.
Jesús lo miró y expulsó al demonio mientras el hombre bajó corriendo, y él se arrodilló y se postró delante de él.
El demonio adentro de él gritó: “Jesús, tú hijo del Dios superior, ¿para qué viniste a mi? Por favor, dejame, no me maltrates, diselo a Dios.”
Jesus (dijo): “Alto, ¿tú nombre?” El demonio (dijo): “Mi nombre es Legión, muchos demonios.”
“Por favor, que me quede, no me tires al lugar allá por favor.” Vio en los alrededores muchos cerdos que estaban allá presentes. Dijo: “Por favor, tirame en los cerdos.”
Jesús lo permitió: “Sí, vayanse.”
Los demonios adentro del hombre se movían y se fueron. Había más o menos 2000 cerdos, que estaban comiendo pasto, y los demonios caían encima de ellos y la multitud se fue y cayó en el lago, y como no tenían aire, morían.
Unas personas que supervisaban (los cerdos) estaban sorprendidos y corrieron rápidamente a sus casas, gritando mientras corrían y advertiendo: “¡Vengan y vean!” e igual en otro pueblo advertieron: “¡Vengan y vean!”
La gente (pensaban) ¿Qué? y todos fueron allá “¿Qué es, qué es?” Todos vieron a Jesús y vieron al hombre, y ellos sabían que recientemente tenía un demonio adentro y que caminaba gritando, pero ahora lo vieron cambiado, diferente, con ropa normal y sentado tranquilamente, sano en mente.
La gente se espantó y dijo: “¿Cómo es?” Un hombre que supervisó (los cerdos) dijo: “Lo vi con mis propios ojos”, y lo contó a la gente y ellos se espantaron y tenían miedo.
Ellos miraron a Jesús y dijeron: “No te quedes aquí, vete, por favor.”
Jesús subió en el barco y el hombre, el mismo que estaba sentado con él, caminó haciá él y dijo: “Por favor, quiero ir contigo, por favor.”
Jesús (dijo):”Vete a la casa, y cuentalo a tu familia, que has sufrido mucho pero que Dios te vio y tenía compasión y te dio un milagro, vete a la casa.”
El hombre se fue a Decápolis y iba a diferentes lugares, contando (a la gente): “Jesús quitó los demonios, huy era un milagro.” Y todas las personas lo vieron y estaban asombrados.
Then came the boat and Jesus got out. The man with the demon inside saw Jesus and came running down.
Jesus looked at him and threw out the demon while the man came running down, and he knelt and fell down before him.
The demon inside him shouted: “Jesus son of God the exalted, what have you come to me for? Please leave me, tell God not to torture me.”
Jesus (said): “Stop, your name?” The demon (said): “My name is Legion, many demons.”
“Please, let me stay, please don’t throw me in that place over there.” Looking around he saw many pigs that were present in the area and said: “Please throw me in the pigs.”
Jesus gave permission: “Yes, go off.”
The demons inside the man began to move and went off. There were about 2000 pigs and they were eating grass, the demons fell on them and the whole herd went off and fell into the lake, and since they could not get air they died.
Some people that were looking after (the pigs) were shocked and quickly ran home, shouting while they were running and telling people: “Come and see!” In the same way in another village they told people: “Come and see!”
The people (thought) What? and they all went over: “What is it, what is it?” They all saw Jesus and they saw the man, and they knew that until recently he had a demon inside him and walked back and forth shouting, but now they saw him changed, different, with normal clothes on and sitting quietly, sound of mind.
The people were scared and said: “How is this?” and a man who looked after (the pigs) said: ” I saw it with my own eyes” and he told the people (what had happened) and they were scared and afraid.
They looked at Jesus and said: “Don’t stay here, please go away.”
Jesus got into the boat and the man, the same man that had just been sitting beside him, walked over and said: “Please, I want to go with you, please.”
Jesus (said): “Go home and tell your family that you have suffered much but God saw you and felt compassion for you and gave you a miracle, go home.”
The man went off to Decapolis and went to different places, telling (the people): “Jesus took away the demons, wow it was a miracle.” And all the people saw it and they were astonished.
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 5:18:
Uma: “While Yesus was boarding, the person who had been possessed earlier asked if he could go with him.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “When Isa got into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged him to come along with him.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “When Jesus was getting into the boat, the person who was cured from being afflicted by demons begged to go along with Jesus.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Jesus was-climbing into the boat while-simultaneously also the man whom the evil-spirits had-left was begging to go-with him koma.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When Jesus and company were about to sail, he was asked by that person whom he had healed to take him along.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
The Greek that is translated as “with him” or similar in English is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as o-tomo (お供), combining “accompany” (tomo) with the respectful prefix o-. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
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.”
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