26You also see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost the whole of Asia this Paul has persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying that gods made with hands are not gods.
Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
The Greek that is transliterated as “Ephesus” in English is translated in Swiss-German Sign Language with a sign that depicts the large amphitheater in Ephesus (see Acts 19:29 and here ).
The term that is transliterated as “Paul” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that signifies the many letters he wrote. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Paul” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting putting away a sword, referring to his conversion from a persecutor of Christians to a Christian leader. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 19:26:
Uma: “But you see and you hear what that man named Paulus over there [out of sight] is doing. He says that images made by men are not appropriate to worship. Many are the people he has persuaded to the point that they believe in his teaching. Not only in Efesus, in almost all the province of Asia it is just like that.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “You have seen and you have heard what that man named Paul has done. He teaches that if a god is made by man, it is reportedly not a true god. And many already believe in this teaching of his, not only here in Epesus but almost throughout Asiya.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Surely you have seen and heard what this man who is named Paul is doing. He says that as for gods that are made by people, it is not proper to worship them. Many people have believed what he is saying, and not only here in our village of Ephesus but rather also in the whole of our province of Asia.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “We have also been seeing Pablo, and we have been hearing what he is teaching to the many-people. He says that what a person has made is not a true god, and many are the ones he has persuaded here in Efeso and in almost all towns in the province Asia.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “But, now, you can observe and hear news of the things this person named Pablo is doing. He is saying that our worship of gods made by man is worthless/ineffective. Really many now are the ones he has been able to cause to believe and whom he has-rounded-up-as-followers, not only here in Efeso, but on the contrary it has spread over almost all of Asia.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The Greek imperatives “see” and “hear” have been transformed by the Good News Translation into a statement you can see and hear for yourselves (see also New English Bible), though most translators prefer to retain the imperative. If one were to preserve the imperative forms of see and hear, it might imply that Demetrius himself was encouraging the men to listen to what Paul was saying, which, of course, is not the case.
The pronoun in Greek which is rendered this fellow definitely implies a slur against Paul. In colloquial English this might be rendered as “this guy Paul.”
Gods made by men are not gods at all appears in the New English Bible as “gods made by human hands are not gods at all” and in the New American Bible as “man-made gods are no gods at all.” There are certain difficulties involved in the translation of the second sentence of verse 26, since gods is used in two different senses. In the first instances gods refers to images, and in the second instance gods refers to “supernatural beings” or “supernatural powers.” In some languages one simply cannot say gods made by men are not gods at all. It is necessary to employ two different types of expression—for example, “images which men make are not gods,” “the statues of gods have no power as gods,” or “the images which men make are really not gods.”
Has succeeded in convincing many people may require some type of supplementation—for example, “has succeeded in convincing many people that what he says is true” or “has succeeded in causing many people to believe that these images are not gods.”
The final phrases both here in Ephesus and in nearly the whole province of Asia may need to be rendered as a complete sentence: “Paul has done this not only here in Ephesus, but in almost the whole province of Asia.”
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 .
And: For these workers, 19:26 describes something upsetting to the workers. It comes after information they were very happy about. In some languages indicating contrast is more natural. For example:
But (New Living Translation (2004))
But in some languages introducing a new matter/subject is more natural. For example:
Now (Good News Translation)
In some languages a conjunction is not needed here.
in nearly the whole province of Asia: This refers to almost all of Asia. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
almost throughout all Asia (Revised Standard Version) -or-
from almost every part/corner of the province of Asia
The Berean Standard Bible adds the phrase the…province of. At that time the name Asia referred to a region in what is now the western part of the country of Turkey. See how you translated this phrase in 19:22.
Paul: The Greek says more literally, “this Paul.” The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible leaves untranslated indicates that Demetrius disliked Paul. If possible, indicate or imply the dislike. For example:
this Paul (Revised Standard Version) -or-
this fellow Paul (New International Version) -or-
this ⌊bad⌋ fellow Paul
has persuaded: This word refers to talking to someone in a way that the person listening changes what he thinks about something. Other ways to translate this word are:
has convinced (New International Version) -or-
has succeeded in changing the minds (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
19:26b
a great number of people: This phrase in Greek is literally “a large crowd.” Here it refers to many people from Ephesus and many people from the province of Asia. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
large numbers of people (New International Version) -or-
multitudes
to turn away: This phrase refers to taking someone to a bad place. Here it is used figuratively. Demetrius thought Christianity was bad and Paul caused people to turn away by teaching it and convincing them that it was true. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
pulled away -or-
corrupted -or-
made them follow bad ways
19:26c
He says: The Greek word is literally “saying.” It indicates that what Paul said here was one of the ways that he led people astray from the worship of Artemis.
man-made gods are no gods at all: This clause in Greek is literally “the things made with hands are not gods.” It refers to the shrines and such other things that people used when worshiping Artemis. The phrase “made with hands” indicates that people made them. Other ways to translate this clause are:
things made with hands cannot be gods -or-
images/models that people make are not gods -or-
what a person has made is not a true god -or-
images made by men are not appropriate to worship -or-
our worship of idols made by man is worthless
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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