The Hebrew and Greek that is typically translated/transliterated in English as “unclean spirit” or “evil spirit” is translated in Paasaal it is translated as gyɩŋbɔmɔ, which is also the term used for “demon.” Wyɩŋbɔmɔ are “beings that are in the wild and can only be seen when they choose to reveal themselves to certain people. They can ‘capture’ humans and keep them in hiding while they train the person in herbalism and divination. After the training period, which can range from a week to many years, the ‘captured’ individual is released to go back into society as a healer and a diviner. The gyɩŋbɔmɔ can also be evil, striking humans with mental diseases and causing individuals to get lost in the wild. The Pasaale worldview about demons is like that of others of the language groups in the area.” (Source: Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
Note that often the words for “demon” “unclean spirit” are being used interchangeably.
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 6:18:
Noongar: “They came to listen to Jesus and so he could heal them.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “Their intention in coming, they wanted to hear the words of Yesus and request-to-be-healed. Those who were possessed by demons also came and he healed them.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “They went there to listen to Isa’s teaching and to ask for their sicknesses to be healed. And whoever was possessed by a demon, Isa drove the demon out.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And he treated all those people who were afflicted by demons and they were healed.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “They went there in order to listen to what Jesus was saying and so that he would remove their sicknesses. Those who were hardshipped by evil-spirits also went and Jesus caused-to-leave those that possessed them.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “He also drove out from people the evil spirits who were possessing them.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
God transcends gender, but most languages are limited to grammatical gender expressed in pronouns. In the case of English, this is traditionally confined to “he” (or in the forms “his,” “him,” and “himself”), “she” (and “her,” “hers,” and “herself”), and “it” (and “its” and “itself”).
Modern Mandarin Chinese, however, offers another possibility. Here, the third-person singular pronoun is always pronounced the same (tā), but it is written differently according to its gender (他 is “he,” 她 is “she,” and 它/牠 is “it” and their respective derivative forms). In each of these characters, the first (or upper) part defines the gender (man, woman, or thing/animal), while the second element gives the clue to its pronunciation.
In 1930, after a full century with dozens of Chinese translations, Bible translator Wang Yuande (王元德) coined a new “godly” pronoun: 祂. Chinese readers immediately knew how to pronounce it: tā. But they also recognized that the first part of that character, signifying something spiritual, clarified that each person of the Trinity has no gender aside from being God.
While the most important Protestant and Catholic Chinese versions respectively have opted not to use 祂, some Bible translations do and it is widely used in hymnals and other Christian materials. Among the translations that use 祂 to refer to “God” were early versions of Lü Zhenzhong’s (呂振中) version (New Testament: 1946, complete Bible: 1970). R.P. Kramers (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 152ff. ) explains why later versions of Lü’s translation did not continue with this practice: “This new way of writing ‘He,’ however, has created a minor problem of its own: must this polite form be used whenever Jesus is referred to? Lü follows the rule that, wherever Jesus is referred to as a human being, the normal tā (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential tā (祂) is used.”
In that system one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and one for natural elements, non-liquid masses, and some spiritual entities (one other is used for large animals and another one for miscellaneous items). While in these languages the pronoun for spiritual entities used to be employed when referring to God, this has changed into the use of the human pronoun.
Lynell Zogbo (in The Bible Translator 1989, p. 401ff. ) explains in the following way: “From informal discussions with young Christians especially, it would appear that, at least for some people, the experience and/or concepts of Christianity are affecting the choice of pronoun for God. Some people explain that God is no longer ‘far away,’ but is somehow tangible and personal. For these speakers God has shifted over into the human category.”
In Kouya, God (the Father) and Jesus are referred to with the human pronoun ɔ, whereas the Holy Spirit is referred to with a non-human pronoun. (Northern Grebo and Western Krahn make a similar distinction.)
Eddie Arthur, a former Kouya Bible translation consultant, says the following: “We tried to insist that this shouldn’t happen, but the Kouya team members were insistent that the human pronoun for the Spirit would not work.”
In Burmese, the pronoun ko taw (ကိုယ်တော်) is used either as 2nd person (you) or 3rd person (he, him, his) reference. “This term clearly has its root in the religious language in Burmese. No ordinary persons are addressed or known by this pronoun because it is reserved for Buddhist monks, famous religious teachers, and in the case of Christianity, the Trinity.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )
In Thai, the pronoun phra`ong (พระองค์) is used, a gender-neutral pronoun which must refer to a previously introduced royal or divine being. Similarly, in Northern Khmer, which is spoken in Thailand, “an honorific divine pronoun” is used for the pronoun referring to the persons of the Trinity (source: David Thomas in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 445 ). In Urak Lawoi’, another language spoken in Thailand, the translation often uses tuhat (ตูฮัด) — “God” — ”as a divine pronoun where Thai has phra’ong even though it’s actually a noun.” (Source for Thai and Urak Lawoi’: Stephen Pattemore)
The English “Contemporary Torah” addresses the question of God and gendered pronouns by mostly avoiding pronouns in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (unless God is referred to as “lord,” “father,” “king,” or “warrior”). It does that by either using passive constructs (“He gave us” vs. “we were given”), by using the adjective “divine” or by using “God” rather than a pronoun.
Some Protestant and Orthodox English Bibles use a referential capitalized spelling when referring to the persons of the Trinity with “He,” “His,” “Him,” or “Himself.” This includes for instance the New American Standard Bible or The Orthodox New Testament, but most translations do not. Two other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are the closely related Indonesian and Malay. In both languages this follows the language usage according to the Qur’an, which in turn predicts that usage (see Soesilo in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 442ff. and The Bible Translator 1997, p. 433ff. ).
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®).
kai hoi enochloumenoi apo pneumatōn akathartōn etherapeuonto ‘and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were healed,’ mentioning a special category among those that had come to be cured. apo pneumatōn akathartōn goes with enochloumenoi and indicates the cause or the source of their being troubled (apo = hupo.
enochleomai, passive ‘to be troubled,’ ‘to be plagued.’
Translation:
One should take care not to suggest a contrast between those who “came … to be healed” (v. 17) and those who actually “were cured” (here): vv. 18f intend to show that, and how, the people who came were healed.
Trouble with unclean spirits refers to demon possession (see on 4.33); for unclean spirit see on 4.36. For cured see on “heal” in 4.23.
Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.
They had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases:
This clause tells why the people were there waiting for Jesus. Some came to listen to Jesus teach. Others had come because they were sick and they wanted Jesus to heal them. Some probably came for both reasons. Some other ways to translate this are:
Many of the people had come to hear Jesus speak. Those who were sick had come for Jesus to heal them. -or-
These people had come to listen to Jesus and to be healed of their diseases. (Contemporary English Version)
and to be healed of their diseases: This phrase is passive. Some ways to translate it are:
• As passive. For example:
and be cured of their diseases (God’s Word)
• As active. For example:
and so Jesus would heal them
6:18b
and those troubled by unclean spirits were healed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as troubled is literally “to be afflicted” or “tormented.” Some other ways to translate this are:
he healed those who were troubled by evil spirits (New Century Version) -or-
he healed the people whom evil spirits tormented
Different languages and cultures have different ways to speak about how unclean spirits control a person. Use the natural way your language and culture refers to unclean spirits controlling people.
unclean spirits: Some versions translate the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as unclean spirits as “evil spirits” (Good News Translation, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004)). Luke used the terms “unclean spirits,” “evil spirits,” and “demons” to refer to the same beings. You should use the same term here as you did in 4:36c.
Some ways to translate unclean spirit are:
• Use a general term in your language that refers to spirits that are unclean and can control people. If there is one word with this meaning, you may not need a separate word for “evil.” For example:
demon
• Use a specific term in your language that refers to a certain type of spirit. This spirit should be able to do what is described in this context. Do not use a term that refers to the spirit of a dead person.
• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:
an evil/bad spirit -or-
an unclean spirit
Be sure that an expression like “unclean spirit” does not imply that the spirit is literally dirty.
See demon in the Glossary for more information.
healed: The word healed means that Jesus healed or freed people from the control of unclean spirits. Use the natural way your language and culture refer to people being freed from the control of unclean spirits.
In your translation, do not imply that Jesus healed only people who were controlled by unclean spirits. He healed everyone who came to him. Verse 6:19b makes this explicit. The Contemporary English Version has one way to make this clear:
All who were troubled by evil spirits were also healed.
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