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.

prison

The Greek that is translated in English as “prison” is translated in Dehu as moapokamo or “house for tying up people” (source: Maurice Leenhardt in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 97ff. ) and in Noongar as maya-maya dedinyang or “house shut” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

complete verse (Revelation 18:2)

Following are a number of back-translations of Revelation 18:2:

  • Uma: “He shouted loudly, he said: ‘Destroyed! Destroyed is Babel, that big village! From now on it is occupied by demons, occupied by many kinds of evil things, occupied by every kind of disgusting and hated bird.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “He called out loudly, he said, ‘Destroyed, really destroyed is the famous city of Babilon. Now the hibilis and the demons make it their place. And it is also the place of whatever birds are dirty and ritually-unclean.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And he spoke loudly saying, ‘It is destroyed! The large city of Babylon is thoroughly destroyed. It has become now a dwelling place for demons and bad spirits. That city will become the dwelling place of every kind of bad and filthy bird.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “He said shouting, ‘Destroyed! The famous (lit. newsed) city of Babilonia is destroyed. She has become a haunt (lit. staying-place) of demons, rock-river-and-tree-spirits, and any-kind-of evil-spirits. All kinds of birds also that are considered to be filthy and evil, they are now nesting there.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “He called out at full volume, saying, ‘Defeated now! That famous city of Babilonia is now defeated. Today all kinds of evil-ones/spirits will go to live there and it will be a nesting-place of dirty and disgusting birds.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Very loudly he shouted and said: ‘It is ended. Ended is the city of Babylon. Now it has become the home of evil spirits. It is where nests have been made for the birds who are filthy.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Revelation 18:2

He called out with a mighty voice: as in 5.2; 10.3.

The announcements that follow (verses 2-3 and 4-8) may be rendered in poetic forms (see Section F of the introduction, “Translating the Revelation to John,” pages 6 and following).

Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great: as in 14.8. This is what is called a “prophetic” past tense, announcing a future event as something that has already taken place.

In this verse Good News Translation begins to use a feminine pronoun when referring to Babylon. Revised Standard Version waits until the following verses to follow this pattern. Many languages cannot do this.

A dwelling place … a haunt: the Greek noun translated dwelling place appears also in Eph 2.22 and nowhere else in the New Testament. It is related to the verb “to dwell,” used frequently in this book (see 2.13; 3.10). The word translated haunt usually means a guarded place, a “prison” (see 2.10; 20.7). Here it seems to mean a place where unclean spirits and disgusting birds live undisturbed; it is a refuge, a guarded sanctuary for them. Haunt may also be translated in English as “lair,” a place where wild animals hide. Translators should attempt to find synonyms in their languages and say something like the English “It has become a refuge for … and the lair of…,” or combine the two and say “Demons and unclean (or, evil) spirits use it is as their lair.”

Demons … every foul spirit … every foul and hateful bird: this is a vivid picture of a city that has been destroyed and has no one living in it. See the similar pictures drawn of Babylon (Isa 13.19-23; Jer 50.39), Edom (Isa 34.11-15), and Nineveh (Zeph 2.13-15). For foul spirit (that is, “unclean spirit”) see 16.13; demons are the same as evil spirits. The foul and hateful birds are those birds that, according to the Law of Moses, Israelites could not eat; they were unclean (see Deut 14.12-18). The added epithet hateful describes these birds as disgusting, loathsome, repulsive. Perhaps the writer had bats in mind (which were classified in those days as birds).

TEXTUAL NOTE: instead of Revised Standard Version (and Good News Translation) a haunt of every foul and hateful bird, the UBS Greek New Testament has (following the order of words in the Greek text) “a haunt of every bird unclean (and a haunt of every beast unclean) and hateful.” Revised Standard Version and Good News Bible (and most other modern translations) do not include the material within parentheses. New Revised Standard Version, however, has “a haunt of every foul and hateful bird, a haunt of every foul and hateful beast,” which goes beyond the UBS Greek text by adding “and hateful” to “every bird.”

An alternative translation model for the quotation in this verse is:

• “The great city of Babylon is finished (or, collapsed). It is completely deserted (or, no people left in it). Demons and filthy spirits are now living in it (or, have made it their lair), all kinds of unclean (or, filthy) birds live there.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Revelation to John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1993. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .