Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the inclusive form (including the chief magistrates).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 16:20:
Uma: “When they came in front of those rulers of Roma, they said: ‘These people are Yahudi people, they come to bother our town.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “They placed them in front of the officials of the Roma tribe and they accused them. ‘These men are bringing trouble to our (incl.) place,’ they said. ‘Moreover these are Yahudi.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “When they were there already, they brought them before the Roman officials, and they said, ‘As for these men, they are Jews and they are making trouble here in our village.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Then they brought-charges-against-(them) to the judges that the one(s)-from-Roma had appointed, saying, ‘These Jews, they are disturbing/disrupting our town,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And then having stood Pablo-and-companion in the presence of the highest officials, they said, ‘As for these people, they are Jews, and they are causing much trouble here in our city.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The Roman officials (most translations “magistrates”) were the chief magistrates of a Roman colony, and they were two in number. The text does not make it clear whether these were the same authorities referred to in the previous verse, though it is quite likely that they were. It is to be noticed that Paul and Silas were brought before the Roman officials on the charge that they were Jews, not that they were Christians.
The expression causing trouble should be understood in the most general sense. In some languages it would be “causing trouble for the people in our city.” In terms of this particular context, however, it is sometimes rendered as “causing a disturbance.”
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 .
magistrates: This word refers to administrative officials of the Roman Empire who had the highest legal authority within their city or domain. Here it probably refers to judges whose duty was to judge cases in court. Another way to translate this word is:
judges ⌊of the city⌋
Magistrates were only some of the authorities (16:19d).
said: Paul and Silas preached the gospel of Jesus. They were not trying to cause an uproar. Romans generally did not like people trying to convert others away from the Roman religion.
The accusation of the owners was misleading. They did not talk about the girl but instead said the words of 16:20b–21 to make the leaders angry at Paul and Silas. They succeeded. In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that Paul and Silas were in fact trying to cause an uproar. If that is true in your language, include some of the implied information. For example:
⌊deceitfully/deceptively⌋ said
16:20b
These men are Jews and are throwing our city into turmoil: The Greek words are literally “These men are disturbing our city, being Jews.” This indicates that the reason the owners gave for Paul and Silas disturbing the city was that they were Jews. For example:
The whole city is in an uproar because of these Jews! (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
These men, being Jews, are disturbing our city!
These men: This phrase indicates that the owners had contempt for Paul and Silas. If possible, indicate or imply contempt in how you translate this phrase.
are throwing…into turmoil: This phrase refers to causing the people to be upset. Other ways to translate it are:
are throwing our city into confusion (New American Standard Bible) -or-
are stirring up a lot of trouble (God’s Word) -or-
causing a great disturbance (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
our city: At that time probably several thousand people lived in Philippi. It had a high status as a Roman colony, so the people called it a city. In some languages the word “town” is more appropriate for this size city.
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®).
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