demon

The Hebrew and Greek that is typically translated/transliterated in English as “demon” is translated in Central Mazahua as “the evil spirit(s) of the devil” (source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation July, 1967, p. 5ff.).

In Sissala it is translated with kaŋtɔŋ, which traditionally referred to “either a spirit of natural phenomena such as trees, rivers, stones, etc., or the spirit of a deceased person that has not been taken into the realm of the dead. Kaŋtɔŋ can be good or evil. Evil kaŋtɔŋ can bring much harm to people and are feared accordingly. A kaŋtɔŋ can also dwell in a person living on this earth. A person possessed by kaŋtɔŋ does not behave normally.” (Source: Regina Blass in Holzhausen 1991, p. 48f.)

In Umiray Dumaget Agta it is translated as hayup or “creature, animal, general term for any non-human creature, whether natural or supernatural.” Thomas Headland (in: Notes on Translation, September 1971, p. 17ff.) explains some more: “There are several types of supernatural creatures, or spirit beings which are designated by the generic term hayup. Just as we have several terms in English for various spirit beings (elves, fairies, goblins, demons, imps, pixies) so have the Dumagats. And just as you will find vast disagreement and vagueness among English informants as to the differences between pixies and imps, etc., so you will find that no two Dumagats will agree as to the form and function of their different spirit beings.” This term can also be used in a verb form: hayupen: “creatured” or “to be killed, made sick, or crazy by a spirit.

In Yala it is translated as yapri̍ija ɔdwɔ̄bi̍ or “bad Yaprija.” Yaprijas are traditional spirits that have a range presumed activities including giving or withholding gifts, giving and protecting children, causing death and disease and rewarding good behavior. (Source: Eugene Bunkowske in Notes on Translation 78/1980, p. 36ff.)

In Lamnso’ it is translated as aànyùyi jívirì: “lesser gods who disturb, bother, pester, or confuse a person.” (Source: Fanwong 2013, p. 93)

In Paasaal it is translated as gyɩŋbɔmɔ, “beings that are in the wild and can only be seen when they choose to reveal themselves to certain people. They can ‘capture’ humans and keep them in hiding while they train the person in herbalism and divination. After the training period, which can range from a week to many years, the ‘captured’ individual is released to go back into society as a healer and a diviner. The gyɩŋbɔmɔ can also be evil, striking humans with mental diseases and causing individuals to get lost in the wild. The Pasaale worldview about demons is like that of others of the language groups in the area, including the Northern Dagara [who use kɔ̃tɔmɛ with a similar meaning].” (Source: Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)

See also devil and formal pronoun: demons or Satan addressing Jesus.

complete verse (John 7:20)

Following are a number of back-translations of John 7:20:

  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “Then the people said to him, ‘You are out of your mind. Who is looking for a way to kill you?'” (Source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
  • Uma: “The people said: ‘You (sing.) are crazy! Who wants to kill you (sing.)?'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The crowds of people answered, they said, ‘You are crazy. Who wants to kill you?'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And the people answered, ‘You are crazy because who wants to kill you?'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘You (sing.) are demon-possessed! Who perhaps is intending to kill you (sing.)?’ they said in reply.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Those people said, ‘You’re really indwelt by an evil spirit! If it’s not that you’re indwelt, who is it who wants to kill you?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The people said, ‘You are demon possessed. Who do you think wants to kill you?'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on John 7:20

In some languages it is not possible to say the crowd answered, for a crowd as such does not answer; rather “the people in the crowd answered.”

You have a demon in you! is literally “You have a demon!” (Revised Standard Version). Good News Translation and Revised Standard Version reflect the historical cultural situation. The people in Jesus’ day believed in demons, and they believed that demons caused people to act in certain ways. Contemporary psychological terminology fails to convey this historical perspective, but some translators fail to recognize the importance of maintaining the biblical perspective. For example, Phillips has “You must be mad!” while Moffatt, Jerusalem Bible and the New American Bible have “You are mad!” “You are possessed!” (New English Bible) comes close to the meaning, but fails to make explicit the reference to demons. Although Revised Standard Version renders this sentence correctly, its translation of the following sentence could be seriously misunderstood by a person hearing the Scripture read. If the Scripture is not read orally with the proper intonations, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” may be understood by the hearers to mean “You have a demon who is seeking to kill you.” To avoid this kind of ambiguity, it may be better to render the question as “What people are trying to kill you?” or “Who are the people who are trying to kill you?”

As noted elsewhere, one may speak of a person “having a demon” in different ways, for example, “being ridden by a demon,” “being possessed by a demon,” or “having a demon living inside of one.” Demons are frequently spoken of as possessing people, rather than people possessing demons.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .