When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, “These men are gods in human form!” They decided that Barnabas was the Greek god Zeus and that Paul was Hermes, since he was the chief speaker. Now the temple of Zeus was located jus t outside the town. So the priest of the temple and the crowd brought bulls and wreaths of flowers to the town gates, and they prepared to offer sacrifices to the apostles. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening, they tore their clothing in dismay and ran out among the people, shouting, “Friends, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings—just like you! We have come to bring you the Good News that you should turn from these worthless things and turn to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. In the past He permitted all the nations to go their own ways, but He never left them without evidence of Himself and His goodness. For instance, He sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.” But even with these words, Paul and Barnabas could scarcely restrain the people from sacrificing to them.
Acts 14:11-18
Now we come to the curious matter of the language of communication used in Lystra:
- What language did Paul and Barnabas use to speak to the crowd?
- Did Paul and Barnabas know the local dialect of Lycaonian?
It is clear from what Luke has written that Paul and Barnabas have moved into a region where they spoke a different language or dialect. We are told in verse 11 that the people were speaking in their own language. Literally the text reads [Λυκαονιστὶ] or Lukaonisti or in Lycaonian language.
How is it that Paul and Barnabas knew how to speak this little known language used in a backwater region of the Roman empire? Thus one must ask how did communication take place between Paul and Barnabas and the crowd in Lystra? Especially when people were getting excited and talking in their own mother tongue.
Why do some translations of Acts 14:14 have:-
- “when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening. . .”
- “when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of what was happening . . .”
Heard (1):
- (ABP+) And having heard, the apostles Barnabas and Paul, having torn their garments, rushed into the multitude crying,
- (EMTV) But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard this, they tore their garments and rushed in to the crowd, crying out
- (GNB) When Barnabas and Paul heard what they were about to do, they tore their clothes and ran into the middle of the crowd, shouting,
- (ITB) Mendengar itu Barnabas dan Paulus mengoyakkan pakaian mereka, lalu terjun ke tengah-tengah orang banyak itu sambil berseru:
- (LITV) But Paul and Barnabas, the apostles, hearing, tearing their garments, they sprang into the crowd, crying out,
- (MKJV) But hearing this, the apostles Barnabas and Paul tore their clothes and ran in among the people, crying out
- (YLT) and having heard, the apostles Barnabas and Paul, having rent their garments, did spring into the multitude, crying
Heard of (2):
- (AMP) But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their clothing and dashed out among the crowd, shouting,
- (ASV) But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they rent their garments, and sprang forth among the multitude, crying out
- (ESV) But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out,
- (ISV) But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting,
- (JUB) Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they rent their clothes and ran in among the people, crying out
- (KJV) Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,
- (LEB) But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about it, they tore their clothing and rushed out into the crowd, shouting
- (Murdock) But Barnabas and Paul, when they heard [it], rent their garments, and sprang and went among the throng,
- (NASB) But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out
- (RV) But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they rent their garments, and sprang forth among the multitude, crying out
- (TLV) But when the emissaries Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed out among the crowd, crying out
- (WEB) But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they tore their clothes, and sprang into the multitude, crying out,
- (WEBA) But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they tore their clothes, and sprang into the multitude, crying out,
- (Webster) Which, when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,
- (WNT) But the Apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it; and tearing their clothes they rushed out into the middle of the crowd, exclaiming, “Sirs, why are you doing all this?
Other Variations:
- (BBE) But when this came to the ears of the Apostles, Paul and Barnabas, they went running out among the people, parting their clothing, and crying out,
- (CEV) When the two apostles found out about this, they tore their clothes in horror and ran to the crowd, shouting:
- (ERV) But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, understood what the people were doing, they tore their own clothes. Then they ran in among the people and shouted to them:
- (GW) When the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening, they were very upset. They rushed into the crowd
- (IBIS) Ketika Barnabas dan Paulus mendengar apa yang mau dilakukan oleh orang-orang itu, mereka menyobek-nyobek pakaian mereka sambil berlari ke tengah-tengah orang banyak itu, lalu berteriak,
- (MSG) When Barnabas and Paul finally realized what was going on, they stopped them. Waving their arms, they interrupted the parade, calling out,
- (NLT) But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard what was happening, they tore their clothing in dismay and ran out among the people, shouting,
Just what is going on here? There is a subtle variation among these translations to which we need to pay attention.
- Ask your self what is the intent behind these differences?
- What are we to understand from what Luke is telling us?
So what does the text say in Greek?
ἀκούσαντες δὲ οἱ ἀπόστολοι Βαρνάβας καὶ Παῦλος, διαρρήξαντες τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτῶν εἰσεπήδησαν εἰς τὸν ὄχλον κράζοντες
hearing then the apostles Barnabas and Paul tore the clothes {of them} {rushed out} into the crowd {crying out}
Literally the Greek reads “when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard this, they tore their garments and rushed in to the crowd, crying out . . . ” That seems simple:-
- So why all the variations in translation here? And why do some translations add the subtle “heard of it”?
- What do you make of it all?
- What conclusions do you come to?
- Why the variations in the translations?
- And what are we to conclude as to what happened there in Lystra?
Once again I ask the question – How did communication take place between Paul and Barnabas and the crowd when the crowd were speaking a language which Paul and Barnabas likely as not did not speak?
At this point I will leave you with the puzzle.
I know you think you heard what I said but you only heard the words, not the intent.
Ian Vail
I know all the words, but the sentence makes no sense to me.
Ian Vail
Facing a language you don’t know is like returning to your infancy when your mother tongue used to be a foreign language to you.
Ian Vail
If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.
George Orwell
Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say infinitely when you mean very; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.
C S Lewis
Anyone can speak Troll. All you have to do is point and grunt.
J K Rowling
Last year’s words belong to last year’s language, next year’s words await another voice.
T S Elliot
“Meow” means “woof” in cat.”
George Carlin
Who are we without our words?
Ian Vail
The limits of my language limit my world.
Ian Vail