soldier

The Greek that is translated as “soldier” in English didn’t have a direct equivalent in Enlhet so it was translated with “those that bind us” (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. ) and in Noongar it is mammarapa-bakadjiny or “men of fighting” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

complete verse (Acts 27:42)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 27:42:

  • Uma: “From there, the soldiers planned to kill all the prisoners [lit., restrained ones], so that they would not swim to land and straightway escape.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The soldiers thought/decided that they would kill all the prisoners so that none could swim to the shore and escape.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The soldiers decided that they would kill the prisoners so that they might not get ashore and run away from the soldiers.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When that was so, the soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners in order that none would swim to its (the ocean’s) edge to escape.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When it was now like that, what the soldiers wanted was to kill the prisoners, for maybe, if they could yet get ashore, they would run away.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 27:42

The final verb escape may be rendered in some languages as “run away.”

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 .