The Greek that is translated “scripture” or “scriptures” in English is translated as “God’s word which people wrote” in Guerrero Amuzgo (source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125) and “paper writings” in Copainalá Zoque (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.).
While the term “Bible,” often used as a synonym, does not appear in the Bible itself, there’s an interesting translation of that word in Dehu. Missionaries had translated “Bible” as “Container of the Word” until they realized that this was also used for “penis sheath.” (Source: Clifford 1992, p. 87)
Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “Sabbath” in English is rendered as “day we rest” in Tzotzil, in Mairasi as “Jew’s Rest Day,” in Quiotepec Chinantec as “day when people of Israel rested,” in Shilluk as “day of God,” in Obolo as Usen Mbuban or “Holy Day,” and in Mandarin Chinese as ānxírì (安息日) or “rest day” (literally: “peace – rest – day”).
(Sources: Tzotzil: Marion Cowan in Notes on Translation with Drill, p. 169ff; Mairasi: Enggavoter 2004; Quiotepec Chinantec: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.; Shilluk: Nida 1964, p. 237; Obolo: Enene Enene; Chinese: Jost Zetzsche)
In the old Khmer version as well as in the first new translation this term was rendered as “day of rest” (Thngai Chhup Somrak / ថ្ងៃឈប់សំរាក). Considered inadequate to convey its religious meaning (not only about cessation of work, but also in honor of Yahweh as the Creator), the committee for the Today’s Khmer Version (publ. 2005) decided to keep the Hebrew word and use its transliterated form Thgnai Sabath (ថ្ងៃសប្ប័ទ). “The Buddhist word Thngai Seil ‘day of merits’ used by some Catholics was once under consideration but was rejected because it did not receive unanimous support.” (Source: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 233ff.)
In Spanish, the translation is either día de reposo (“day of rest”) or sábado (usually: “Saturday,” derived from the Greek and Hebrew original. Nida (1947, p. 239f.) explains that problem for Spanish and other languages in its sphere of influence: “In translation ‘Sabbath’ into various aboriginal languages of Latin America, a considerable number of translators have used the Spanish sábado, ‘Saturday,’ because it is derived from the Hebrew sabbath and seems to correspond to English usage as well. The difficulty is that sábado means only ‘Saturday’ for most people. There is no religious significance about this word as the is with ‘Sabbath’ in English. Accordingly the [readers] cannot understand the significance of the persecution of Jesus because he worked on ‘Saturday.’ It has been found quite advantageous to use the translation ‘day of rest,’ for this accurately translated the Hebrew meaning of the term and resolves the problem in connection with the prohibitions placed upon some types of activities.”
In French Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts closing of the blinds of a store:
The term that is transliterated as “Paul” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that signifies the many letters he wrote. (Source: RuthAnna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Paul” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting putting away a sword, referring to his conversion from a persecutor of Christians to a Christian leader. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 17:2:
Uma: “So, Paulus went again to that house of prayer as he usually did, and he exchanged words with the people gathered there. Three weeks in a row Paulus’s work was always like that on the Sabat Day.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “As he usually did, Paul went to the prayer-house. Three Saturdays in a row, he debated with the Yahudi about the teachings in the holy-book.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And there Paul went to worship the Jews because that was his custom. And every Saturday for three weeks he debated with the people, and he preached to them about the prophesy which is written in the book the word of God that the king whom God had chosen, suffering and death were decreed for him, and when this was finished, God would raise him from the dead. And Paul said, ‘As for this person who is named Jesus, he is the king whom God has chosen.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “That’s where Pablo went to join-in-discussing concerning the word of God, because that was his custom, and that’s what he did for three Saturdays.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “therefore like they had been doing all along, Pablo went in and taught those gathered. For three successive Days of Rest, he was explaining to them the meaning of the writings which are the word of God.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
According to his usual habit is rendered in some languages as a verb expression, usually with a form of the verb indicating habitual action—for example, “Paul habitually went to the synagogue and therefore on this occasion he went to the synagogue (in Thessalonica).”
Three Sabbath days translates an unusual expression which most scholars understand in the sense represented by the Good News Translation. The Revised Standard Version and Zürcher Bibel, however, take the expression to mean “for three weeks.” The verb translated argued (so most translations) may also mean “discussed” (see An American Translation*). It is doubtful if from the Scriptures can be understood in the sense of “quoting texts of Scripture” (New English Bible; see Moffatt, Phillips). What Paul evidently did was to read passages of scripture and to explain these in light of their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. The relationship of argued to from the Scriptures may be indicated by “he argued with the people by referring to the Scriptures” or “he discussed with the people by reading from the Scriptures.”
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 .
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