devout

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The Greek that is often translated in English as “devout” (or “pious”) is translated in various ways:

  • Lalana Chinantec: “[people who] revere God”
  • Chichimeca-Jonaz: “[people who] obey and worship God”
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “[people who] remember God”
  • San Mateo del Mar Huave: “worshipers of God”
  • Tzotzil: “[people who] are zealously doing what they think is God’s word”
  • Mezquital Otomi: “[people who] very much believe what they have been taught about God” (source for this and five above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Chichewa interconfessional translation, publ. 1999: “[people who] love God” (source: Wendland 1998, p. 90)
  • Uma: “[people who] submit to Lord God” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “very religious” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “[people who] are faithful in carrying out the commands of God” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “[people who] are serving God” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “[people who] are indeed devout-worshipers of God” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “[people who] respect God” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Kupsabiny: “[people who] have dedicated themselves to God” (source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • German: “God-fearing” (gottesfürchtig) or “pious” (fromm)
  • Low German translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006: “[people who] take their faith very seriously” (source for this and above: Zetzsche)
  • Hausa Common Language Bible: “owners of worshiping God” (source: Hausa Common Language Bible Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “godly” (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

See also righteous / righteousness.

Stephen

The term that is transliterated as “Stephen” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that combines “S” and the sign for “stoned” or “rocks,” referring to Acts 7:58. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Stephen” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a signs for “see” + “heaven” + “open,” referring to Acts 7:55. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Stephen” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

See also the stoning of Stephen (image) and more information about Saint Stephen .

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

complete verse (Acts 8:2)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 8:2:

  • Uma: “People who submitted to God took Stefanus’ body, they wailed over it with their real heart, and they buried him.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Estepan was buried by religious men/persons. They wailed and wept over/because-of him. Just after the death of Estepan, the persecution of the ones trusting in Isa at Awrusalam began. Because of that, all the disciples/adherents of Isa scattered to all the places there in Yahudiya and in the land of Samariya. Only the twelve commissioned ones did not move away from Awrusalam.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Saul was very pleased with the killing of Stephen. Stephen was buried by believers in God. They were grieved very much, and they wept for him. And starting from that day when Stephen died, the believers were ill treated by the Jews in Jerusalem. And the believers ran away and scattered out there in the whole province of Judea and Samaria. The only ones who didn’t run away were the apostles.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “That day when-Esteban -died, that was the beginning of an extreme persecution of the congregations of believers in Jerusalem. There were those who consistently-obeyed God’s law who went and buried him (Esteban) while crying-for-him wailing. But Saulo, he approved-of Esteban’s death and was-excessive-in causing-to-be-pitiful those-aforementioned believers so that none should (desired effect) be left. Plural Saulo were-entering-and-entering the many-houses while (concurrent action) he-was-causing-the occupants -to-be-dragged to take them to jail. Therefore all who believed, excepting the apostles, they separated-from-each-other to run-away to the many-towns in the provinces Judea and Samaria.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Esteban was buried by some people who were devout-worshippers of God. They really grieved and they wept for him.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 8:2

The devout men who buried Stephen may either be Christians, pious Jews, or both Christians and pious Jews. Elsewhere in the New Testament this phrase is used of Jews, and when used of Ananias, who was a Christian, it was used of him as a Jew (22.12). In general the term devout can be appropriately rendered as “worshipers of God.”

Mourning for him with loud cries is literally “they made a great mourning for him.” It has been pointed out by some commentators that Stephen’s death must not have been an official execution by the Jewish Council, otherwise there would have been no public mourning for him and no burial, since according to the Mishnah neither of these was allowed for a man who had been executed by stoning. However, it is quite likely that the Mishnah describes what was felt should have been right in the second century A.D. rather than what was necessarily the practice in the first century.

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 .