kingdom (of God / heaven) (God's finalized creation in the future)

In the German Gute Nachricht (Good News) translation of 1982, this occurrence of the Greek term which is translated in most English versions of “kingdom (of God or heaven)” is translated with a form of “once God finalizes his creation (or “work”) . . . ” (Wenn Gott sein Werk vollendet . . .). For an explanation of the differentiated translation in German as well as translation choices in a number of languages, see Kingdom (of God / heaven).

complete verse (Acts 20:25)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 20:25:

  • Uma: “‘Relatives all, for a long time I worked in your midst, I visited you and taught you to believe in the Lord Yesus to become God’s people in his Kingdom. But it has become clear in my heart, that you will no longer see me.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “‘I have already gone to all of you preaching to/teaching you about the rule of God. And I know that until now only/that this is the last time we (incl.) will see each other.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “I have preached to you one by one about God’s rule, and now I know that you will not see me anymore.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘You with-whom-I-have-stayed when-I-was-preaching about the ruling of God, I know we will not see-each-other again.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Well now, all you whom I taught concerning this kingdom of God, I am sure that after today, we won’t set-eyes-on-each-other again here under the heavens.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 20:25

In the Greek text verse 25 begins with a transitional phrase, literally “and now behold.” This clearly marks a shift in viewpoint and content. However, the expression which is placed first in the Good News Translation text, namely, I have gone about among all of you, preaching the Kingdom of God serves as a type of summary for the contents of the preceding paragraph.

Although Paul literally says preaching the Kingdom, it is agreed by the commentators that the reference is to the Kingdom of God, and so a number of translators have made this reference explicit (Phillips, An American Translation*).

The Good News Translation has rendered the Hebraic idiom “see my face again” into meaningful contemporary English: see me again.

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 .