SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 2013 – Page 3

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 9:61

Paragraph 9:61–62

9:61a

Still another said: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Still another is literally “and also another.” Here it refers to the third person in a series.

I will follow You: The statement I will follow You is identical to the first clause of 9:57b. It indicates that this man wanted to become a regular disciple of Jesus.

Lord: The title Lord also occurs in 9:54b. See Lord, Context 3, in the Glossary.

9:61b

but: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but here introduces a request that interferes or contrasts with the man’s desire to follow Jesus. Introduce it in a natural way in your language.

first let me bid farewell to my family: This statement is a request. The man asked Jesus’ permission to go home and say goodbye to his family before he became Jesus’ disciple. This could have involved a lot of time spent in feasting and visiting.

my family: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as my family is literally “the ones in my house.” It refers to all of the man’s relatives who were living in his household. It can also include other relatives in the same area, even if they were not living in the same house. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

my relatives
-or-
our(excl) household

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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 10:31

10:31a–33a

Each of these three verses introduces one of three people who had the opportunity to help the man who had been beaten. Introduce each of these people in a natural way in your language.

10:31a

Now: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Now introduces the next event in the story. The word Now is not a time word here.

This verse introduces the first man who came along the road and saw the beaten man. The story does not say how much time had passed before the priest came. If you need to supply a time word or phrase in your language, use a general expression. For example:

Later
-or-
As he was lying there like that

by chance: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as by chance means “by chance” or “coincidentally.” The priest did not know about the other man, but by chance or coincidence he was traveling on the same road.

a priest: A Jewish priest was a man who offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. He also performed other religious rituals for them. Some ways to translate priest are:

sacrificer
-or-
man/person who sacrifices to God
-or-
man who represents people to God

Avoid using a term that refers only to a fetish priest or to an ordained leader of a local Christian church.

See priest in the Glossary.

was going down: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as was going down was also used in 10:30a. Consider whether it is natural in your language to translate it the same way in both verses.

the same road: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the same road is literally “that road.” It refers to the road on which the man was traveling in 10:30a. However, the word road is not used in that verse. Refer to the road in this verse in a natural way in your language. Consider if you may need to mention the road also in 10:30a.

10:31b

but when he saw him: In some languages it may be necessary to say explicitly that he refers to the priest. Or it may be necessary to supply some further information about him. For example:

when ⌊the priest⌋ saw the man ⌊lying there⌋

he passed by on the other side: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as he passed by on the other side indicates that the priest walked past the man on the opposite side of the road. He stayed as far as possible from the man as he passed him. He did not stop to help the man. Jesus did not say why the priest did not help him, and you should not supply such information.

In some languages an expression such as “other/opposite side of the road” may not be natural. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

he passed by the man, keeping/veering away from him, and went on
-or-
he went around him and continued on his way (God’s Word)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 11:21

Paragraph 11:21–22

In the following example, Jesus compared Satan to a strong man. Jesus then compared himself to someone who was even stronger. This example figuratively describes what Jesus did to Satan. He fought against Satan and won. After conquering Satan, he had the authority to cause Satan’s unclean spirits to leave people. This was like the stronger man who took the possessions of the weaker man.

11:21a

When a strong man, fully armed, guards his house: Here Jesus used an example to teach a principle. The example was of a strong man carrying weapons who guards his house against enemies. But Jesus was not actually talking about a strong man and a house. He was using this illustration to refer to Satan guarding the people over whom he had power.

In some languages it may be helpful to make explicit that this verse is an illustration. You may want to state that Satan is compared to the strong man. For example:

⌊Jesus continued by using a parable/illustration.⌋
-or-

⌊Satan can be compared to⌋ a strong man.

When a strong man: If your language does not normally introduce a new person into a story in a clause that begins with When, you may need to introduce the strong man in the way suggested above. For example:

⌊Satan can be compared to⌋ a strong man who has many weapons. When this strong man guards his house…

a strong man: In this context a strong man refers to a “soldier” or “warrior.” He is a man who is able to fight well. This phrase figuratively refers to Satan.

fully armed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as fully armed means “well equipped with weapons and armor.” The strong man is pictured as wearing armor like a soldier and carrying a sword and other military weapons. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

with many weapons (New Century Version)
-or-
with all his weapons ready (Good News Translation)

his house: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as house has a range of meanings, including “hall,” “courtyard,” “palace,” and “house.” If you have a word that refers to a large house, you may use it here. For example:

his own palace (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
his own mansion (God’s Word)

But you may also use a general word such as “house.” The focus here is not on the size of the building.

