prophet

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Eugene Nida wrote the following about the translation of the Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, 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):

  • San Blas Kuna: “one who speaks the voice of God”
  • Central Pame and Vai: “interpreter for God”
  • Kaqchikel, Navajo (Dinė), Yaka: “one who speaks for God”
  • Northern Grebo: “God’s town crier” (see more about this below)
  • Sapo: “God’s sent-word person”
  • Shipibo-Conibo, Ngäbere: “one who speaks God’s word”
  • Copainalá Zoque: “one who speaks-opens” (a compound meaning “one who discloses or reveals”)
  • Sierra Totonac: “one who causes them to know” (in the sense of “revealer”)
  • Batak Toba: “foreteller” (this and all the above acc. to Nida 1961, p. 7)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “one who is inspired of God” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Alekano: “the true man who descended from heaven” (source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation June 1986, p. 36ff.)
  • Aguaruna: “teller of God’s word” (source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125)
  • Ekari: “person who speaks under divine impulse”
  • Mandarin Chinese: 先知 xiānzhī — “one who foreknows” (or the 1946/1970 translation by Lü Zhenzhong: 神言人 shényánrén — “divine-word-man”)
  • Uab Meto: “holy spokesman” (source for this and two above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Kouya: Lagɔɔ gbʋgbanyɔ — “the one who seeks God’s affairs” (source: Saunders, p. 269)
  • Kafa: “decide for God only” (source: Loren Bliese)
  • Martu Wangka: “sit true to God’s talk” (source: Carl Gross)
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “word passer” (source: John Beekman in Notes on Translation November 1964, p. 1-22)
  • Obolo: ebi nriran: “one with power of divine revelation” (source: Enene Enene)
  • Mairasi: nonondoai nyan: “message proclaimer” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Highland Totonac: “speaker on God’s behalf”
  • Central Tarahumara: “God’s preacher” (source for this and above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • Coatlán Mixe: “God’s word-thrower”
  • 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)
  • Cherokee: adolehosgi (ᎠᏙᎴᎰᏍᎩ) or “discoverer of things,” a “term that was was traditionally applied to Cherokee medicine men or women who used divining.” (Source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 49)

In Ixcatlán Mazatec a term is used that specifically includes women. (Source: Robert Bascom)

About the translation into Northern Grebo:

“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 American Sign Language it is a person who sees into the future:


“Prophet” in American Sign Language (source )

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)

See also prophesy and prophesy / prophetic frenzy.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: How to Recognize a Biblical Prophet .

See also seer.

complete verse (Zechariah 1:5)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Zechariah 1:5:

  • Kupsabiny: “Your ancestors and those former prophets are now dead.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Where did your ancestors go now? And are prophets alive forever?” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Your (plur.) ancestors and those prophets have- now -died.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Your ancestors have died and are now in their graves. And the prophets did not live forever, either.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Zechariah 1:5 - 1:6

These verses are probably best regarded as returning to the first degree quotation that began in verse 2 and to the topic of the LORD’s anger with the ancestors. In Hebrew and in Revised Standard Version, verse 5 consists of two rhetorical questions, both of them expecting a negative answer. For rhetorical questions see the notes on Hag 1.4.

Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live for ever?: For comments on Your fathers, see the notes on verse 2. In the Hebrew the phrases Your fathers and the prophets are put into focus by being placed at the beginning of their clauses. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version lose this focus, but translators could maintain it by saying “As for your ancestors … And as for the prophets….” Both those who heard the prophetic messages before the exile, and the prophets themselves are dead and gone from the scene of history. But, as the argument runs on in verse 6, events had shown that the words of the prophets were true. Even the very people who had ignored the prophets’ warnings had to admit in the end that the prophets had been right after all. The conclusion hinted at is that the principles on which the LORD deals with his people do not change. So if Zechariah’s hearers ignore an offer like that in verse 3, they too will suffer the LORD’s punishment.

In certain languages it will be possible to keep the rhetorical questions and say, for example, “As for your ancestors, they are no longer here, are they? And even the prophets died long ago, didn’t they?” The two questions could also be combined into one sentence, such as “Neither your ancestors nor the prophets are here now, are they?” Good News Translation has only the single statement “Your ancestors and those prophets are no longer alive.” This is clear, but loses the impact of the rhetorical questions. Contemporary English Version keeps the first sentence as a rhetorical question and uses an emphatic statement for the second one: “Where are your ancestors now? Not even prophets live forever.” This leaves readers to work out for themselves that the ancestors are dead, and is less than ideal. In some languages the second question may be expressed in an idiomatic way, such as “Did the prophets live as long as the hill?”

