eunuch

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “eunuch” in English is translated in Low German as “man (or: person) who does not have male strength” (Minsch, de ehr Mannskraft nicht hebt) (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006).

In Bislama it is “a person who has been castrated.” (Source: Bill Camden in The Bible Translator 1995, p. 240ff.)

worship

Click here to view graphically

The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek terms that are often translated as “worship” (also, “kneel down” or “bow down”) are likewise translated in other languages in certain categories, including those based on physical activity, those which incorporate some element of “speaking” or “declaring,” and those which specify some type of mental activity.

Following is a list of (back-) translations (click or tap for details):

  • Javanese: “prostrate oneself before”
  • Malay: “kneel and bow the head”
  • Kaqchikel: “kneel before”
  • Loma (Liberia): “drop oneself beneath God’s foot”
  • Tepeuxila Cuicatec: “wag the tail before God” (using a verb which with an animal subject means “to wag the tail,” but with a human subject)
  • Tzotzil: “join to”
  • Kpelle: “raise up a blessing to God”
  • Kekchí: “praise as your God”
  • Cashibo-Cacataibo: “say one is important”
  • San Blas Kuna: “think of God with the heart”
  • Rincón Zapotec: “have one’s heart go out to God”
  • Tabasco Chontal: “holy-remember” (source of this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Q’anjob’al: “humble oneself before” (source: Newberry and Kittie Cox in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 91ff. )
  • Alur: rwo: “complete submission, adoration, consecration” (source: F. G. Lasse in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 22ff. )
  • Obolo: itọtọbọ ebum: “express reverence and devotion” (source: Enene Enene)
  • Ngäbere: “cut oneself down before” (“This figure of speech comes from the picture of towering mahoganies in the forest which, under the woodman’s ax, quiver, waver, and then in solemn, thunderous crashing bury their lofty heads in the upstretched arms of the surrounding forest. This is the experience of every true worshiper who sees ‘the Lord, high and lifted up.’ Our own unworthiness brings us low. As the Valientes say, ‘we cut ourselves down before’ His presence. Our heads, which have been carried high in self-confidence, sink lower and lower in worship.)
  • Tzeltal: “end oneself before God.” (“Only by coming to the end of oneself can one truly worship. The animist worships his deities in the hope of receiving corresponding benefits, and some pagans in Christendom think that church attendance is a guarantee of success in this life and good luck in the future. But God has never set a price on worship except the price that we must pay, namely, ‘coming to the end of ourselves.'”) (Source of this and the one above: Nida 1952, p. 163)
  • Folopa: “die under God” (“an idiom that roughly back-translates “dying under God” which means lifting up his name and praising him and to acknowledge by everything one does and thanks that God is superior.”) (Source: Anderson / Moore, p. 202)
  • Chokwe: kuivayila — “rub something on” (“When anyone goes into the presence of a king or other superior, according to native law and custom the inferior gets down on the ground, takes a little earth in the fingers of his right hand, rubs it on his own body, and then claps his hands in homage and the greeting of friendship. It is a token of veneration, of homage, of extreme gratitude for some favor received. It is also a recognition of kingship, lordship, and a prostrating of oneself in its presence. Yet it simply is the applicative form of ‘to rub something on oneself’, this form of the verb giving the value of ‘because of.’ Thus in God’s presence as king and Lord we metaphorically rub dirt on ourselves, thus acknowledging Him for what He really is and what He has done for us.”) (Source: D. B. Long in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 87ff. )

In Luang it is translated with different shades of meaning:

Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.

complete verse (Acts 8:27)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 8:27:

  • Uma: “Filipus did go. At that time, there was also an Ethiopia person traveling on that road returning going to his town. That Etiopia person was a man of big rank, who controlled all the contents of the house of the queen of the land of Etiopia who was named Kandake. Having finished worshipping God in Yerusalem, he was returning to his town riding a cart pulled by horses. While he sat in his cart, he read the letter of the prophet Yesaya.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Therefore Pilip got ready and went there. When he was already on that road, he saw a man of the tribe/nation of Etiyopiya who had been to Awrusalam to-call-on God. This man was an important/prominent official and he was the one in charge of the property/wealth of the queen of the country Etiyopiya. This man was castrated.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then Philip left. And there was a person there, an Ethiopian, who had gone to Jerusalem because he will worship God. He was an official trusted by the Candace, which is to say, queen, there in Ethiopia. The queen entrusted to him all of her wealth. And when the official was going home riding on a cart, he was reading the book which Isaiah wrote a long time ago, Isaiah the inspired one of God.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Felipe got-right-up and left. While he was still on the way, he saw-in-the-distance an official from-Etiopia who had come-from Jerusalem, because he had gone there to go worship God. That-aforementioned official, he had a high position, because he was in-charge-of all the money/wealth of the queen (loan reyna) or Candace of Etiopia.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Therefore, without anything further, Felipe set out. Suddenly/unexpectedly he saw on that road a taga Etiope whose position was high for he was an official of the Candace who was the female king of Etiope. He was the overseer of all the possessions/property of that king. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship God.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Jerusalem

The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:


“Jerusalem” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)


“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)

Translation commentary on Acts 8:27 – 8:28

Some equivalent of the transitional particle so is especially useful to point up the response of Philip to the immediately preceding command from the Lord.

The following sentence about the Ethiopian eunuch introduces another participant in the story. It is very important, therefore, to have some kind of transitional device to highlight the fact that another person is being introduced. In the Good News Translation this is done by the use of the conjunction now.

Although the word eunuch basically means “a man who has been emasculated,” the word is often used in the Old Testament as a synonym for a high political or military official; and the word translated important official (see New English Bible “high official”) indicates the importance of the position that he held in the court of Ethiopia. In some languages a literal equivalent of eunuch has such unfortunate connotations that in certain translations this type of reference has been omitted completely and simply an equivalent of “official” has been employed. This is perfectly acceptable within such a context, since there is no special reference to the physical condition of the official, only his position and prominence.

Jewish law forbade a eunuch to become a full convert to Judaism (see Deuteronomy 23.1); but hope was given to those eunuchs who obeyed the Law of the Sabbath day (Isaiah 56.3-8), and they were permitted to worship the God of the Jewish people. This eunuch had been to Jerusalem to worship God (perhaps it is too much to describe him as having been there “on a pilgrimage,” so New English Bible, though the identical expression in 24.11 may support this translation).

Candace (transliterated as Kandake in the New English Bible) is not the name of the queen but rather the title of the queens of Ethiopia, as Pharaoh was the title of the kings of Egypt. An equivalent of treasury may be “valuable possessions,” “the money of the kingdom,” or “the gold and silver which belonged to the queen.” An equivalent of Queen is in many languages simply “a woman ruler” or a “woman who ruled over the whole land.”

Carriage or “wagon” suits the context better than “chariot,” which suggests a two-wheeled cart used in war. As the eunuch rode along he was reading aloud, as was the custom in antiquity.

The expression the book of the prophet Isaiah must clearly indicate that this was “the book containing the words of the prophet Isaiah” or “the book written by the prophet Isaiah.” It is not “the book which belonged to Isaiah.”

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 .