The Greek that is translated as “Asia” or similar in English is translated in German with Provinz Asia (or: “Asien”) or “province of Asia.”
complete verse (Acts 20:18)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 20:18:
- Uma: “When they indeed arrived in Miletus, Paulus said to them: ‘Relatives, you know how my behavior was with you, from my first arrival in this province of Asia here until right now.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “When the elders arrived, Paul spoke to them. ‘You do know,’ he said, ‘as to what was my work while I was there with you from the time I first arrived in Asiya.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when they arrived, he said to them, ‘You know how I really took care how my actions were among you from the first day that I came here to the province of Asia.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “When they arrived, he said to them, ‘You know my manner-of-life during my staying-with you starting-from my first coming to the province Asia.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “When they had now arrived, he said to them, ‘You really know how my life-style was there with you, from that first coming of mine here to the province of Asia.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
know (Japanese honorifics)
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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 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 or a person or persons to be greatly honored, the honorific prefix go- (御 or ご) can be used, as in go-zonji (ご存じ), a combination of “know” (zonji) and the honorific prefix go-.
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)
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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Translation commentary on Acts 20:18
In Greek, verses 18 and 19 form one long involved sentence, which the Good News Translation has divided into two sentences for the sake of clarity (see also Phillips). From the first day I arrived in the province of Asia is the emphatic element in verse 18, and the entire clause how I … in the province of Asia is best understood as the object of the verb know.
The expression how I spent the whole time may be rendered in some languages as “how I lived and worked the whole time.”
The temporal expression from the first day would suggest a continuation of Paul’s activity until the time he left. Therefore, in some languages this last clause is rendered as “from the very first day I arrived in the province of Asia, I lived and worked in the same manner until the day that I left.”
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 20:18
20:18a–21b
You know: 20:18b–21c in Greek is one sentence. It describes what Paul is sure that the elders know about him. For example:
You yourselves know how I lived among you all the time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which befell me through the plots of the Jews; 20how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance to God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. (Revised Standard Version)
In many languages it is more natural to translate this as several sentences. You may then want to repeat You know at the beginning of each new sentence. The example below adds this phrase each time it is not in the Berean Standard Bible:
You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I arrived in the province of Asia. 19⌊You know⌋ I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, especially in the trials that came upon me through the plots of the Jews. 20I did not shrink back from declaring anything that was helpful to you as I taught you publicly and from house to house. 21⌊You know⌋ I testified to Jews and Greeks alike about repentance to God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
20:18b
You: Here this pronoun in Greek emphasizes the fact that the elders personally saw how Paul lived in Ephesus. For example:
You yourselves (Revised Standard Version)
how I lived the whole time I was with you: Paul said here that the elders knew how he behaved while he had lived with them in Ephesus for three years. Other ways to translate this clause are:
how I lived among you the whole time (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
how I behaved the entire time I lived in your city
-or-
everything I did during the time I was with you (Contemporary English Version)
I was with you: This refers to Paul living in Ephesus, as they did. It does not imply that he lived in the same house with them. For example:
I lived among you (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
I was ⌊in Ephesus⌋ with you
After the three years in Asia, Paul went elsewhere. Paul now spoke to the elders some years later. In some languages it is more natural to indicate that Paul no longer lived in Asia. For example:
⌊when⌋ I had lived with you
20:18c
from the first day I arrived in the province of Asia: This clause indicates that the elders knew what Paul did during the whole time he was in Asia. Other ways to translate this clause are:
ever since the first day I set foot among you in Asia, (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
beginning with the first day I came into the province of Asia
I arrived: This clause in Greek is literally “I set foot.” It is an idiom that refers to the first moment Paul entered Asia.
the province of Asia: The Berean Standard Bible adds the phrase province of, as in 20:16. See how you translated this phrase there.
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