Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. (Acts 27:40, NIV)
Just about every verse has a difficult bit to translate - it might be a word, concept, or an idiom that made great sense to the original readers that is lost on those of us from another culture. But come on, let's face it, the entire chapter of Acts 27 (Paul's shipwreck) is just plain obnoxious agony to translate unless the people group happens to be a sea-faring one.
Take the above example for instance. It has a few problems for people who stay on dry land and grow corn and millet, and occasionally wander by a little stream or lake to get a bucketful of water. This verse assumes readers know the following:
- What an anchor is
- Anchors are tied to ships with ropes
- Sailors had a knife or something handy to cut the rope
- What a rudder is
- Why a rudder would be tied
- What happens when you untie the ropes holding the rudders
- What a sail is
- What it means to hoist a sail to the wind
- How one would head for the beach when in a boat
Shoot me now. I first worked through this chapter years ago, and am now going over it again for a spell-check. Just seeing it once more gives me the heeby jeebies!
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