structure of Acts 1:18 and 1:19

Acts 1:18 and 1:19 are typically translated as background information by the narrator on Judas who is mentioned via direct speech in Acts 1:16 and Acts 1:17. This is sometimes expressed through parentheses around the content of verses 18 and 19.

The English translation of Acts by C. H. Rieu (publ. 1957) uses a footnote for those verses, which is uncommon, if not unique, in Bible translation, but adds a sense of authenticity.

It says:

This refers to Judas’ death through falling headlong on a farm he had bought with the wages of his sin; his stomach burst open and his bowels gushed out. All Jerusalem heard about this, and the place acquired the name, ‘The Field of Blood’, or, in their language, ‘Akeldama’.

complete verse (Acts 1:19)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 1:19:

  • Uma: “All the townspeople of Yerusalem knew all that happened there. That is why that land was called in their own language Hakal-Dama. Its meaning, Land of Blood.)” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “And it is well-known to all the people living in Awrusalam about this Judas. So they named that land in their Yahudi language, Akeldama. It means, ‘Land of Blood.’)” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when this was known by the people of Jerusalem, they named that land Akeldama, which is to say, land which was bought with money which was paid for the killing of a person.)” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When the residents in Jerusalem came-to-know what happened to him, they named that land Akeldama, its meaning in their language is, Land Bought with Blood.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “All the taga Jerusalem heard news of this. That’s why that land was called Akeldema in their language, which means, Land/Ground of the Blood.)” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 1:19

The phrase heard about it may need to be somewhat more specific, for example, “heard what had happened to Judas.”

In their own language may be rendered in some languages as a verbal expression, for example, “in the way in which those people spoke.”

Field of Blood should not mean a field consisting of blood, or a “bloody field,” but rather a field with which blood was associated. In some languages this requires a specific reference, for example, “field on which blood poured out” or “field on which blood was shed.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .