The term that is translated as “hypocrisy” in English versions is translated with a term in Oxchuc Tzeltal that means “two hearts,” in Central Pame “two mouths” (source: Nida 1952, p. 150), and in San Miguel El Grande Mixtec “having two heads” (source: Nida 1947, p. 150).
Kituba uses a specialized idiom for “hypocrisy”: “eye under leaf” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel) and in the Mandarin ChineseUnion Version the four-character phrase jiǎmào wéi shàn (假冒为善 / 假冒為善), lit. “impersonate for good” is used (source: Zetzsche).
The term that is transliterated as “Barnabas” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a combination of the signs for the letter B and “encourage” (referring to Acts 11:23). (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Barnabas” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
Following are a number of back-translations of Galatians 2:13:
Uma: “And the other Yahudi followers of the Lord Yesus also followed that action of Petrus’, even though they knew it wasn’t fitting. Until even Barnabas jumped-on-the-bandwagon [equivalent Uma idiom], he no longer ate with those who were not Yahudi people.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “The other Yahudi who trust in Isa Almasi there in Antiyok, also joined/imitated Petros and they all no longer ate together with the not Yahudi. Including Barnabas was carried-along/influenced also.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “It was the same way also with what the other Jewish believers did, because they avoided it also and even Barnabas was influenced by this.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “So the other believers who were Jews, they followed-the-example-of Pedro, even though they and Pedro, they all knew that what they were doing was not correct. Even Barnabas, he went-astray to follow-their -example.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well since it was like that, other siblings in believing who were Jews were also copying what he was doing. Even Bernabe was going along with that hypocrisy of theirs.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Then other Jews who were now believers also did like Peter did in that they separated from the believers who were not marked. Also even Barnabas followed in doing what Peter did.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The effect of Peter’s withdrawal is now mentioned: the other Jewish members of the congregation, and even Barnabas, likewise began to dissociate themselves from the Gentile members.
The words translated acting like cowards and cowardly action come from a Greek root usually rendered as “hypocrisy,” “pretense,” or “make believe”; it means hiding one’s real self through actions that would convey a different impression (Phillips “deception”; Jerusalem Bible “pretence”; Knox “insincerity”; New English Bible “showed the same lack of principle”). The use of this word to describe Peter’s action and that of the rest of the Jewish Christians in Antioch implies that Paul still believed that they knew what was right, but that they were acting against their own convictions in the matter. Failure to act in accordance with one’s convictions because of fear of what some persons might say certainly is “to act like a coward.” In this sense the rendering of Good News Translation is justified. Nevertheless, the focus seems to be primarily upon the failure of one to act according to his own principles. Therefore one may translate the first clause of this verse as “the other Jewish believers also started to behave in the way they knew they shouldn’t” or “… in a way that they knew was not right.” The phrase along with Peter may be rendered as “they did the same thing that Peter was doing,” or “they acted in the same way Peter was acting.”
The clause Barnabas was swept along by their cowardly action means that Barnabas not only felt pressured to join, but that he actually did join the rest of the Jewish Christians in separating themselves from the Gentile believers (New English Bible “Barnabas was carried away and played false like the rest”; Jerusalem Bible “Barnabas felt himself obliged to copy their behavior”). One may also say “even Barnabas felt that he must do the same,” “… act in the same way they did,” “… imitate them in doing what he knew he shouldn’t do,” or “… in doing what he knew was not right.”
Quoted with permission from Arichea, Daniel C. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Galatians. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1976. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
The other Jews: This phrase refers to the other Jewish believers in Antioch who were also eating with Gentiles.
Some other ways to translate this clause are:
The other Jewish believers (Good News Translation) -or-
The other ?Christians in Antioch who were? Jews
joined him in his hypocrisy: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as hypocrisy is related to the word “hypocrite.” It refers to believing/saying one thing but doing something different. Here, it indicates that Peter and the other Jews in Antioch knew that eating with Gentiles was a good thing. But in front of the Jews from Jerusalem, they pretended that they believed that it was not good. They acted in a way that they did not believe was correct. They did that because they wanted to please other people.
Some other ways to translate this verb are:
acted/behaved in a way that was not right -or-
they began doing things that they knew were not correct
joined him: This phrase indicates that the other Jewish believers followed Peter’s example. They, too, began to have less fellowship with the Gentile believers.
Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
along with him (English Standard Version) -or-
followed Peter’s example
2:13b
so that: In this context, the Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as so that indicates a result. Peter and the other Jewish believers stopped eating with the Gentiles, and as a result, Barnabas also stopped eating with them. Here is another way to translate this:
with the result that (New American Standard Bible)
Some English versions, such as the New Century Version, do not translate this conjunction. In some languages, it may not be necessary to translate this conjunction either.
even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as hypocrisy is a noun form of the verb “acted hypocritically,” which Paul used in 2:13a. (The Berean Standard Bible translates the verb there with the noun “hypocrisy”). It refers to the actions of Peter and the other Jews: they started to do what they knew was wrong. Their wrong actions caused even Barnabas to do what was wrong.
This clause is passive. Some ways to translate it are:
• Use a passive clause. For example:
even Barnabas was influenced to join them in their hypocrisy (New Living Translation (1996)) -or-
Even Barnabas was influenced by what these Jewish believers did. (New Century Version)
• Use an active clause. For example:
Their hypocrisy led even Barnabas astray. -or-
What they did fooled/deceived even Barnabas into doing what was wrong. -or-
Even Barnabas went along with their hypocrisy. -or-
Even Barnabas followed them in doing what was wrong.
even Barnabas: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as even indicates that Paul was surprised at Barnabas’ actions. Because they had worked closely together, he did not expect Barnabas to do such a thing. Here is another way to translate this:
Barnabas himself
was led astray: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as led astray is used in a figurative sense. It has the meaning of being led down the wrong moral path. Barnabas was led away from the truth of the gospel to follow the example of Peter and the other Jewish believers. He, too, stopped eating with the Gentile believers. He should have known better, but he yielded to the pressure of the others.
Some other ways to translate this verb are:
was carried/pulled/dragged along -or-
was influenced (New Century Version)
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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