complete verse (Acts 20:31)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 20:31:

  • Uma: “That is why you must watch out. Remember, relatives, for three years I did not stop giving you advice to each one of you, whether during the day or during the night, and many times my tears flowed, crying over you.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Therefore be watchful. And remember that day and night for three years, I did not stop teaching/preaching-to each one of you and many tears of mine spilled because of you.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Therefore be on your guard, and do not forget that for three years, day and night, I taught you everything. My tears flowed because of my pity for you.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Watch-out therefore. Remember that I have warned all of you in the three years that I have-stayed-with you, both (lit. even) day and night, while also I have shed-tears from my large love and pity for you.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Therefore always watch-for-danger. Consider that for the space of three years, night and day I persevered in teaching you, sometimes accompanied by my tears.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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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 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 20:31

The term watch is rendered in many languages as “be on your guard” or “watch out for people like that,” in the sense of “protecting yourselves against.” One may also use a figurative expression such as “keep awake” or “be alert.”

The verb remember should not be translated in such a way as to imply that people had forgotten. The implication here is “keep constantly in mind” or “think about continuously.” Remember is actually a participle and may be taken either in a temporal sense, “as you remember,” or in a circumstantial sense, “remembering.” It is also possible to understand this participle as an imperative used in conjunction with watch, as in the Good News Translation (see also New English Bible).

The phrase with many tears is probably a reference to the amount of suffering which Paul had as the result of persecution and difficulties. The closest equivalent in some languages may be “I suffered very much.”

The word translated taught is not the usual word for “teach,” but it carries the overtones of “warn” or “admonish.”

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 20:31

20:31a

Therefore: In Greek this verse begins with a conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as Therefore. This indicates that what follows is what Paul wants his listeners to do as a result of the situation he has described in the previous verses.

be alert: This phrase means “be alert and watchful.” Like a watchman is alert for thieves, the church leaders are to be alert for those who teach lies and cause disunity among the believers. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

be alert (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Watch out! (New Living Translation (2004))

20:31b

remember: Here, remember means “think again about” or “do not forget.” They were to think again about Paul’s example of being alert and diligent.

that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears: Here Paul exaggerated in order to show that the warning was important. He repeated the warning many times, but he did not exclude all other activity.

In some languages a literal translation would wrongly indicate that Paul did nothing else but warn them. If that is true in your language, you may want to translate the importance of the warning without the exaggeration. For example:

I continued constantly to warn each of you night and day with tears
-or-
I repeatedly warned each of you night and day with tears
-or-
day and night…I kept warning you with tears in my eyes (Contemporary English Version)

warning: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as warning can also mean “teach” or “gently rebuke.” There are three ways to interpret this word:

(1) It means warn here. For example:

to warn (New Revised Standard Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, NET Bible, Revised English Bible, New Century Version, King James Version)

(2) It means gently rebuke here. For example:

admonish (English Standard Version)

(Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition, English Standard Version)

(3) It means teach here. For example:

instruct (God’s Word)

(Good News Translation, God’s Word)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), because it best fits the context of 20:28–31.

night and day: This phrase indicates that Paul warned the believers often. The opportunities to warn them occurred both night and day.

with tears: To warn with tears implies that Paul was concerned for the believers in Ephesus as he warned their church leaders. He also was sad because he knew that false teachers would harm the faith of the believers. His tears showed that he felt strongly about warning them. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

I often cried over you (New Century Version)
-or-
at times with tears in my eyes (God’s Word)
-or-
I have shed-tears from my large love and pity for you
-or-
with tears ⌊over/regarding the trouble that they would experience⌋

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