SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 2013 – Page 53

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 7:24

Paragraph 7:24–28

7:24–26

In these verses Jesus talked to the people about John. He wanted them to think about what kind of person John was. Three times he asked the people similar rhetorical questions and suggested answers to these questions. Consider how to translate this rhetorical conversation in a natural way in your language.

All of the questions in 7:24–26 refer to the time when John was preaching and baptizing in the desert. Many people were going there to hear him preach then and to be baptized by him. In some languages it may be necessary to make some of this information explicit. For example, you could make this context clear in the first question of 7:24b:

⌊When John was preaching/baptizing⌋ in the desert, what did you go out to see?

7:24a

After John’s messengers had left: The phrase John’s messengers refers to the two disciples whom John had sent to Jesus. In this part of the verse, they left Jesus to return to John.

Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: In the previous paragraph Jesus was speaking to John’s disciples. In this paragraph he spoke to the crowd about John.

the crowds: The plural phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as the crowds has the same meaning here as the singular form “crowd.” It refers to a large group of people. Your translation should not imply that there were different groups of people there. Some other ways to translate this are:

the people (New Century Version)
-or-
the large crowd of people
-or-
the many people there

7:24b–c

What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?: Scholars interpret the phrase A reed swaying in the wind in different ways. The interpretation you choose will also affect the way you translate the question What did you go out into the wilderness to see? The two main interpretations are:

(1) It refers figuratively to a man who has a weak character. He often changes his opinions because he is influenced by what other people think of him. For example:

What kind of person did you go out to the desert to see? Was he like tall grass blown about by the wind? (Contemporary English Version)

(Contemporary English Version, Living Bible, New Living Translation (2004); probably Good News Translation)

(2) It refers literally to the tall grass that is found in the desert of Judea. For example:

Did you go out into the desert just to see tall grass that the wind blows around?

(Berean Standard Bible, English Standard Version, God’s Word, New American Standard Bible, New Century Version, NET Bible, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Revised Standard Version)

Bible scholars are quite evenly divided between those who favor interpretations (1) and (2). Many English versions translate the questions fairly literally. If you need to translate more explicitly, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

Some ways to translate interpretation (1) are:

What kind of person did you go out to the desert to see? ⌊A man who is like⌋ a reed blown about by the wind?
-or-
What kind of person did you go out to the desert to see? ⌊A man as weak as⌋ a reed that is swayed by the wind?

What: If you have a question word that can be used with either people or things, it would be good to use it here. You can use the same word where the question is repeated in 7:25a and 7:26a. In some languages there may be different question words for people and things. For example:

what (for things)
-or-
whom (for people)

Consider which question word would be most natural in this context. As you translate, remember that the answer Jesus finally gave to the question “What did you go out into the desert to see?” was “A prophet” (7:26).

If you are following interpretation (1) above, you may want to say:

“What kind of person/man did you go out to the desert to see?”

7:24b

What did you go out into the wilderness to see?: This is a rhetorical question. Jesus used it to focus people’s attention on the topic of John the Baptizer. Jesus was asking the crowd to think about John.

Some ways to translate this rhetorical question are:

• As a question. For example:

What did you go out into the desert to see?
-or-

⌊When⌋ you went into the desert ⌊to see John⌋, what ⌊kind of person⌋ did you expect to see?

• As a polite instruction. For example:

Think about what ⌊kind of man⌋ you went out into the desert to see.

wilderness: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wilderness refers to a wild area where few people lived. Some versions translate it as “desert” (Contemporary English Version, God’s Word). But while it was often a dry area, it was not just sand and barren ground. Some wild grasses and bushes grew there. Some languages have a special word to refer to such areas, such as “the bush” (Africa) or “steppes” (Asia). Other ways to translate this word are:

uninhabited place
-or-
wild, open area

You may use the same word or expression that you used in 1:80 and 3:2.

7:24c

A reed swaying in the wind?: This also is a rhetorical question. This question is an ellipsis. Its full form is “Did you go out into the desert to see a reed swaying in the wind?” Jesus asked this question to make people think about what John was like. There are two ways you could translate this:

• As a question. For example:

⌊Did you go to see⌋ a reed swayed by the wind?
-or-

⌊Was he like⌋ tall grass blown by the wind?

• As an emphatic statement. For example:

You certainly did not go to see a reed swayed by the wind.
-or-
Surely you did not go out just to see someone who was like tall grass that the wind blows.