But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers?: In the Hebrew there is a contrast between the short lives of the prophets and people (verse 5) and the enduring truth of the LORD’s word (verse 6). In Hebrew the phrase my words and my statutes is in an emphatic position. The main clause in the first part of verse 6 is another rhetorical question, literally “Did not my words and my statutes … overtake your fathers?” The answer expected is positive, and Good News Translation has expressed this as a statement: “they disregarded them and suffered the consequences.” However, Good News Translation has taken it out of focus by putting it into the second clause of the sentence. In order to retain the focus of the Hebrew, many translators would need to restructure the whole argument and say something like this: “5 Neither those ancestors of yours nor those prophets are any longer alive, 6 but the commands and warnings which I gave through my servants the prophets proved to be true. Your ancestors ignored them and so were punished.”

The terms my words and my statutes refer generally to the LORD’s requirements as revealed through the Law and the earlier prophets. Good News Translation translates them as “commands and warnings.” Statutes in this context refers to teachings and admonitions (warnings) not to do evil.

The expression my servants the prophets is found frequently elsewhere, especially in 1–2 Kings and Jeremiah. In some languages it may need to be restructured as “the people who served me by speaking my message” or something similar. I commanded my servants the prophets is translated in Good News Translation as “Through my servants the prophets I gave … commands.” In some languages, though, it will be necessary to show that the prophets were God’s instruments or mouthpieces by saying “I caused my servants the prophets to give commands to…” or “I caused those people who served me by speaking my message to give commands to….”

The word overtake in did they not overtake your fathers? is of course used in a figurative sense here. A more natural figure in English would be “did they not catch up with your fathers?” Overtake may be translated idiomatically in some languages as “bring consequences on” or “cause bad effects on.” Good News Translation has both changed the question to a statement (see the comments above) and changed the figure to plain language. However, in “disregarded” and “suffered the consequences,” Good News Translation has chosen surprisingly high-level language. The same meaning could be expressed more simply as in the restructuring suggested above, “Your ancestors ignored them and so were punished,” or translators may say, “Your ancestors ignored these commands and warnings, and so were punished.” In languages that do not use the passive, they may express this as “… so I [the LORD] punished them.”

Some scholars have suggested taking the text as “you” instead of your fathers here. There is no manuscript support for this change, however. No major English translation has adopted it, and translators should not do so.

So they repented and said: The second half of verse 6 in Hebrew consists mainly of a direct quotation of the words of the ancestors. Good News Translation has changed to indirect speech since this is more natural in this context in English, but as mentioned above, in certain languages it will be necessary to maintain direct speech. So indicates that it was as a result of their being punished that the ancestors repented. Good News Translation “Then” does not fit the context as well. Revised Standard Version and Contemporary English Version are better with So (compare New Living Translation “As a result”). The word here translated repented is the same word in Hebrew as that translated “return” in verses 3 and 4. By using the same word at several points in the paragraph, Zechariah helps to bind it together as a unit. However, because the word has different senses in each of its occurrences, it is usually impossible to keep this kind of connection in another language. Most translators will need to follow the example of Good News Translation and use a different word in each context.

Said is a very flat and colorless word, and here Good News Translation has been able to include something of the attitude as well as the act by translating “acknowledged.” “Acknowledged” suggests a degree of reluctance on the part of the people. This fits very well with the context in which the people are obliged to say that they had been wrong after all. Another word in English that would carry much the same sense in this context is “admitted.” A translation will gain in emotional impact if translators can use words like this from time to time and avoid constant repetition of a dull word like “said.” In languages that must use direct speech here, translators may say, for example, “So, they repented and admitted their guilt saying….”

As the LORD of hosts purposed to deal with us for our ways and deeds, so has he dealt with us: For the LORD of hosts, see the comments on Hag 1.2. Purposed to deal with us is expressed in more natural language in Good News Translation as “as I had determined to do,” that is, according to the principles that the prophets had told the people in advance. Purposed will sometimes be rendered idiomatically as “set my heart to do.” Deal with and dealt with in this context suggests punishment and Good News Translation has brought this out. The people were “punished” (Good News Translation) for our ways and deeds. Good News Translation expresses this in natural English by “as they deserved,” but in certain languages translators may follow the model of Revised Standard Version and say, for example, “The LORD Almighty punished us according to our evil lives and deeds.”

The order of the clauses at the end of the verse is different in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. Revised Standard Version follows the Hebrew in saying As the LORD of hosts purposed … so has he dealt with us. Although this is clear, it is not a very natural order for modern English. Accordingly, Good News Translation has reversed the order to say, “I … punished them … as I had determined to do.” The relationship of comparison between the two clauses is the same either way. Translators should use whichever order is more natural in their own language. Other ways to express the end of the verse are “As the LORD Almighty said he would, so he punished us for our sins” and “LORD, All-Powerful, we have sinned against you and you punished us as you said.”

An alternative translation model for verses 5-6 is:

• 5 As for your ancestors, they are no longer here [or, alive], are they? And those prophets died long ago, didn’t they? 6 I used my servants the prophets to give commands to your ancestors and to instruct them to stop their evil ways. But they ignored these commands and warnings, and so I punished them. Then they repented [or, changed their hearts around] and said, “The LORD, the All-Powerful One, has punished us according to our evil lives and deeds, just as he planned to do.”

Quoted with permission from Clark, David J. & Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Zechariah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2002. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .