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 exclusive form (excluding Paul).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 17:20:
Uma: “We(excl.) have never heard a teaching that is so different like that, and we (excl.) want to know its meaning.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Those words of yours we (excl.) have never heard, that’s why we (excl.) want to know their meaning.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “There is that you are telling about which we have never heard before, therefore we want to listen to you so that you might explain it.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “because some of what you (sing.) have been saying, we (excl.) have heard nothing like it, and we (excl.) would like to find-out what it means to say.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “For this which you are coming out with sounds really amazing to our (excl.) ears. Therefore we (excl.) want to know its meaning.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-kao (御顔) or “face (of God)” in the referenced verses.
Sound strange to us may be rendered as “we have never heard this before,” “these are completely new to us,” or “these are very different from what we have heard before.”
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 .
For: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as For introduces this verse. It introduces an explanation why the leaders wanted to hear this new teaching (17:19c).
In some languages it may be more natural to omit the Greek conjunction.
you are bringing some strange notions to our ears: The phrase bringing…to our ears is an idiom for telling something. In the marketplace, Paul told them the gospel about Jesus and about God resurrecting people. In some languages a literal translation would not have the correct meaning. If that is true in your language, translate the correct meaning. For example:
You have been telling us some strange ideas -or-
You are saying some rather strange things (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
We have heard you say some strange things (Contemporary English Version)
strange: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as strange refers to something surprising or startling. The philosophers had never heard anything like the gospel about Jesus before. For example:
startling (New Jerusalem Bible) -or-
surprising (NET Bible)
17:20b
and: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and is usually translated as “so.” It introduces the result of the philosophers hearing strange ideas.
we want to know what they mean: This clause in Greek is literally “we desire to know what these things wish to mean.” The philosophers did not know the meaning of Paul’s teachings and they wanted to know it. Other ways to translate this clause are:
we wish to know…what these things mean (Revised Standard Version) -or-
we would like to find out what they mean (New Jerusalem Bible)
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®).
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.