Peter

Following is a Armenian Orthodox icon of Peter (found in the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shusha, Azerbaijan).

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 )

Following is a hand colored stencil print on momigami of Peter by Sadao Watanabe (1970):

Image taken with permission from the SadaoHanga Catalogue where you can find many more images and information about Sadao Watanabe. For other images of Sadao Watanabe art works in TIPs, see here.

In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying “key” (referring to Matthew 16:19). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)


“Peter” or “Cephas” in Finnish Sign Language (source )

In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with the sign for “rock,” referring to the meaning of the Greek word for “Peter.”


“Peter” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

See also Peter – rock.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Peter .

formal pronoun: disciples addressing Jesus

Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.

As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.

Here, individual or several disciples address Jesus with the formal pronoun, expressing respect. Compare this to how that address changes after the resurrection.

In most Dutch as well as in Western Frisian, Gronings, and Afrikaans translations, the disciples address Jesus before and after the resurrection with the formal pronoun.

In Nepali translations, Jesus is addressed with the high honorific pronoun tapā’īṁ (तपाईं ). (Source: Chitra Chhetri in The Bible Translator 2009, p. 73ff. )

See also this devotion on YouVersion .

complete verse (Matthew 26:33)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 26:33:

  • Uma: “After that, Petrus said: ‘Even though all people’s faith in you (sing.) is shaken, Lord, not me!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then Petros said to him, ‘Even if all of them leave you, Sir, but I, I will certainly not leave you.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then Peter said to him, ‘Even if the faith of all of these my companions becomes weak, my faith, by contrast, won’t get weak no matter what happens.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Whereupon Pedro said, ‘Even if all these my companions run-away, I will not abandon you (sing.).'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Pedro spoke saying, ‘Even if the belief/obeying of all of them in you is lacking, as for me I will never leave/desert you.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Peter said to him: ‘Even though all the others will desert you, yet I will not desert you,’ he said.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Matthew 26:33

Peter declared to him and “Peter spoke up and said to Jesus” (Good News Translation) represent attempts to render in a dynamic fashion “but answering Peter said to him” of the Greek text.

Fall away (used twice by Peter in this verse) is the same verb used by Jesus in verse 31: “You will all fall away….” Thus the verse may be “Even though all the others lose their faith because of what happens to you, I will never lose mine.”

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 .