Honorary "are" construct denoting God (“do/make”)

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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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, s-are-ru (される) or “do/make” is used.

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

Translation commentary on Acts 16:14

Lydia was not only a personal name, but it was also the name of a region in the western part of the Roman province of Asia where the city of Thyatira was located. Since purple goods were luxury materials worn by the rich, it is thought by many that Lydia herself must have been well off. In order to indicate that purple goods were a luxury item, some translators have employed “expensive purple cloth.” The goods in this particular instance refers obviously to cloth.

By the statement that she was a woman who worshiped God, Luke indicates that she was a Gentile participant in Jewish worship. In Jewish thought the heart is looked upon as the center of one’s intellectual activities; therefore, the Good News Translation has translated the literal expression “opened her heart” by opened her mind. In translating opened her mind, one may employ some such phrase as “caused her to be receptive,” “caused her to accept,” or even “caused her to understand.”

The verb translated pay attention to (used also in 8.6) is taken by some in the sense of “to believe” or “to accept” (see Jerusalem Bible). In some languages it is important to combine opened her mind with the phrase pay attention to as being two subsequent actions—for example, “caused her to be receptive to what Paul was saying and to believe it.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 16:14

16:14a–b

a dealer in purple cloth: This phrase probably indicates that Lydia had a business buying and selling purple cloth. She probably bought the cloth from those who made it and sold it to those who made clothes from it. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

a seller of purple fabrics (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
whose job was selling purple cloth (New Century Version)

purple cloth: At that time purple cloth was very expensive. It implies that Lydia was wealthy or at least her work paid well. The Contemporary English Version indicates that the cloth was expensive, which helps to imply that information about Lydia:

expensive purple cloth (Contemporary English Version)

purple: Purple is a mix of blue and red:

Use the proper color word or use the name of something purple in your area. For example:

lavender color
-or-
the color of eggplant

from the city of Thyatira: This phrase indicates that Lydia was born in the city of Thyatira. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

a Thyatira woman
-or-
her hometown was Thyatira

16:14c

who was a worshiper of God: This clause tells the reader more about Lydia. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that Luke was thinking of other women named Lydia and only this one was a worshiper of God. If that is true in your language, translate this information in a way that tells more about Lydia. One way to do that is to start a new sentence here. For example:

She was a worshiper of God.

a worshiper of God: This phrase indicates that Lydia was not a Jew but worshiped the true God. However, she had not converted to following all of the Jewish religion. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

a ⌊non-Jew⌋ who worshiped God
-or-
a ⌊Gentile⌋ who believed in God

See how you translated the Greek word translated “worshiper” here at 13:50 (“religious”).

16:14d

The Lord: This refers to God. In some languages it is clearer or more natural to explain that here. For example:

The Lord ⌊God⌋

Lord: This word means “the one in authority over others” or “master.” God rules over all things. See how you translated this word in 1:6 or 15:11.

opened her heart: This phrase is a figure of speech that indicates that the Lord enabled Lydia to believe what Paul was saying. It implies her whole being, not just her thinking. In some languages a different figure of speech is used for this meaning. For example:

prepared her heart/insides
-or-
worked in her heart/liver

In some languages the meaning of this figure of speech must be translated plainly. For example:

helped this woman to understand completely

heart: Here this word refers to the part of people that is used in English for where understanding and believing exist or function in a person. Some languages use a different place. For example:

liver
-or-
insides
-or-
mind

See how you translated this word in 7:23 (where the Berean Standard Bible translates the whole Greek phrase as “decided”) or 15:9.

to respond to Paul’s message: The word respond indicates that Lydia believed Paul’s message about Jesus. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

to accept what Paul was saying (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
to believe Paul’s message ⌊about Jesus⌋

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