ὃς ἐξαυτῆς παραλαβὼν στρατιώτας καὶ ἑκατοντάρχας κατέδραμεν ἐπ᾽ αὐτούς, οἱ δὲ ἰδόντες τὸν χιλίαρχον καὶ τοὺς στρατιώτας ἐπαύσαντο τύπτοντες τὸν Παῦλον.
32Immediately he took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. When they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
The Greek that is translated as “centurion” in English is translated in Noongar as “boss of the Roman soldiers (lit.: ‘men of fighting’)” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), in Uma as “Roman army warchief” (source: Uma Back Translation), in Western Bukidnon Manobo as “a person who was not a Jew, the captain of a hundred soldiers” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation), and in Mairasi “leader of Roman warriors” (source: Enggavoter 2004).
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Roman Centurion .
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “soldier” in English didn’t have a direct equivalent in Enlhet so it was translated with “those that bind us” (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. ) and in Noongar it is mammarapa-bakadjiny or “men of fighting” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
Following is a Georgian Orthodox icon of Paul the Apostle from the 14th century (located in the Art Museum of Georgia, Tbilisi).
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 )
See also Paul.
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)
“Paul (and Saul)” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España
For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .
See also Paul (icon).
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Paul .
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 21:32:
This verse is a continuation of the sentence begun in the preceding verse; the pronoun with which it begins, “who,” is an obvious reference to the commander, and the Good News Translation has made this explicit. Luke’s phrase “soldiers and centurions” (so most translations) is understood by the commentators to mean officers and soldiers (see An American Translation* “officers and men” and Moffatt “soldiers and officers”). “On them” of the Greek text is explained by the Good News Translation as meaning to the crowd (see Jerusalem Bible “down on the crowd”) and by the New English Bible as “down on the rioters.”
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 .
21:32a
soldiers and centurions: This phrase in Greek has the order “soldiers and officers.” The Berean Standard Bible and some English versions have the order as soldiers and centurions although this order is less common in English.
These centurions were probably the leaders of these soldiers. In some languages this must be made clear. For example:
soldiers and ⌊their⌋ centurions
-or-
centurions and ⌊their⌋ soldiers
centurions: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as centurions means “leader of one hundred.” The Berean Standard Bible also translates it as “centurion” in 10:1. You may want to:
• Translate the meaning literally. For example:
officers of one hundred men ⌊each⌋
• Use the term for a low-ranking officer in the army in your country. For example:
captain
• Use a general word for an officer.
See how you translated the word “centurion” in 10:1.
ran down: The word down indicates that the fortress where the soldiers were was above the temple area. They ran down a set of steps to reach the temple area.
the crowd: The Greek word is literally “them.” It refers to all the people throughout the city who gathered around Paul outside of the temple area.
21:32b
the people: The Greek just has a word ending that means “they.” It refers to the same group as “the crowd” in 21:32a. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
they (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
the rioters (New International Version)
the soldiers: Here the word soldiers includes the officers.
21:32c
they stopped beating Paul: Here the word beating probably refers to hitting with fists. 21:31a implies that the crowd began beating Paul soon after they left the temple area. Another way to translate this clause is:
they stopped hitting Paul
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