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 7:29)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 7:29:

  • Uma: “From there, Yesus said: ‘Your (sing.) answer is true! So, return home, the demon that has entered your (sing.) child has gone.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then Isa said to her, ‘Go home now. Because of those words of yours the demon has already come out of your daughter.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Jesus spoke to her, and he said, ‘Since that is what you have said, go home, because as for your child, the demon has left her.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then Jesus said, ‘Due-to that answer of yours (sing.), you (sing.) may go-home. The evil-spirit has already left your (sing.) child.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Jesus spoke again, saying, ‘Because of that which you said, it’s okay for you to go home now. Your child has been left now by the evil spirit.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Mark 7:29 – 7:30

Exegesis:

dia touton ton logon ‘on account of this saying (of yours),’ ‘because of your reply’: a word of praise.

exelēluthen ‘it has (already) gone out’: the verb exerchomai ‘go out’ is used in connection with unclean spirits (or demons) in 1.25, 26; 5.8, 13; 7.29, 30; 9.25, 26, 29.

beblēmenon ‘lying’: either in repose, as an indication of normal health, or exhausted as a result of a final paroxysm caused by the demon’s withdrawal (cf. 9.20).

epi tēn klinēn (cf. 4.21) ‘on the bed.’

Translation:

Go your way may need to be shifted to ‘return’ or ‘go to your home,’ since a literal translation may imply setting out for a further destination.

Demon has left must be translated in conformity to regular idiomatic ways of describing this type of event (see 1.26).

In some languages one must be careful to avoid making the child lying in bed parallel with the demon gone. The first is a very logical object of the verb ‘to find,’ for she actually found the child in this state. However, she did not ‘find the demon,’ but simply discovered that he had left. This difference in the nature of the objects of the verb may be rendered as ‘saw the child lying in bed and realized (or, ‘learned’) that the demon had gone.’

One must make certain that the entire clause does not seem to be a rebuke, e.g. ‘because you said this, get out,’ an interpretation which has been implied in a number of translations.

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 .