11:21b

his possessions are secure: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as secure is literally “at peace.” In this context it means “protected.” The things that the strong man owns are safe or secure because no one can come in and steal them. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

a thief will not be able to steal/take his belongings
-or-
nothing will happen to the things that he owns

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 11:53

Paragraph 11:53–54

11:53a

As Jesus went on from there:
The word there refers to the Pharisee’s house mentioned in 11:37. During the entire section that begins in 11:37, Jesus spoke from the Pharisee’s house.

In some languages, it may be more natural to make this information explicit. For example:

After he had left the house (Revised English Bible)

the scribes: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the scribes is a synonym of the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “experts in the law” in 11:52a. It refers to the same group of men. It is recommended that you translate both terms in the same way.

The term scribes also occurs in 9:22b. See also teacher of the law in the Glossary.

Pharisees: This word also occurs in 11:37a.

11:53b

began to oppose Him bitterly: The phrase began to oppose Him bitterly indicates that the Jewish leaders became very angry with Jesus, and they began to treat him as their enemy.

Some other ways to translate the phrase began to oppose Him bitterly are:

began to be very hostile toward him (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
began to give him trouble (New Century Version)
-or-
began to criticize him bitterly (Good News Translation)

Be sure not to translate this in a way that implies physical opposition. The Jewish leaders opposed him in their thoughts and words.

They continued to be angry with Jesus and oppose him until he died months later. To show this, it may be helpful to include a phrase such as “From that day on.” For example:

⌊From that day on,⌋ the Pharisees and teachers opposed him fiercely

11:53c

and to ply Him with questions about many things: The clause ply Him with questions refers to asking many questions in a hostile manner. From that time until his death, the Jewish leaders began to ask Jesus many questions that they thought would be difficult for him to answer. They did this to try to trap him.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

and to ask him hostile questions about many things (NET Bible)
-or-
and tried to provoke him with many questions (New Living Translation (2004))

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 12:31

12:31a

But: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But introduces what Jesus’ disciples should seek in place of the food and drink mentioned in 12:29a. In some languages the meaning may be implied from the context, and a conjunction may not be needed. Some ways to translate the connection are:

Rather (God’s Word)
-or-
Instead (Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation)

In some languages, readers may wrongly assume that 12:31a connects to 12:30b. If that is true in your language, you may need to make the connection to 12:29a more explicit. For example:

What you must do instead is to seek God’s kingdom

seek His kingdom: The clause seek His kingdom means to concentrate on living under God’s rule and on helping others to do so. It implies that the disciples should devote themselves to serving God and should follow what he desires.

Some ways to translate this clause are:

focus on submitting to God’s rule/chieftaincy
-or-
make every effort to obey/serve God as your king/ruler
-or-
truly desire for God to rule in the lives of all people

seek: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as seek is the same verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “be concerned about” in 12:29a. In 12:29a, it introduces what they should not seek, but here in 12:31 it introduces what they should seek. In some languages, this difference may affect the way you translate this verb.

His kingdom: The phrase His kingdom refers to God’s activity of ruling and caring for his people as their king. It does not refer to a land or country that he rules over. It refers to the relationship that he has with his people. He leads, protects, and cares for them. They obey, trust, and submit to him as their king.

This phrase first occurs in Luke in 4:43a. See also the note at 9:2.

12:31b

and: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and introduces the result of seeking God’s kingdom in 12:31a. If people seek his kingdom, then God will also give them the material things they need.

these things will be added unto you: The clause these things will be added unto you means “God will also give to you these physical things (like food and clothes).”

