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)
The Greek that is translated as “to fear” or “to be afraid” or similar in English is translated in Ashe as agõõi iwei or “hearing fear.” (Source: David Rowbory)
Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 14:5:
Uma: “Really, Herodes wanted to just kill him, but he was afraid of the people/crowds, because the crowds said that Yohanes was a prophet.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “From then on Herod wanted to kill Yahiya, but he was afraid of the people, for the people believed that Yahiya was a prophet.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The reason why John was killed was because he criticized Herod, saying, ‘You have broken the law because you married Herodias,’ he said. Herod was the brother-in-law of Herodias, because she was the spouse of his younger sibling Felipe and because of that criticism of John, Herod had him seized and put in prison. He would have killed John, but he was afraid of the Jews because they knew that John was inspired of God.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Therefore Herod wanted to have Juan killed, but he was afraid of the many-people, because they acknowledged Juan as a prophet.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Herodes would have liked to have killed Juan, but he was afraid of the Judio he ruled over because they acknowledged that Juan who baptized was a prophet.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Herod, upon being told this word, wanted to kill John, but he couldn’t because Herod was afraid of the people. He knew that all the people said that John was a spokesman for God.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Eugene Nida wrote the following about the translation of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek terms that are typically translated with “prophet” in English:
“The tendency in many translations is to use ‘to foretell the future’ for ‘prophesy,’ and ‘one who foretells the future’ for ‘prophet.’ This is not always a recommended usage, particularly if such expressions denote certain special native practices of spirit contact and control. It is true, of course, that prophets of the Bible did foretell the future, but this was not always their principal function. One essential significance of the Greek word prophētēs is ‘one who speaks forth,’ principally, of course, as a forth-teller of the Divine will. A translation such as ‘spokesman for God’ may often be employed profitably.” (1947, p. 234f.)
Following is a list of (back-) translations from other languages (click or tap for details):
Ayutla Mixtec: “one who talks as God’s representative”
Isthmus Mixe: “speaker for God” (source for this and two above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Mezquital Otomi / Paasaal: “God’s messenger” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff. and Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
Noongar: Warda Marridjiny or “News Traveling” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Kutu: mtula ndagu or “one who gives the prediction of the past and the future” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ebira: ọnịsẹ, a neologism that combines the prefix ọn for “a person” with ịsẹ for “prediction” (source: Scholz /Scholz 2015, p. 49)
French 1985 translation by Chouraqui: inspiré or “inspired one” (“someone in whom God has breathed [Latin: in + spiro]) (source: Watson 2023, p. 45)
In Ixcatlán Mazatec a term is used that specifically includes women. (Source: Robert Bascom)
“In some instances these spiritual terms result from adaptations reflecting the native life and culture. Among the Northern Grebo people of Liberia, a missionary wanted some adequate term for ‘prophet,’ and she was fully aware that the native word for ‘soothsayer’ or ‘diviner’ was no equivalent for the Biblical prophet who spoke forth for God. Of course, much of what the prophets said referred to the future, and though this was an essential part of much of their ministry, it was by no means all. The right word for the Gbeapo people would have to include something which would not only mean the foretelling of important events but the proclamation of truth as God’s representative among the people. At last the right word came; it was ‘God’s town-crier.’ Every morning and evening the official representative of the chief goes through the village crying out the news, delivering the orders of the chief, and announcing important coming events. ‘God’s town-crier’ would be the official representative of God, announcing to the people God’s doings, His commands, and His pronouncements for their salvation and well-being. For the Northern Grebo people the prophet is no weird person from forgotten times; he is as real as the human, moving message of the plowman Amos, who became God’s town-crier to a calloused people.” (source: Nida 1952, p. 20)
In British Sign Language it is is translated with a sign that depicts a message coming from God to a person (the upright finger) and then being passed on to others. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Prophet” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
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 though he wanted to put him to death (Good News Translation “Herod wanted to kill him”): in contexts where numerous participants are involved, it is wise to identify them by name as frequently as good style will allow. According to Mark (6.19) it was Herodias, not Herod, who wanted to do away with John. Mark further indicates that it was Herod’s fear of John as a “righteous and holy man” (6.20), rather than his fear of the people, that kept him from killing John before this time. However, the translator is obligated to translate each Gospel for its own sake without attempting an unjustified harmonization.
Sometimes translators have some difficulty with the relationship shown in this sentence by the word though. The implication is that Herod could not kill John as he wanted because of his concern about the way people felt about John. “Herod wanted to have John killed, but he feared popular reaction” is one way to render this.
Good News Translation has rendered put … to death as “kill.” Many translators will do something similar, but others will keep the form, with phrases such as “have killed” or “order his soldiers (or, people) to kill.”
The people are “the Jewish people” (Good News Translation), as the last clause of the verse clearly implies: because they held him to be a prophet. Only the Jewish people would have been concerned with the question of whether John was a prophet or not; to identify the people as “the Jewish people” reflects the historical setting and is not to be considered anti-Semitism.
Held here means “believed.” “The Jews believed John was a prophet” or “… considered him to be a prophet” are possibilities.
For prophet see comments on 1.22.
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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