8It so happened that the father of Publius lay sick in bed with fever and dysentery. Paul visited him and cured him by praying and putting his hands on him.
Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
The term that is transliterated as “Paul” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that signifies the many letters he wrote. (Source: RuthAnna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Paul” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting putting away a sword, referring to his conversion from a persecutor of Christians to a Christian leader. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
“to beg” or “to ask,” (full expression: “to ask with one’s heart coming out,” which leaves out selfish praying, for asking with the heart out leaves no place for self to hide) (Tzotzil)
“to raise up one’s words to God” (implying an element of worship, as well as communication) (Miskito, Lacandon) (Source of this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
Shilluk: “speak to God” (source: Nida 1964, p. 237)
Mairasi: “talk together with Great Above One (=God)” (source: Enggavoter, 2004)
Ik: waan: “beg.” Terrill Schrock (in Wycliffe Bible Translators 2016, p. 93) explains (click or tap here to read more):
What do begging and praying have to do with each other? Do you beg when you pray? Do I?
“The Ik word for ‘visitor’ is waanam, which means ‘begging person.’ Do you beg when you go visiting? The Ik do. Maybe you don’t beg, but maybe when you visit someone, you are looking for something. Maybe it’s just a listening ear.
When the Ik hear that [my wife] Amber and I are planning trip to this or that place for a certain amount of time, the letters and lists start coming. As the days dwindle before our departure, the little stack of guests grows. ‘Please, sir, remember me for the allowing: shoes, jacket (rainproof), watch, box, trousers, pens, and money for the children. Thank you, sir, for your assistance.’
“A few people come by just to greet us or spend bit of time with us. Another precious few will occasionally confide in us about their problems without asking for anything more than a listening ear. I love that.
“The other day I was in our spare bedroom praying my list of requests to God — a nice list covering most areas of my life, certainly all the points of anxiety. Then it hit me: Does God want my list, or does he want my relationship?
“I decided to try something. Instead of reading off my list of requests to God, I just talk to him about my issues without any expectation of how he should respond. I make it more about our relationship than my list, because if our personhood is like God’s personhood, then maybe God prefers our confidence and time to our lists, letters, and enumerations.”
In Luang it is translated with different shades of meaning (click or tap here to read more):
For Acts 1:14, 20:36, 21:5: kola ttieru-yawur nehla — “hold the waist and hug the neck.” (“This is the more general term for prayer and often refers to worship in prayer as opposed to petition. The Luang people spend the majority of their prayers worshiping rather than petitioning, which explains why this term often is used generically for prayer.”)
For Acts 28:9: sumbiani — “pray.” (“This term is also used generically for ‘prayer’. When praying is referred to several times in close proximity, it serves as a variation for kola ttieru-yawur nehla, in keeping with Luang discourse style. It is also used when a prayer is made up of many requests.”)
For Acts 8:15, 12:5: polu-waka — “call-ask.” (“This is a term for petition that is used especially when the need is very intense.”)
Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 28:8:
Uma: “At that time, Publius’s father was sick with fever [word denoting malaria or any shaking fever] and diarrhea. Paulus went to his bed, prayed for him and laid-hands-on him, with the result that he became well.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “During that time the father of Publiyus was lying there because he was sick (with) a fever and dysentery (lit. defecating blood). Paul entered his room and prayed to God for him and Paul laid his hands on him so that he was healed.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Publius’ father was sick. He was lying down with fever, and his abdomen hurt. Paul went into his room, and he prayed for him. He placed his hands on him and he got well.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “It coincided that the father of Publius became-sick with fever and dysentery. Pablo went and visited-him, and when he had-prayed, he laid-hands-on him and he became-well immediately.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well, we happened to come at the time when Publio’s father was ill, having fever and stomach-ache causing diarrhea. Pablo went in to his sleeping place and then prayed for him placing hands on him. Well, that illness of his got better at once.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Inasmuch as the word rendered fever is in the plural, some understand this to refer to recurring attacks of fever (see New English Bible “recurrent bouts of fever”; Jerusalem Bible “feverish attacks”). Most translations merely indicate that he was sick with fever and dysentery, without indicating the possibility that there were intermittent attacks of fever. Since fever and dysentery are of universal occurrence, there is no difficulty finding appropriate terms. However, in many languages one cannot say that a person was sick with fever. The corresponding receptor-language equivalent may be “fever had grabbed him,” “he was sick because of fever,” or even “fever had made him sick.”
Paul went into his room is literally “to whom Paul went in,” which is rendered in most translations as “Paul visited him.” If it is necessary to specify the place where Paul placed his hands, it may be appropriate to say “he placed his hands on his head.” Healed him may be rendered as “caused him to be well,” “caused the disease to disappear,” or “caused the fever and dysentery to leave him.” It is almost incredible how many different expressions there are for becoming sick and for being healed.
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 .
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