This is a passive clause. Other ways to translate this clause using an active verb are:

these things will be yours as well (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
he will give you everything you need (New Living Translation (2004))

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 13:4

13:4a

Or: The word Or here introduces another example of people who had recently died in a tragic way. In this second example, however, the deaths were accidental, not deliberate killings. Other ways to introduce this example are:

What about… (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Consider also…

those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them: Jesus was referring here to an event that his listeners already knew about. This event had happened in Jerusalem not long before that. In some languages it may be helpful to make explicit that Jesus’ listeners had already heard about it. For example:

⌊you also heard/know about⌋ the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them

the tower of Siloam: Siloam was the name of a pool in Jerusalem and also of the neighborhood around this pool. The tower in Siloam was in this neighborhood. It was probably a high fortified area or building that was part of the city wall. It was probably made of stone and was very heavy. Some other ways to translate it are:

high building in Siloam
-or-
tall ⌊stone⌋ house/wall in Siloam

13:4b

Do you think that they were more sinful than all the others living in Jerusalem?: This is a rhetorical question. It is parallel to the question in 13:2, so you can probably translate it in a similar way.

Jesus used this question to challenge the crowd’s belief about why the tower fell on those people. The crowd thought that the people must be guilty of worse sins than the other residents of Jerusalem and that was the reason the tower fell on them. Some other ways to translate the question are:

• As a rhetorical question:

Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
Do you think they were more sinful than all the others who live in Jerusalem? (New Century Version)
-or-
Do you suppose this proves that they were worse than all the other people living in Jerusalem? (Good News Translation)

• As a statement:

You may think/assume that they were more guilty ⌊of sin⌋ than all the other ⌊people⌋ living in Jerusalem.
-or-
You should not think/assume that ⌊this happened to them because⌋ they were guilty of more ⌊sin⌋ than all the other Jerusalem residents.

Translate this question in a way that is most natural in your language.

more sinful: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as more sinful is literally “debtors.” It is a figure of speech that pictures sin as a debt that must be paid to God. In this context it is a synonym of “sinners” in 13:2a. Other ways to translate the phrase more sinful here are:

worse offenders (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
worse sinners (New King James Version)
-or-
had sinned more
-or-
were more sinful (God’s Word)

all the others living in Jerusalem: The Berean Standard Bible has supplied the word others where the Greek text says “people” in order to clarify that the eighteen people who were killed by the tower also lived in Jerusalem. Another way to translate this is:

the rest of the people who lived in Jerusalem

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 14:1

Section 14:1–6

Jesus healed a sick man on the Sabbath

In this section Jesus healed a man whose arms and legs were swollen. He performed this miracle on a Sabbath day in the house of a Pharisee. This event did not necessarily happen after the events of the previous section. It occurs only in Luke.

Another possible heading for this section is:

Jesus Heals a Sick Man (Good News Translation)

The next two sections, 14:7–14 and 14:15–24, also occur in the house of the Pharisee. English versions have divided 14:1–24 into sections in different ways. For example:

• The God’s Word has one section for 14:1–24. The section heading is:

Jesus attends a banquet

• The New International Version has two sections. They are:

Jesus at a Pharisee’s House (14:1–14)

The Parable of the Great Banquet (14:15–24)

It is good to read these sections before you decide where to make the section breaks. You should divide the sections in a way that will be appropriate in your language.

Paragraph 14:1–3

14:1a

In the Greek text this section begins with a phrase that often introduces a new event. Many modern English translations do not translate this phrase explicitly (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation). If it is natural in your language, you may translate it with a phrase that introduces a new incident. For example:

Now it happened that (New Jerusalem Bible)

One Sabbath: The phrase One Sabbath gives the time setting for this incident. Use a natural way in your language to introduce this background information. For example:

On a certain rest day

In some languages it may be more natural to use a general expression at the beginning of the sentence and specify later that it was the Sabbath day. This would connect the information that it was the Sabbath more closely to the statement in 14:1b that Jesus was being watched. For example:

On one occasion, when Jesus…to eat a meal on the sabbath (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
One day, Jesus went…. It was the day for resting.

