37Just as Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” The tribune replied, “Do you know Greek?
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 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)
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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.
In this verse, the Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “speak” or “say” or similar in English is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as o-hanashi (お話し), combining “speak” (hanashi) with the respectful prefix o-.
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 21:37:
Uma: “When they were almost entering the soldiers’ house, Paulus said to the head of the soldiers: ‘May I speak for just a moment, please?’ The head of the soldiers said: ‘Do you (sing.) know the Yunani language?” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “As they were about to bring Paul inside the fort, Paul spoke to the colonel, he said, ‘Can I speak to you?’ The colonel answered, he said, ‘So you know how to speak Girik?” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as they were going inside the fort, Paul said to the captain, he said, ‘Is it possible that I might have a word with you?’ And the captain said, ‘So you know how to speak Greek?” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When they had almost caused-Pablo -to-enter their barracks, he said to the commander, ‘There is something I would say to you (sing.) please.’ The commander was surprised, because Griego is what-he-spoke, and he said, ‘Why (surprised realization particle) you (sing.) know how to speak Griego.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Just as Pablo was being taken into that walled camp of the soldiers, he said to that highest-ranking-officer, ‘If possible/acceptable, there’s something I want to say to you.’ ‘Apparently you know the Griego language,’ said that highest-ranking-officer.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Spanish uses a formal vs. informal second-person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Spanish Bibles all use only the informal second-person pronoun (tú), with the exception of Dios Habla Hoy (third edition: 1996) which also uses the formal pronoun (usted). In the referenced verses, the formal form is used.
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 second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.
In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
It may be necessary to make clear that the pronoun they at the beginning of this verse refers to the soldiers—for example, “as the soldiers were about to take Paul into the fort.”
Paul’s question to the commander of the soldiers, May I say something to you?, is rendered as direct discourse in most translations, though it appears as indirect discourse in the Jerusalem Bible.
Do you speak Greek? is not really a question asking for information, for the commander obviously understood from Paul’s statement to him that he did speak Greek. Therefore, this question must be rendered in some languages as “then you obviously speak Greek” or “then you must speak Greek.” If the question is changed into a statement, the verb relating to the commander’s comment must be changed from asked to “said.”
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 spoke to the Roman commander using the Greek language. The commander was surprised that Paul knew Greek. He asked him if he was from Egypt and had earlier led a revolt. Paul replied that he was a Jew from Tarsus. He asked the commander to allow him to speak to the crowd. The commander allowed him to do that.
Paul spoke to the crowd using the Aramaic language. At this time the first language of the Jews was Aramaic. Paul told his history and training. He told how he used to persecute believers in Jesus. He described how he became a believer. He told the crowd that God sent him to tell the gospel to the Gentiles.
Other examples of headings for this section are:
Paul Defends Himself (New Revised Standard Version) -or-
Paul Speaks in His Own Defense (God’s Word) -or-
Paul told the ⌊Jewish⌋ crowd about how he lived
Paragraph 21:37–39
21:37a
The context implies that the soldiers put Paul back on his feet here. In some languages it is better to indicate that in the translation. For example:
The soldiers ⌊put him down.⌋ As they were about to… -or-
The soldiers ⌊put Paul back on his feet.⌋ As they were about to…
It is possible that the soldiers did not put Paul down until 21:40b (“Paul stood on the steps”). But this seems unlikely, because Paul felt safe enough from the mob to talk to the commander, so it was probably safe enough for the soldiers to put him down.
As they were about to take Paul into the barracks: This clause in Greek is literally “As he was about to be brought into the barracks.” It continues to focus on Paul here. For example:
As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks (Revised Standard Version)
However, the Greek clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:
As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the army building (New Century Version)
barracks: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as barracks means “a place where soldiers lived.” Here it refers to the stone fortress next to the temple. See how you translated this word in 21:34.
21:37b
he asked the commander: 21:37c indicates that Paul spoke Greek here. Some languages must indicate here that Paul spoke Greek here for the correct meaning. For example:
he asked the commander ⌊in Greek⌋
May I say something to you?: This clause in Greek is literally “If it is permitted for me to say something to you?” It is a polite request to speak with the commander. Other ways to translate this clause are:
If I am allowed to say something to you? -or-
Would you allow me to say something to you? -or-
I would like to say something to you. Will you permit me to? -or-
There is something I would say to you please.
21:37c
“Do you speak Greek?” he replied: The Berean Standard Bible placed the phrase he replied after the spoken words. Place it where it would be most natural in your language. For example:
The officer replied, “Do you know Greek? (NET Bible)
Do you speak Greek?: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as speak is literally “know.” If Paul knew Greek, then he could speak it. For example:
Do you know Greek? (Revised Standard Version)
This is a rhetorical question. It means “Oh, you know Greek!” It implies that the commander was surprised that Paul knew Greek. Translate this clause with that meaning. Some ways are:
• As a rhetorical question. For example:
You speak Greek, do you? (Good News Translation)
• As a statement. For example:
So, you know Greek!
In some languages the idea of surprise must be indicated in the translation. For example:
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