26But I have nothing definite to write to our sovereign about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write,
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 25:26:
Uma: “But I do not-yet have an explanation [lit., straightness] that is fitting for me to write in a letter to Kaisar. So, that is why I now bring him here, especially to King Agripa whom I respect. My intention is that when this examination of ours is over, there will be something that I can write.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “But I have no reason to write to the Leader King,’ Pestus said. ‘Therefore I have brought him here to face you (pl.), and especially to you, Sir Agarippa, in order that after you have examined this case, perhaps I may have (something) to write to the Leader King.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “But I have nothing to write about him which is worthy of going to our king, therefore I brought him before you (pl.) today and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that I might have something to write after you have investigated him.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “But I know of nothing proper to write to the Emperor about him. And that is the reason I have brought him before you all, and especially you (sing.) King Agrippa, in order that I will have something to write when we are finished trying him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “But well, I don’t know anything which I can write concerning him which is acceptable/possible to send to that master of ours. That’s why today, I am standing him in the presence of all of you, especially before you, respected King, so that when he is interrogated, I will have something to put in the letter which will be sent there.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
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 to do this is through the usage of appropriate suffix title referred to as keishō (敬称) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017 by either using -san or –sama with the latter being the more formal title.
In these verses, the Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “everyone” or similar in English is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as mina-san (皆さん), combining the word for “everyone” (nī) and the suffix title –san. This creates a higher sense of familiarity and equality than for instance the same term with the more respectful title –sama at young people (Japanese honorifics). (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
To the Emperor is literally “to the Lord,” a term which was very often applied to the Roman Emperor. One of the early conflicts between Christianity and the Roman government grew out of the fact that the Christians said “Jesus Christ is Lord,” whereas the Roman people said “the Emperor is Lord.”
It may be necessary to imply with the verb brought him that Paul has been brought “in order to speak before you.”
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 .
have nothing definite to write: It was necessary for Festus to send Paul so that Caesar would hear his case. But the issues involved were about the Jewish religion and not Roman law, so Festus did not know what to tell Caesar about the case to help him decide it, nor even how to describe the charges against him. Other ways to translate this clause are:
have no certain thing to write (King James Version) -or-
don’t have anything reliable to write (God’s Word) -or-
have nothing specific to write (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
our sovereign one: This phrase in Greek is literally “the lord.” The Greek word means “master, ruler, owner.” The word refers to Caesar here. Caesar ruled over the whole Roman empire. It does not refer to God here. It does not imply that Festus was calling Caesar a god. Other ways to translate this Greek word are:
my lord (Revised Standard Version) -or-
our lord/master/leader, ⌊Caesar⌋
25:26b–c
I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa: This clause emphasizes that Festus particularly wanted King Agrippa to listen to Paul and question him. For example:
I have brought him before you all and particularly before you, King Agrippa (Revised English Bible)
25:26d
after this inquiry: Festus hoped that the people here would be more familiar with the issues surrounding the Jewish accusations against Paul and so would know the right questions to ask Paul. Then Festus would be able to clearly tell Caesar what the case was about. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
after investigating his case (Good News Translation) -or-
we will question him and as a result
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.