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.

Translation commentary on Tobit 3:8

The wicked demon Asmodeus: The name Asmodeus is found nowhere else in the Bible. It probably comes from Persian, but Jewish tradition links it to an Aramaic word for “destroyer.” Demon may also be expressed as “dirty [or, evil] spirit.”

Before they had been with her as is customary with wives is a literal translation of a line that in Greek is delicately euphemistic; it avoids speaking directly about sex. Good News Translation “before the marriage could be consummated” is forthright, though at the risk of sounding a bit legal. New Jerusalem Bible “before ever they had slept with her as man with wife” offers another possibility. Or we may say “before she and her new husband had gone to bed on their wedding night.”

You are the one who kills your husbands: What the maid says here is a bitter accusation, as comes across clearly in Good News Translation. Our Greek text does not indicate how the husbands died. The alternate text says that they were strangled. See the New Revised Standard Version footnote, which refers to the alternate text, “Don’t you understand that you are strangling your husbands?” We are not following this text, however, and no note is needed.

Have not borne the name of a single one of them: The name is close to the Greek text, and the meaning of this statement is that none of Sarah’s husbands lived long enough for her to become known as “the wife of….” She is still known as the daughter of Raguel. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version are highly interpretive, understanding “name” to mean “posterity”; that is, no son was born to continue on the father’s name. So Good News Translation has “but not one of them lived long enough to give you a son,” and Contemporary English Version combines this final clause with the clause “You are the one who kills your husbands” and translates “and each of those times you have killed your husband before he could give you a son.” The problem with this interpretation is that it gives the impression that these husbands had intercourse with Sarah, and that she may have produced daughters but not sons. What our text means the reader to understand is that Sarah remained a virgin (see 3.14). The other Greek text has “have had no benefit/joy from a single one of them” (see the New Revised Standard Version footnote). Some versions follow this; the two Greek verbs closely resemble one another in appearance. The text followed here, however, yields a perfectly clear meaning. After all, it is Sarah’s honor that is being insulted. So another possible model for the quote of the servant woman is “Look at you! You have had seven husbands. But you don’t carry the name of any of them,” or even “… No one thinks of you as the wife of any of them.”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Tobit. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.