Acts 19:37

blaspheme, blasphemy

The Greek that is translated as “blasphemy” or “blaspheme” is (back-) translated in various forms:

Panao Huánuco Quechua: “speak evil of God”
Southern Bobo Madaré: “break God’s name”
Loma: “spoil the name of God”
Luvale: “insult God”
Pamona and Malay: “slander God”
Javanese and German: “defame God”
Tae’: “bring curses (or “calamitous words”) against God”
Uab Meto: “talk to pieces” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
Xicotepec De Juárez Totonac: “treat God with contempt”
Ojitlán Chinantec: “say bad words”
Yatzachi Zapotec: “slander God”
Tenango Otomi: “don’t respect God with what one says”
Navajo: “say evil about God” (source for this and four above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125)
Sochiapam Chinantec: “ugly words about God” (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
Q’anjob’al: “that which hurts the high” (source: Newberry and Kittie Cox in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 91ff. )
Mam: xmayin ti’j Dios or “mockery against him-God” (source: Edward Sywulka in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 54ff. )
Bacama: “spoil the name of God” (source: David Frank in this blog post )

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Acts 19:37)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, translators typically select the inclusive form (including the city clerk, the riotous Ephesians, and all Ephesian citizens).

Source: SIL International Translation Department (1999).

complete verse (Acts 19:37)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 19:37:

Uma: “These two people you brought here, but they haven’t robbed our worship house or disparaged the name of our anitu.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “You have brought these people here but they have not broken into (and robbed) the prayer-house nor spoken evil about our (dual) female god.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “You brought these men here, but they haven’t stolen anything from our temples and they have also not said bad things against our god.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “The people you have brought here, they have certainly stolen nothing from our temple, and neither have they spoken-evil-of our god.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “For, as for these people whom you have brought here, they aren’t indeed taking belongings from our worship-place. They also aren’t belittling/insulting the one we worship.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 19:37

These men refers back to Gaius and Aristarchus of verse 29. Robbing temples and saying evil things about other gods were accusations often made against Jews during the New Testament period. Robbed temples is equivalent to “carried away holy things from temples.” Obviously no one would be accused of “robbing the whole building” in the sense of “carrying off a temple.”

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 .

Step into the multitudes of languages of the Bible and join the worldwide conversation!

Verse: Acts 19:37