Sabbath: The word Sabbath is the name of the seventh and last day of the week for the Jews. This was the special day in the week when they rested and worshiped God. Some ways to translate Sabbath are:

the ⌊Jewish⌋ rest day
-or-
the day for resting
-or-
the day to rest and worship God

If the word Sabbath is already known in your area, you may write it according to the sounds of your language. You may also want to include a phrase to explain the meaning. For example:

the Sabat, the ⌊Jews’⌋ rest day

The word Sabbath also occurs in 13:10.

Jesus went to eat: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to eat is literally “to eat bread.” Bread was the main food that was eaten at meals in that culture. Another way to translate this is:

to eat a meal (Good News Translation)

The context implies that Jesus was invited to this meal along with other guests. In some languages it may be natural to make this information explicit here. For example:

a leader of the Pharisees invited Jesus to eat ⌊with others⌋ at his home

in the home of a leading Pharisee: There are two ways to interpret the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a leading Pharisee:

(1) It refers to a leader of other Pharisees or an important person among them. For example:

a leader of the Pharisees (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
an important Pharisee (Contemporary English Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, New Living Translation (2004), New International Version, Good News Translation, King James Version, New Century Version, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, NET Bible, Revised English Bible, New Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible)

(2) It refers to a Pharisee who was a leader of the Jews. For example:

a ruler who belonged to the Pharisees (Revised Standard Version)

(Revised Standard Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with the majority of English versions.

Pharisee: A Pharisee was a member of the Pharisee party, a religious group that emphasized obeying the Law of Moses. Here are some ways to translate this word:

• Transliterate the word Pharisee according to the sounds of your language and indicate that it refers to a person. For example:

Farisi member
-or-
Parise adherent

• Transliterate the word Pharisee and indicate that it refers to a group of people with certain beliefs. For example:

person belonging to the Farise religious sect/group
-or-
member of the religious group called the Farasi

See how you translated Pharisee in 11:37a. The word first occurs in Luke in 5:17b.

14:1b

those in attendance were watching Him closely: In Greek, the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as those in attendance were watching Him closely is literally “they were watching him closely.” The word “they” is an indefinite pronoun. If your language would not use an indefinite pronoun in this way, you may:

• Translate this as a passive verbal phrase. For example:

he was being carefully watched (New International Version)

• Supply a general subject, as the Berean Standard Bible does: those in attendance. For example:

the other people present closely watched him
-or-

Jesus’ enemies observed him carefully

• Use a specific subject from 14:3a. For example:

the Pharisees and the law experts watched him carefully

In this context, the Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as were watching Him closely implies that the other people who came to the dinner were watching Jesus suspiciously or with hostility. The other people at the dinner included Pharisees and experts in the Jewish religious laws (see 14:3). They wanted to be able to accuse Jesus of breaking one of these laws.

In some languages there may be idioms that suggest a hostile reason for watching someone. One English idiom that expresses this is:

they had their eyes on him

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 14:33

14:33

In the same way: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as In the same way literally says “So therefore.” Some English versions, such as the Revised Standard Version, translate it that way. It refers back to what Jesus said in 14:26–27. There Jesus said that a person who wanted to become his disciple must value loyalty to Jesus more than any other loyalty. The phrase does not connect directly with the two preceding parables (14:28–30 and 14:31–32). Those two parables illustrate the need to think carefully before making an important decision.

If it is not clear in your language that Jesus is referring to what he said in 14:26–27, it may be necessary to make it explicit. For example:

In the same way, ⌊each of you must decide whether you are ready to be my disciple, because⌋…
-or-
So then, ⌊if you want to become my followers, you must first consider the requirements/difficulty⌋.

Another option is to make this connection clear in a footnote.

any one of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple: The two negatives in this verse may be confusing. In some languages it may be clearer to translate this as:

none of you can be my disciple unless you give up everything you have (Good News Translation)
-or-
you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own (New Living Translation (2004))

In other languages it may be more natural to translate this as a positive statement. For example:

you must give up everything you have to be my follower (New Century Version)

give up everything he has: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as give up everything he has is more literally “renounce all his possessions.” It means that a person must not keep anything that would hinder him from being a disciple. Other ways to translate this idea are:

leave behind everything that he has
-or-
turn his back on all his possessions
-or-
say good-bye to everything he owns

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 2013