The answer to this rhetorical question is “No.” In some languages it may be necessary to make the answer explicit:

A reed swayed by the wind? ⌊No, of course not!⌋

The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as A reed swaying in the wind is literally “a reed swayed by the wind” or “a reed shaken by the wind.” This phrase contains a passive verb. Another way to translate it is:

A reed that the wind can ⌊easily⌋ sway?

reed: A reed is a tall blade of wild grass.

General Comment on 7:24b–c

It is possible to combine the two rhetorical questions in 7:24b–c and translate them as one question or statement. For example:

⌊When⌋ you went out into the wilderness, did you go out to see a reed swayed by the wind?
-or-

⌊When⌋ you went out into the wild/uninhabited place, you certainly did not go out to see tall grass blown around by the wind.

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SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 8:6

8:6a

Some fell on rocky ground: Some of the seeds fell on ground that had a layer of rock underneath it. This layer of rock was probably not loose rocks mixed with dirt, but solid rock with shallow soil on top. Some ways to translate this are:

Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
Some seeds fell on ground that had only a thin layer of soil over rock.

Some: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Some is literally “others.” It refers to another group of seeds.

8:6b

when it came up, the seedlings withered: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as when it came up means “it grew.” It indicates that the seeds sprouted and started growing into young plants. The word withered indicates that the young plants “dried up” or “died.” Other ways to translate these actions are:

seeds…started growing. But the plants…soon dried up (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
When the plants came up, they withered (God’s Word)
-or-
and when the plants sprouted, they dried up (Good News Translation)

Be sure to speak of seeds becoming plants and beginning to grow in a natural way in your language.

because they had no moisture: The reason why the plants dried up was that they did not have enough water. The plants did not have enough water because the soil was shallow. It was not because there was not enough rain. In some languages it may be helpful to make this clear. For example:

the/this soil could not provide/hold enough water

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 8:38

8:38a

The man whom the demons had left: Refer to this man here in a natural way in your language. See how you translated the similar phrase at 8:35c–d. In some languages it may be appropriate to use a shorter expression here than in earlier occurrences. See the note on “the demon-possessed man” at 8:36b.

begged to go with Jesus: The man who had been freed from demons wanted to go with Jesus and be his follower. In some languages it may be more natural to translate the man’s request as direct speech. For example:

The man…begged, “Please let me go with you(sing).”

begged: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as begged refers to making a strong or urgent request. The man very much wanted to go with Jesus.

to go with Jesus: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to go is literally “to be.” Use the verb that is natural in your language in this context. It should imply that the man wanted to remain with Jesus as his disciple. Some ways to say this in English are:

go with him
-or-

be with him
-or-

stay with him

Jesus: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates with the name Jesus is literally the pronoun “him.” This pronoun refers to Jesus. The man was asking if he himself could go with Jesus. He was not asking Jesus to go with him. If translating this as something like “if he could go with him” would be unclear in your language, you may wish to use the name Jesus here in your translation.

8:38b

But He sent him away: Jesus’ response here contrasts with the man’s request in 8:38a. Jesus did not agree to let the man go with him. Instead, he sent him on a mission back to his own people and area. In some languages, you may want to make explicit that Jesus did not accept his request. For example:

⌊But Jesus did not let him.⌋ Instead, he sent him away…

Notice that here sent him away does not indicate any bad feeling such as rejection or anger.

He sent him: If you did not use the name “Jesus” in 8:38a, you may wish to use it here, as many English versions do, to avoid the misunderstanding that the man sent Jesus away. Refer to Jesus here in a natural way in your language.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 9:14

9:14a

There were about five thousand men: This is background information that explains what the disciples said in 9:13c. They did not think that Jesus wanted them to buy food for so many people. In Greek, 9:14 begins with a conjunction that is often translated as “for.” The Berean Standard Bible uses parentheses to indicate that this is an explanation. You should express the explanation in a natural way in your language. One way to do that in English is:

⌊They said this⌋ because there were five thousand men there.

five thousand men: The number five thousand refers only to the men who were in the crowd, but women and children were also there. It may be helpful in your translation to imply that there were more than five thousand people in the crowd. For example:

There were about five thousand men in the crowd. (Contemporary English Version)

You may want to put a footnote in your translation to make this clear. You could also give a cross-reference to the parallel account in Matthew 14:21. The Matthew passage says, “The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.”

9:14b

This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Some English versions, such as the English Standard Version, translate it that way. Other versions, such as the New American Standard Bible and New International Version, translate it as “But” because it introduces Jesus’ response to what his disciples said in 9:13b, and his response may imply a slight contrast with the disciples’ attitude. In some languages it may be more natural to leave this contrast implied. For example:

Then he said to his disciples (Revised English Bible)

Some other versions simply start a new sentence. For example:

Jesus said to his disciples (Good News Translation)

The Berean Standard Bible similarly has not translated this conjunction. Introduce Jesus’ response in a natural way in your language.

He told His disciples: The word disciples refers here to the same men as “the apostles” in 9:10 and “the twelve” in 9:12. Translate the clause He told His disciples in a way that clearly indicates that Jesus was still talking to the same people.

disciples: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as disciples means “learners” who are in a special relationship with a teacher. The learners commit themselves to their teacher in order to learn from him and live according to his teaching and example. Disciples often lived with their teacher and followed him wherever he went.

Some ways to translate disciples are:

students/learners
-or-
apprentices
-or-
followers

This word first occurs in Luke in 5:30a. See disciple in the Glossary for more information.

Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each: Have them sit down means “Cause them to sit down.” You may be able to translate this whole command as:

Organize them into groups of fifty ⌊people⌋ and tell them to sit down.
-or-
Tell them to sit down in groups of about fifty ⌊people⌋.
-or-
Seat them in groups of fifty ⌊people⌋.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 9:46

Section 9:46–48

Jesus told his disciples that they must be humble

In Section 9:28–36, the disciples saw Jesus’ glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. In Section 9:37–43a, they saw further evidence of his power when he cast out the demon from the boy (9:37–43a). In the previous Section 9:43b–45, Jesus told his disciples that he would soon be handed over to his enemies. However, his disciples did not understand what would happen. In this Section 9:46–48, Luke showed the contrast between Jesus predicting his approaching death and the disciples being preoccupied over which of them was the greatest. In response to the disciples’ attitude, Jesus showed that being truly humble was the way to be great in God’s opinion.

Some other examples of headings for this section are:

Greatness in the Kingdom (God’s Word)
-or-
Who Is the Greatest? (New Century Version)

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 18:1–5 and Mark 9:33–37.

Paragraph 9:46–48

9:46a

Luke did not make explicit where or when the event in this section occurred. According to the parallel passage in Mark, it happened while Jesus and his disciples were traveling to Capernaum. Introduce this event in an appropriate way in your language.

Then: This verse begins with a Greek conjunction. The Berean Standard Bible translates it as Then, as do some other versions (King James Version, New Living Translation (2004)), in order to show that it introduces the next event in the story. Some other versions translate this conjunction as “And” (Revised Standard Version) or “Now” (New American Standard Bible, NET Bible), while still others do not translate it (Contemporary English Version, English Standard Version, New International Version, New Revised Standard Version). Introduce this new event in a natural way in your language.

an argument started among the disciples: The clause an argument started among the disciples means that the disciples started to argue with each other. Another way to translate this is:

his disciples began arguing (New Living Translation (2004))

9:46b

as to which of them would be the greatest: The context implies that the phrase which of them refers to which one among the disciples.

would be the greatest: There are two ways to interpret the phrase would be the greatest here:

(1) It refers to which disciple was the most important at that time. For example:

about which of them was the greatest (New Living Translation (2004))

(Revised Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, NET Bible, Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004))

(2) It refers to which disciple would be the greatest in the future in God’s kingdom. For example:

about who would be the greatest (God’s Word)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, King James Version, New Living Translation (1996), God’s Word)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1), along with most English versions. Since the Berean Standard Bible follows interpretation (2), the Good News Translation is used as the source line of the Display.

the greatest: The word greatest refers to having the highest status. The disciples wanted to know who among them was the most important person.

Some other ways to translate this are:

who was the most important
-or-
who was greatest ⌊in rank⌋
-or-
who was highest ⌊in status/name⌋
-or-
who was more important than all the others

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 10:16

10:16a–b

In 10:13–15 Jesus spoke as if he were addressing the people of various towns. In 10:16 he began to speak directly to his disciples again. It may be necessary to make this explicit in your translation. For example:

Then he said to the disciples (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
My followers… (Contemporary English Version)

10:16a

Whoever listens to you: The pronoun Whoever refers to anyone and everyone who listens to his followers. Another way to translate this is:

Anyone who listens to you

Another way to translate this statement is to use an “if” clause. For example:

If a person listens to you

listens to you: The verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as listens to in this context implies to listen to the disciples’ message about Jesus and accept it. For example:

Anyone who accepts your message (New Living Translation (2004))

10:16b

listens to Me: Jesus was speaking figuratively here. He meant that if people accepted the message that the disciples taught, they were accepting Jesus’ own message, because Jesus had told the disciples what to say.

If people in your area will think that the phrase listens to Me refers to literally listening to Jesus himself, you may want to include some implied information. For example:

⌊it is the same as⌋ welcoming me
-or-

⌊it is as if he is⌋ welcoming me

to Me: The phrase to Me is emphasized in the Greek. If your language has a natural way to emphasize this phrase, you may want to do so. For example:

I am the one that he is paying attention to

10:16c–d

whoever rejects you rejects Me: The statement here in 10:16c–d contrasts with the statement in 10:16a–b. However, the statements are expressed in a similar (parallel) way. The actions of accepting and rejecting the disciples were the same as accepting or rejecting Jesus. Translate 10:16c–d in a way that will show how it is related to the contrasting statement in 10:16a. For example:

whoever rejects you rejects me (Good News Translation)
-or-
if a person rejects you ⌊and your teaching⌋, he is rejecting me ⌊and my teaching⌋

rejects Me: In the phrase rejects Me, the word Me is emphatic in Greek, as it was in 10:16b. See the note there. In some languages it may be natural to use a plural form for those who reject the disciples and Jesus. For example:

people who reject you are rejecting me

rejects: The verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as rejects may also be translated as a negative statement. For example:

refuses to accept

10:16e

and: Here the Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and introduces another statement about people who would reject Jesus’ disciples and their message. When such people rejected Jesus’ disciples, it was the same as rejecting Jesus. It was also the same as rejecting God, who sent Jesus.

Most English versions connect 10:16e to 10:16d with “and” or they do not use a conjunction. Connect the parts of this verse in a natural way in your language. You may want to refer to how you translated the similar ideas in 9:48.

whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me: This clause indicates that when a person rejects Jesus, he is also rejecting God, who sent Jesus. In some languages it may be necessary to make the reference to God explicit:

the one who rejects me rejects ⌊God⌋ who sent me

General Comment on 10:16e

When Jesus finished giving instructions to the seventy-two disciples, they left on their journey. In some languages it may be necessary to say explicitly that the seventy-two disciples left on their journey at that time. For example:

⌊After Jesus said this, the seventy-two disciples left to do what he had told them to do.⌋

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 11:6

11:6a

because: This verse gives the reason for the man’s request. The Berean Standard Bible introduces this reason with the conjunction because. In some languages, a conjunction is not needed here. See the second meaning line in the Display for 11:6a for an example.

has come to me: The phrase has come to me contains implied information. It is implied that the friend had just arrived unexpectedly and that he was hoping to stay at the man’s house. In some languages, it may make the story clearer if some of this information is made explicit. For example:

has come into town to visit me (New Century Version)
-or-
has ⌊unexpectedly⌋ come ⌊to stay with me⌋

11:6b

I have nothing to set before him: The clause I have nothing to set before him means “I have no food ready to give to him.” Perhaps his family had already eaten all the bread that his wife had baked that day. It would take too long to bake bread in the middle of the night. So he decided to borrow some.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

I have nothing for him to eat (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
I don’t have any food for him (Good News Translation)

General Comment on 11:5c–6b

In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of some of these clauses. For example:

6aA friend of mine on a journey has come to me, 6band I have nothing to set before him. 5c⌊So⌋ friend, lend me three loaves of bread.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 11:38

11:38

But: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But here introduces an unexpected development in the story. Many English versions do not translate this conjunction here. Use a natural way in your language to connect this verse with 11:37.

the Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus did not first wash before the meal: In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of parts of this sentence. For example:

The Pharisee saw that Jesus did not wash before the meal, and he was surprised.
-or-
The Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus had not washed before eating. (Good News Translation)

In some languages it may not be necessary to say explicitly that the Pharisee “noticed” or “saw” what Jesus had not done. For example:

The Pharisee was surprised that he did not wash his hands before eating. (Contemporary English Version)

surprised: The Pharisee was surprised because he saw something that he did not expect. He had expected that Jesus would follow the rules about ceremonial purity.

Jesus did not first wash before the meal: The Pharisees’ custom was to wash their hands and arms before they ate. Before eating they would dip their hands and arms in water or ask a servant to pour water over their hands and arms. They followed this ritual, whether or not their hands were dirty, in order to make themselves ceremonially pure. Jesus did not wash his hands in this way before he sat down to eat.

In some languages it may be necessary to make some of this information explicit in either the text or in a footnote. Otherwise, people may misunderstand the cause of the Pharisee’s surprise. For example:

he sat down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom (New Living Translation (2004))

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 2013