Translation commentary on Luke 18:22

Exegesis:

eti hen soi leipei ‘there is still one thing lacking for you,’ or ‘you lack only one thing,’ i.e. either ‘there is one thing which you do not yet have,’ or ‘there is one thing which you must do yet,’ hence “you still need to do one thing” (Good News Translation), preferably the latter, as the subsequent imperatives suggest. leipō.

panta hosa echeis pōlēson ‘sell everything that you have.’

diados ptōchois ‘distribute (the proceeds) to the poor.’ For diadidōmi cf. on 11.22; for ptōchos (here without specific religious connotation) cf. on 4.18.

kai hexeis thēsauron en [tois] ouranois ‘and (as a result) you will have treasure in heaven.’

deuro akolouthei moi ‘come, follow me,’ present tense of akolouthei ‘follow’ suggests duration as compared with the aorist tense of pōlēson and diados.

deuro lit. ‘hither,’ when followed by an imperative, ‘come (here).’

Translation:

Distribute to, or, “divide … among” (An American Translation). Where an object is required one may use ‘the proceeds (of the sale),’ ‘the money,’ or, illogically, ‘it’ (Nieuwe Vertaling, Bible de Jérusalem, Zürcher Bibel, some Indonesian languages).

Treasure in heaven, cf. on 12.33.

And come, or, ‘after that (or, then) come.’ The verb may require some specification, ‘come here’ (Nieuwe Vertaling, similarly Bahasa Indonesia, Javanese), “come back” (An American Translation).

Follow, see on 5.11.

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted