Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 26:31:
Uma: “When they got outside, they talked to one another, saying: ‘That man has done nothing wrong worthy to kill him for or imprison him for.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “When they left from there, they were talking together, they said, ‘That man has done nothing worthy for him to be killed or for him to be imprisoned.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And while they were leaving, they spoke to each other saying, ‘There is nothing he’s done worthy of death or even of being in prison.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “and they went-out. After that they talked-together saying, ‘That person, he has no crime that would suffice for his death or imprisonment.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When those three important ones had gone out, they conversed saying, ‘As for that person, it’s clear that he really hasn’t done anything for which he ought to be imprisoned or his life/breath severed.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
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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 third person singular and plural pronoun (“he,” “she,” “it” and their various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. While it’s not uncommon to avoid pronouns altogether in Japanese, there are is a range of third person pronouns that can be used.
In these verses a number of them are used that pay particularly much respect to the referred person (or, in fact, God, as in Exodus 15:2), including kono kata (この方), sono kata (その方), and ano kata (あの方), meaning “this person,” “that person,” and “that person over there.” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
The Greek of this verse reflects a Semitic formula (though not expressed in translation) which may be rendered literally “they said to each other saying.” In such a context, “saying” is redundant and is merely an indication of direct discourse (see Matthew 5.2, literally “he taught them saying”).
In some languages it may be necessary to change the order of should die or be put in prison since death would automatically rule out being put in prison. Therefore, the lesser penalty would normally occur first. On the other hand, it may be useful to preserve the present order but to translate it as “for which he should be put to death, or if not put to death, then at least be kept in prison.”
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 .
On their way out: The Greek word is literally “having withdrawn.” Here it refers to leaving the place where Paul was. For example:
after leaving (Good News Translation)
they said to one another: These words indicate that the king, governor, Bernice, and the others all discussed what they had seen and heard. The words they said to one another introduce a summary of what they agreed upon. Other ways to translate these words are:
they talked together and agreed (New Jerusalem Bible) -or-
they said to each other (Good News Translation)
26:31b
This man has done nothing: The past tense on has done refers generally to Paul’s life as a Christian, including the things he said in 26:4–29. It does not refer only to the last thing Paul said or did before they left the room. In some languages a different tense or time phrase will indicate the correct meaning. For example:
All that he has been doing is not -or-
This man has not done anything (Good News Translation) -or-
There is no reason why this man should die or be put in jail. (New Century Version)
See also the examples in the previous note.
worthy of death: The phrase worthy of death means that someone deserves to be punished with death. Some laws require that officials kill people who have done certain crimes. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
should die (Good News Translation) -or-
requires the death penalty
imprisonment: The Greek word is literally “things-that-tie.” It refers to ropes or chains or prison that keep someone from going where he wants. Other ways to translate this word are:
being tied/bound/chained -or-
having ropes/chains hold me -or-
being in prison
See how you translated this word in 26:29 (“chains”).
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®).
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