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 (Mark 7:26)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 7:26:

  • Uma: “In that village, there also was a woman, her daughter was possessed. When the woman heard that Yesus had arrived in the village, she came kneeling in front of him requesting-help, she said: ‘Expel for me the demon that has possessed my child!’ Yet that woman, she was not a Yahudi person, she was a Fenisia person from the land of Siria.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “That woman was not a Yahudi but of the tribe Penisiya, from the country Siriya. Na, so-then she begged Isa asking him to cause the demon to come out of her daughter.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “She begged Jesus to cure her child who was afflicted with a demon. Now that woman was not a Jew; she was a Phoenician from the province of Syria. She spoke Greek.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “and entreated that he cause-to-leave the evil-spirit that had possessed her child. This woman was born in Fenisia a region of Syria and Greek was her language.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “As for that woman, she was not a Judio. Where she had been born was there in Sirofenicia. She was asking help from Jesus that the evil spirit would be driven out which was possessing that child of hers.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Mark 7:26

Exegesis:

Hellēnis Surophoinikissa tō genei ‘Greek, Syrophoenician by race’: thus the evangelist defines her culture and religion (Greek, not Jew: perhaps the equivalent of Gentile, ‘pagan’ – cf. Lagrange païenne) and her nationality (Syrophoenician, as distinguished from the Libyophoenicians in North Africa).

genos (9.26) ‘nation,’ ‘people,’ ‘race’: the use of the word in this passage refers to her national (or racial) origin.

ērōta auton hina to daimonion ekbalē ‘she asked him to cast out the demon’: all of these words have already been dealt with: erōtaō (cf. 4.1) ‘make a request,’ ‘ask for (something)’; hina (cf. 5.10, 18) ‘that’ – indicating content, not purpose; to daimonion (cf. 1.34) ‘the demon’ – in this passage, as in the previous one, it is one and the same with ‘the unclean spirit’; ekballō (cf. 1.12) ‘cast out,’ ‘drive out.’

Translation:

A Greek, Syrophoenician by birth is not an easy expression to translate, without at least a little contextual setting, since in many translations the transliterated words Greek and Syrophoenician will mean absolutely nothing. Since the first of these denoted culture and the latter ethnic origin, one can say ‘Greek was her language and Syrophoenicia her tribe’ (Tzeltal, Southern Subanen). Syrophoenician may also be translated as ‘a native of that region,’ since Tyre and Sidon have already been mentioned in verse 24. The fact that person of a particular tribal background speaks the language of another group is a very common phenomenon in many parts of the world. Moreover, since language is the most universally recognized symbol of cultural relationship (that is, participation within a cultural group), this usage will properly reflect the meaning of the Greek text. Otherwise, there is an unresolved conflict involving two ethnic groups, and the meaning is often left quite obscure, not to say, entirely misleading. For example, in one language the literal translation really meant that she was born in the city of Syrophoenicia, a place in Greece, and in another rendering she was presumably from a Greek tribe called Syrophoenicia.

For cast the demon out see 1.26, 32, 34.

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 .