council

The Greek that is translated as “council” or “Council” in English is (back-) translated in a variety of ways:

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Acts 23:15)

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 exclusive form (excluding the chief priests and elders).

Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.

complete verse (Acts 23:15)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 23:15:

  • Uma: “So then, we (excl.) ask [you] fathers with the religion judges, to send a letter to the head of the Roma soldiers, asking that Paulus be brought back before you, supposedly so that his case is to be examined further. But-actuality we (excl.) will ambush him and kill him on the way.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So now,’ they said, ‘you and the council members should send word to the colonel telling him to bring Paul here to you. Pretend that you want to investigate his case very well. We (excl.) also will ambush him on the way and kill him, before he reaches you.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as for you and all of the elders, write to the captain of the Roman soldiers and say to him that he should bring Paul here so that you might thoroughly check up on what he did. And as for us we’ll get ready because we’ll kill him before he arrives here.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “So you and the other leaders, send someone to go tell the commander to bring Pablo here, in order that you will reportedly try/interrogate him properly concerning his case. Then we (excl.) will wait-in-ambush to kill-him on the path before their arrival here.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Therefore, now, we (excl.) are asking you to arrange with your companions who are members of the Sanedrin and go to that highest-ranking-officer of soliers. Ask him to stand Pablo in your presence again. Lie that you want to interrogate him to ascertain the truth. And then when he is being brought here, we (excl.) will all really be ready then to kill him for we (excl.) will lie in wait for him.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 23:15

You and the Council is more accurately rendered in some languages as “you on behalf of the Council,” since it was not the chief priests, elders, and Council who collectively or individually sent the word to the Roman commander, but the leaders who did this on behalf of the Council as a whole.

Send word is a term which means “to impart official information,” and in the present context it seems to be used at least in a semitechnical sense. The same verb occurs in 23.22; 24.1; 25.2, 15.

Since this message to the Roman commander was primarily a request, it may be necessary to indicate this fact so as not to imply that it was an order—for example, “request the Roman commander, Please bring Paul down to us.”

Pretending … may be translated as “say to him….”

To get more accurate information about him renders a verb phrase in which the verb combines both the ideas of inquiry and of decision. More accurate information may be rendered as “to learn better just what he has done.”

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 .