13We went ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, intending to take Paul on board there, for he had made this arrangement, intending to go by land himself.
The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated “boat” or “ship” in English is translated in Chichimeca-Jonaz as “that with which we can walk on water” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.), in Chitonga as a term in combination with bwato or “dugout canoe” (source: Wendland 1987, p. 72), and in Tangale as inj am or “canoe-of water” (inj — “canoe” — on its own typically refers to a traditional type of carved-out log for sleeping) (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
In Kouya it is translated as ‘glʋ ‘kadʋ — “big canoe.”
Philip Saunders (p. 231) explains how the Kouya team arrived at that conclusion:
“Acts chapter 27 was a challenge! It describes Paul’s sea voyage to Italy, and finally Rome. There is a storm at sea and a shipwreck on Malta, and the chapter includes much detailed nautical vocabulary. How do you translate this for a landlocked people group, most of whom have never seen the ocean? All they know are small rivers and dugout canoes.
“We knew that we could later insert some illustrations during the final paging process which would help the Kouya readers to picture what was happening, but meanwhile we struggled to find or invent meaningful terms. The ‘ship’ was a ‘big canoe’ and the ‘passengers’ were ‘the people in the big canoe’; the ‘crew’ were the ‘workers in the big canoe’; the ‘pilot’ was the ‘driver of the big canoe’; the ‘big canoe stopping place’ was the ‘harbour’, and the ‘big canoe stopping metal’ was the ‘anchor’!”
In Lokạạ it is translated as ukalangkwaa, lit. “English canoe.” “The term was not coined for the Bible translation, but rather originated in colonial times when the English arrived in Nigeria on ships. The indigenous term for a canoe was modified to represent the large, ocean-going ship of the English.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
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 name that is transliterated as “Assos” in English is translated in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) with a sign that combines “near” (the meaning of the Greek name) and the shape of the region. (Source: Missão Kophós )
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)
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 the addressee).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 20:13:
Uma: “We(excl.) went on ahead riding a ship going to the town of Asos. But Paulus wanted to go-overland to there, he told us (excl.) to meet him there.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “We (excl.) went ahead of Paul to the ship and we (excl.) sailed for Assos because our (excl.) agreement/plan was that there only at Assos Paul would board (the ship). That was his command hep because he said/thought he would just walk from/by the-countryside/inland and we (excl.) would meet at Assos.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “We got on a ship and we went to the town of Assos. He told us that we were to drop in for him there in the town of Assos for he, by contrast, would follow along the shore.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “We (excl.) and Pablo separated and we (excl.) went to ride in a ship going to Assos while Pablo walked, because that’s what we (excl.) had arranged that we (excl.) would stop-by-for him there.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “We(excl.) ourselves sailed then, but as for Pablo, he walked. After we (excl.) came ashore at Ason, there was where we (excl.) waited for him, for that’s what had been arranged. Pablo would just embark when he got there.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
We includes all of the companions of Paul, along with the author of the book, but for languages possessing the inclusive-exclusive distinction it is still exclusive.
No reason is given why Paul preferred to go from Troas to Assos by land rather than by sea, though some have suggested that he simply wanted to be alone with his thoughts. However, it seems most likely that Paul decided to avoid the rather difficult sea journey around the cape from Troas to Assos. He was going there by land translates a verb which originally meant “to travel by foot,” but in New Testament times the meaning of the verb had been expanded to include any land travel as opposed to sea travel.
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 .
In this section, Paul and his companions traveled from Troas to Miletus where he summoned the elders of the believers at Ephesus to come to him. After the elders arrived, Paul spoke his last words to them. In his speech, he defended his good behavior among them and spoke about being determined to go to Jerusalem even though he knew that enemies might try to harm him there. Lastly, he exhorted them to be faithful and watchful as they cared for other believers.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
The Voyage from Troas to Miletus (New Revised Standard Version) -or-
Paul went to Miletus and exhorted the Ephesian elders
Paragraph 20:13–16
20:13a
We: This word probably refers to Luke and the seven other companions of Paul named in 20:4.
went on ahead to the ship: These words indicate that Luke and the others left Paul in Troas and went to the ship. Paul would travel later, probably later that day. But he went by land to Assos. Other ways to translate this are:
went ahead to the ship (New Revised Standard Version) -or-
left ⌊Paul⌋ and went to the ship
sailed to Assos: The verb “sail” refers to traveling by ship. At that time most ships used sails and the wind to move forward. Luke and the others traveled by sailing ship to Assos.
Assos:Assos was a town on the coast of the province of Mysia. It was about 32 kilometers (20 miles) south of Troas.
20:13b
where we were to take Paul aboard: The phrase take Paul aboard indicates that Luke and the others would go by ship to Assos and meet Paul there. Since they were already on the ship, they probably would
(1) welcome Paul onto the ship at Assos,
(2) leave the ship at the harbor at Assos, find Paul there, and bring him to the correct ship.
Translate in a way that allows for one or both interpretations. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
where we would bring Paul aboard -or-
where we would welcome Paul aboard -or-
where Paul would board the ship to travel with us
we were to: This phrase indicates that Luke and the others were planning to take Paul aboard. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
intending to (Revised Standard Version) -or-
we planned to
20:13c
He had arranged this: This clause refers to planning the deeds of 20:13a–c. Other ways to translate this clause are:
Paul planned it this way (New Century Version) -or-
He had told us to do this (Good News Translation)
going there on foot: The Greek word which the Berean Standard Bible translates as going…on foot refers to any kind of travel by land. For example:
go by land (Revised Standard Version)
Here the Greek word probably implies that Paul walked, so the Berean Standard Bible says on foot.
General Comment on 20:13a–c
Luke did not write about these events in the order they happened. In some languages it is more natural to put the events in the order they happened. For example:
Paul planned that we would go ahead ⌊of him⌋ to the ship. We would sail for Assos, and he would go by land. We would take Paul aboard there. ⌊So we did that.⌋ -or-
Paul told us that he was going to travel by land to Assos. He told us to go and board the ship going to Assos. Then he would join us on the ship. So we went to the ship and sailed to Assos and he walked there.
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