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.

Mary Magdalene

The term that is transliterated as “Mary Magdalene” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign signifying 7 demons having gone out, referring to Luke 8:2. (Source: RuthAnna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Mary Magdalene” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

resurrect / rise again (Jesus)

The term that is translated as “resurrect” or “rise again” as referring to Jesus in English is translated in British Sign Language with a sign that combines the signs for “Jesus” and “standing on feet again.” (Source: Anna Smith)


“Resurrect” or “rise again” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)

The Christian BSL website notes: “A British Sign Language (BSL) translation of Resurrection / Rise Again / Rose Again (Jesus). Jesus’ return to life three days after his death on the cross. In the translation of Rise Again or Rose Again the word AGAIN isn’t signed; signing the word AGAIN in BSL in this context would erroneously indicate that Jesus was resurrected more than once.” (see here )

See also resurrection.

complete verse (Mark 16:9)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 16:9:

  • Uma: “When Yesus arose from the dead very early on Sunday, first he made himself appear to Maria Magdalena. This Maria, Yesus had once expelled seven demons that possessed her.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When Isa was alive again from his death on that Sunday, he first appeared to Mariyam the woman from Magdala, the one from whom he had driven out seven demons.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “In the very early morning on Sunday when Jesus was already raised from the dead, he appeard first to Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he drove away seven demons.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When it was dawning on Sunday was when Jesus came-to-life again. Upon his coming-to-life again, he first appeared (lit. preceded-to appear) to Maria Magdalena from-whom-he-had-caused-to-leave seven evil-spirits.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When it was fully Sunday morning, when Jesus had come alive again, the very-first he went-to-see/meet was Maria Magdalena. (Can’t use ‘showed himself to’ because that’s what only evil spirits do to scare people.) As for that woman, seven evil spirits had been driven out of her by Jesus.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Mark 16:9

Exegesis:

anastas (cf. Mk. 8.31) ‘having risen (from the dead).’ The aorist masculine participle has as its implied subject ‘he,’ i.e. Jesus. In Mk. 16.8, however, the subject throughout the whole verse is ‘they,’ i.e. the women.

prōi (cf. Mk. 1.35) ‘early’: presumably before sunrise.

prōtē sabbatou ‘on the first day of the week’: the construction of the phrase here differs from the phrase used in Mk. 16.2, tē mia tōn sabbatōn.

ephanē ‘he was manifested,’ ‘he appeared’: the verb is used in Mk. 14.64 in a different sense.

Maria tē Magdalēnē par’ hēs ekbeblēkei hepta daimonia ‘to Mary the Magdalene from whom he had cast out seven demons’: Mary is here introduced as though she had not been referred to before.

par’ hēs ‘from whom’: nowhere else in the N.T. is this preposition used in connection with demon expulsion.

ekbeblēkei ‘he had cast out’: the pluperfect has its full force, describing an action completed in the past.

The statement that seven demons had been cast out of Mary of Magdala is from Lk. 8.2.

Translation:

He must generally be changed to ‘Jesus’ in order to make clear the proper subject constituent.

A number of the lexical units in this verse have already been treated: rose (8.31 and 9.9), first day of the week (16.2), Mary Magdalene (15.40), cast out (1.34), and demons (1.26, 32).

Appeared may be rendered as ‘showed himself to’ or ‘caused her to see him.’

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1961. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .