footstool

The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is typically translated as “footstool” in English is translated as “(put your enemies) underneath your feet like grass” in Enxet. (Source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)

In Upper Guinea Crioulo it is “(put your enemies) under your feet so you can rest your feet on them.” (Source: David Frank in this blog post )

In Whitesands is is “door-cloth.” “This would be that rag at the door that you use to wipe your feet after walking in the dirt or mud. Similar to a doormat. The point of comparison would be that a door rag is so low in value/position compared to the one using it.” (Source: Greg Carlson)

complete verse (Acts 2:35)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 2:35:

  • Uma: “until I cause all your (sing.) enemies to submit to you (sing.).'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “and I will place your enemies beneath the sole of your feet.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “until the time when I cause your enemies to kneel before you.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “There is something that David wrote concerning the one-who-was-raised to heaven that says, ‘The Lord God said to my Lord: Sit-down at my right-side until I defeat your (sing.) enemies.’ But what David was-speaking-about, it was not himself, because it was not he who was raised to heaven but rather his Lord who is Jesus.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “until, as for your enemies, I will subdue them that they are just a stepping-stool for your feet.”” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

addressing God

Translators of different languages have found different ways with what kind of formality God is addressed. The first example is from a language where God is always addressed distinctly formal whereas the second is one where the opposite choice was made.

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight

Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.

As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff.), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.

In these verses, in which humans address God, the informal, familiar pronoun is used that communicates closeness.

Voinov notes that “in the Tuvan Bible, God is only addressed with the informal pronoun. No exceptions. An interesting thing about this is that I’ve heard new Tuvan believers praying with the formal form to God until they are corrected by other Christians who tell them that God is close to us so we should address him with the informal pronoun. As a result, the informal pronoun is the only one that is used in praying to God among the Tuvan church.”

In Gbaya, “a superior, whether father, uncle, or older brother, mother, aunt, or older sister, president, governor, or chief, is never addressed in the singular unless the speaker intends a deliberate insult. When addressing the superior face to face, the second person plural pronoun ɛ́nɛ́ or ‘you (pl.)’ is used, similar to the French usage of vous.

Accordingly, the translators of the current version of the Gbaya Bible chose to use the plural ɛ́nɛ́ to address God. There are a few exceptions. In Psalms 86:8, 97:9, and 138:1, God is addressed alongside other “gods,” and here the third person pronoun o is used to avoid confusion about who is being addressed. In several New Testament passages (Matthew 21:23, 26:68, 27:40, Mark 11:28, Luke 20:2, 23:37, as well as in Jesus’ interaction with Pilate and Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well) the less courteous form for Jesus is used to indicate ignorance of his position or mocking (source Philip Noss).

In Dutch and Western Frisian translations, however, God is always addressed with the formal pronoun.

See also female second person singular pronoun in Psalms.

Translation commentary on Acts 2:34 – 2:35

A still further argument against the assumption that in previous quotations David was speaking about himself is now introduced. This recapitulates what was said in verse 29b, but in a different way, since now the focus is shifted to the exaltation (vv. 32-33).

It is probably necessary to have some marginal note for verse 34 to indicate that this reference to going to heaven applies to the special exaltation of Jesus to the right hand of God. In some instances one can simply indicate this contrast between David and Jesus by adding to the first clause “as Jesus did,” for example, “For David himself did not go up into heaven as Jesus did.” The quotation from Psalm 110.1, given in verses 34-35, is almost an exact reproduction of the Septuagint. In the original context of the Psalm it was God* telling his* chosen king* to sit at his* right side until he* had made the king’s enemies a place for him* to put his* feet. As used in the present context the Lord is God the Father and my Lord refers to Jesus; by raising Jesus from the dead God made him Lord and Messiah. Although the word translated until may in other contexts indicate that the action of the main verb will be terminated at the point indicated by until, it is impossible to suppose that the same holds true in the present context. This is simply another way of saying that God has given the Lord Jesus his power and authority, and all Jesus’ enemies will be made subject to him.

If the literal form of the phrase The Lord said to my Lord is retained, it is almost certain that some marginal note is required to indicate that this is God who is speaking to my Lord.

As suggested above, there is a real problem involved in rendering until, since in many languages such a conjunction specifies the end of a period, after which some other arrangement is presumed. Therefore, it may be more in keeping with the proper exegesis of this passage to translate until as “in the meantime” or “during that time,” for example, “Sit here at my right side and during that time I will put your enemies….”

In many languages the figure of the footstool is meaningful, especially if one can supplement this with some marginal note to indicate that this is a figure of speech, indicating victory over one’s enemies. However, in languages in which the figure is inadmissible, one can always employ a non-metaphorical equivalent, for example, “until I cause you to have victory over your enemies” or “I cause your enemies to be subjected to your authority.” The concept of being “subjected to your authority” may be rendered in some languages as “must obey your words.”

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 .