Translation commentary on Luke 4:34

Exegesis:

ea ‘ha!,’ exclamation of dismay.

ti hēmin kai soi ‘what have you to do with us?,’ well known phrase in the Septuagint, cf. e.g. Judges 11.12. The corresponding Hebrew phrase means, ‘why do you meddle with us?’ The plural hēmin reflects the idea that an unclean spirit is a plurality in itself, cf. Mk. 5.2 (singular), 9, 12f (plural), and here oida ‘I know’ (singular).

Iēsou Nazarēne ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ or “Jesus the Nazarene” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation). The reference to Nazareth does not imply contempt but serves as a means of identification.

ēlthes apolesai hēmas either ‘have you come to destroy us?’ or ‘you have come to destroy us,’ preferably the former.

apollumi ‘to destroy,’ ‘to lose.’

oida se tis ei ‘I know you who you are,’ anticipation of the subject of the subordinate clause by making it the object of the main clause.

ho hagios tou theou ‘the holy one of God’ (cf. Mk. 1.24; Jn. 6.69), is to be understood as Messianic. The genitive tou theou is best interpreted as possessive, ‘the holy one who belongs to God.’

Translation:

What have you to do with us. An idiomatic expression used is, ‘why do you fall among (i.e. interfere with) us?’ (Marathi). To employ a reciprocal expression is not advisable.

Jesus of Nazareth, i.e. (originating) from N. Some languages use an appositional construction, ‘Jesus, person-of N.’ (Pohnpeian), or a derivational term, as does the Greek, “Jesus the Nazarene” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation, similarly Marathi), or, “Jesus, you Nazarene” (An American Translation, adding the pronoun better to express the form of address).

I know who you are, the Holy One of God. The final phrase may have to be given a verb, ‘you are the Holy One of God’; or the structure of the whole clause may have to be changed, e.g. ‘I know you. You are the Holy One of God.’ In the second case “to know” means ‘to be acquainted with,’ in the first, ‘to be aware of the fact that.’ For holy see on 1.15. In languages that describe the word by ‘of (i.e. belonging to) God’ it may be possible to use a rendering such as, ‘the one who comes from God and is dedicated (or, gives himself) to him (or, God),’ ‘the man who is God’s very own.’

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.

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