Exegesis:

pur ēlthon balein epi tēn gēn ‘I came to cast fire upon the earth.’ pur is emphatic by position. The fire is the fire of judgment (cf. 3.16f).

kai ti thelō ei ēdē anēphthē ‘and what do I want if it is already kindled?,’ or, ‘how I wish it were already kindled!’ The latter is preferable.

anaptō ‘to kindle.’

Translation:

I came to cast fire upon the earth. The final force of the construction should not be pressed; hence one may say also ‘my coming will cast…’ (Balinese), ‘I come and will cast….’ To cast fire upon the earth, or, ‘to start (or, cause to burn) a fire on earth,’ then, “to set the earth on fire” (Good News Translation), ‘to cause the earth to burn.’

Would that, or, ‘how I wish that,’ ‘I very much wish that,’ ‘my whole soul desires that’ (cf. Batak Toba).

Were … kindled, or, ‘were … lighted,’ ‘had … started burning,’ ‘were … burning/aflame.’

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.

Exegesis:

tote arxesthe legein lit. ‘then you will begin to say.’ tote ‘then,’ i.e. when the master of the house has denied the relationship (v. 25). arxesthe indicates that the activity of those whom Jesus addresses takes a new turn in that they attempt to prove their relationship to the householder, cf. on 4.21.

ephagomen enōpion sou kai epiomen ‘we ate and drank in your presence,’ i.e. ‘we had fellowship with you at table,’ cf. on 5.30. enōpion sou goes with both verbs which form one expression. For enōpion cf. on 1.15.

en tais plateiais hēmōn edidaxas ‘you taught in our streets,’ i.e. in the streets of the towns in which we live, implicit reference to Jesus’ activity as a teacher.

Translation:

We ate and drank in your presence, preferably, ‘with you’; or, ‘we sat at table (or, had meals) with you’ (cf. New English Bible, Phillips); and cf. the note on 5.30.

In our streets, or, ‘in the roads/paths/trails of our towns and villages,’ ‘in our village-squares’ (cf. Kele, one West Nyanja version), ‘on the crossroads of our villages,’ or simply, ‘in our settlements’ (Tae’); cf. on 10.10.

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.

Exegesis:

ei tis erchetai pros me kai ou misei ton patera heautou ‘if any one comes to me (i.e. to become a disciple) and does not hate his own father.’ Syntactically the two clauses are co-ordinate but semantically the latter is more important, since it stipulates the condition which he who wants to become a disciple must meet. For miseō cf. on 1.71. Here it refers to renouncing natural affections for the sake of Jesus Christ, cf. 9.23f; 16.13. heautou goes with all the subsequent nouns as well.

eti te kai tēn psuchēn heautou ‘and even his own life also.’ For psuchē cf. on 9.24.

ou dunatai einai mou mathetēs ‘he cannot be my disciple.’

Translation:

One may have to adjust the first part of the clause, e.g. ‘if a man who comes to me does not hate…,’ or to transpose the last, e.g. ‘when a man comes to me, he cannot (or, a man who comes to me cannot) become my disciple, if he does not hate….’

Hate. In several languages the term commonly used for ‘to hate’ (cf. 1.71) implies emotions of aversion and malice that make its use unacceptable in this context; hence renderings as ‘put out of his heart (i.e. disregard)’ (Tzeltal), ‘keep-away-from’ (Wejewa), ‘turn his back on’ (Sranan Tongo, Shona 1966, Tae’ 1933), ‘be-indifferent-toward’ (Javanese), ‘reject’ (Zarma); or, ‘love less … than (he loves) me.’

His own. Often the simple possessive will do.

The following enumeration may better be rendered as a series of three pairs.

For the sequence of father and mother cf. on 2.33.

The order of wife and children has sometimes to be reversed, e.g. in Balinese.

Brothers and sisters, cf. on “brother” in 6.14. Differences in kinship system and/or in terminology may lead to shifts such as ‘siblings male and female’ (e.g. in some Indonesian languages), ‘older and younger siblings’ (Kele), ‘his elder brother and his younger brothers and his sisters’ (Shona 1966), ‘older brothers, older sisters and younger siblings’ (Tzeltal), ‘male mother’s children and sisters’ (Zarma), ‘brothers (generically used of all male relationships of equality) and siblings’ (West Nyanja). Where terms differ according to the sex of the person in question (as e.g. in Yao, ‘younger brothers and all sisters’ and ‘younger sisters and all brothers,’ respectively) it may be preferable to say, ‘all that person’s kin.’

Yes, and even …, or, “not only them but…” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation), “and … as well” (Good News Translation), ‘what-is-more….’

His own life, or, ‘his (own) soul,’ ‘his own self,’ ‘himself’ (cf. 9.24) is dependent on “does not hate”; the rendering chosen for that verb may have to be repeated with this last object.

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.

Exegesis:

ōrgisthē de kai ouk ēthelen eiselthein ‘but he became angry and would not go in,’ with sudden change of subject. For orgizomai cf. on 14.21. ouk ēthelen (imperfect tense) denotes a lasting unwillingness, caused by his anger, not a momentary refusal to go into the house.

exelthōn parekalei auton ‘came out and pleaded with him.’ For parakaleō cf. on 3.18. The imperfect tense suggests duration.

Translation:

He was (or, became) angry. The pronoun may have to be specified, e.g. ‘the elder son/brother.’

Entreated him, or, ‘begged him,’ ‘tried-to-persuade/coaxed him’ (some Indonesian languages), ‘asked him urgently’ (Tae’), ‘didn’t stop begging him’ (Sranan Tongo). One may have to make explicit the aim, e.g. “begged him to come in” (Good News Translation), or the implied direct discourse, e.g. ‘said to him, “Please, please, come in (or, do not stay/remain outside)” .’

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.

Exegesis:

ouchi ‘no,’ i.e. they will not listen to Moses and the prophets.

all’ ean tis apo nekrōn poreuthē pros autous metanoēsousin ‘but if someone comes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ For apo nekrōn (going with poreuthē, not with tis) cf. on 9.7. For metanoeō cf. on 10.13 and reference there.

Translation:

Goes to them from the dead, or, ‘goes to them from the-midst-of the dead’ (Bahasa Indonesia KB), ‘visits them from the land of the dead, or, from where the dead are.’

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.