SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 2013 – Page 63

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 1:25

1:25a

In Greek, Luke’s introduction to the statement in this verse (literally, “saying”), which identifies it as something that Elizabeth said, comes at the end of verse 24. The Berean Standard Bible translates it there as “She declared.” Some versions, such as the New International Version, place this introduction within the quotation:

“The Lord has done this for me,” she said.

Place this introduction where it would be most natural in your language.

The Lord has done this for me: The word this refers to the fact that God had given Elizabeth the ability to conceive a child in her old age.

Lord: This is the same term as in 1:6b. See also Lord, Context 2, in the Glossary.

1:25b

In these days: The phrase In these days refers to the general time period in which Elizabeth became pregnant. Another way to translate this is:

Now

He has shown me favor: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as He has shown me favor is literally “he noticed/looked at (me).” It implies here that God was gracious to her and showed his concern and favor toward her. Some ways to translate this here are:

he has been gracious to me (NET Bible)
-or-
the Lord has helped me (Good News Translation)

1:25c

taken away my disgrace among the people: The words my disgrace refer to the fact that when a Jewish woman could not have children, people thought that she must have displeased God. Every Jewish wife greatly desired to have children, especially sons. When God made Elizabeth able to become pregnant, he took away the reason why she had felt ashamed.

Your translation should not imply that Elizabeth’s disgrace was because she had done something wrong. In some languages, it may be necessary to specify what this disgrace was. For example:

taken away from me the disgrace of childlessness (Revised English Bible)

Some other ways to translate this part of the verse are:

He has removed my public disgrace. (God’s Word)
-or-
What he has done prevents people from making me feel ashamed ⌊as I did when I had no children⌋.

among the people: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as among the people is literally “among people.” It does not refer specifically to certain people.

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SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 1:57

Section 1:57–66

John the Baptizer was born and received his name

In this section, Elizabeth gave birth to a son, and she and his father gave him the name John. John received this name at the time when he was circumcised. He was the one who was later called John the Baptizer.

It was Jewish custom to circumcise a baby boy one week after his birth. The circumcision commonly took place at the family’s home. The father or a man who specialized in doing circumcision would cut off the skin at the end of the baby’s penis. This was a sign in each boy’s body that he was part of Israel and included in the covenant that God had made with Israel. Neighbors and relatives joined in the celebration.

God had shown his power in causing Elizabeth to become pregnant when she was old and had been unable to have children. When the baby was circumcised, God again showed his power by restoring Zechariah’s ability to speak. The unusual events in connection with John’s birth were told throughout the hill country of Judah. As a result, people thought about these things and felt awe and fear to see God working in that powerful way among them.

Some other possible headings for this section are:

Elizabeth gave birth to John
-or-
Elizabeth gave birth to a baby who was circumcised and named John
-or-
The birth and circumcision of John the Baptizer

Paragraph 1:57–58

1:57

When the time came for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son: This verse indicates that Elizabeth’s pregnancy ended and she gave birth to a son. Use a natural way in your language to express this. In some languages you may use an idiomatic expression.

When
In Greek, this part of the verse begins with a conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as
When. This makes 1:57a a time clause. Many English versions translate this conjunction as “Now,” so that 1:57a introduces the next event. Translate it in a natural way in your language. In some languages a conjunction may not be needed.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 1:68

1:68a

Blessed be the Lord: Zechariah used the Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as Blessed be the Lord to express praise and thanks to God. He implied that God was worthy of praise and that everyone should speak wonderful things about him. Some other ways to translate this are:

Let us praise the Lord (New Century Version)
-or-
Praise belongs to the Lord
-or-
The Lord is worthy of praise

See bless, Meaning 4, in the Glossary. See also Lord, Context 2, in the Glossary.

the God of Israel: The phrase the God of Israel means “the God whom the people of Israel serve/worship.” Since Zechariah was an Israelite, in some languages it may be necessary to translate this as:

the God whom ⌊we⌋ Israelites ⌊serve/worship⌋

1:68b–69

At the time when Zechariah spoke, God had not yet delivered his people. But Zechariah knew that God had started to deliver them. He knew this because the angel had promised that his son John would “make ready a people prepared” (1:17) for the Deliverer whom God would send. In 1:68b–69 Zechariah used verb forms that would normally imply that God had already delivered the people. Hebrew prophets often spoke in that way to emphasize that the events about which they prophesied would certainly happen.

In some languages, speaking in that way may wrongly imply that the events had already happened. If that is true in your language, you may need to translate the verbs in a different way. Use a form in your language that describes either:

(a) a process that has begun (but is not yet finished), or

(b) a series of events that is described as one single event. Some of the events in the series may be past and others may be present or future.

See the introduction to Section 1:67–80 for more information. Some other ways to translate the events in 1:68b–69 are:

…he has come and has begun to redeem his people. He is raising up a horn of salvation…
-or-
…he has come and is redeeming his people. He is raising up a horn of salvation…
-or-
…he will certainly come and will redeem his people. He will raise up a horn of salvation…

You may also want to include a footnote in your translation to explain these things.

1:68b

because: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as because introduces a reason why the Lord is worthy of praise. This part of the verse explains why Zechariah praised God in 1:68a. Connect 1:68a and 1:68b in a natural way in your language. In some languages a conjunction may not be needed. For example:

68aPraise the Lord, the God of Israel! 68bHe has come to save his people. (Contemporary English Version)

He has visited and redeemed His people: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as visited means that God had come near to his people to help them. He would help them by redeeming them. Some other ways to translate this are:

he has come to help his people and has given them freedom (New Century Version)
-or-
he has come ⌊to take care of⌋ his people and redeem them
-or-
he has turned to his people and set them free (Revised English Bible)

redeemed His people: The verb redeemed means “rescued, set free, delivered.” If you must say from whom or what God had redeemed His people, you should supply “from their enemies.” This is made explicit in 1:71.

This phrase is similar to Psalm 111:9, “He provided redemption for his people.”

His people: Zechariah was an Israelite, one of God’s people. In some languages it may be necessary to indicate that explicitly. For example:

us(incl) his people

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 2:20

2:20a–b

returned: If it is more natural in your language to say to where the shepherds returned, you can say:

returned to the field(s)
-or-
returned to their flock of sheep

glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen: The phrase glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen indicates that the shepherds talked about how great and good God was to cause those events.

glorifying and praising God: The Greek words that the Berean Standard Bible translates as glorifying and praising have almost the same meaning here. The meaning is that the shepherds honored and praised God. The same Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as praising was also used in 2:13.

The author used two words with the same meaning in order to emphasize the idea. In some languages it may be more natural to express this emphasis in another way. For example:

greatly praised God

glorifying: The word glorifying means “honoring, extolling, praising.” In this context the shepherds were honoring and praising God. They were talking about how God showed his greatness and glory through all that they had heard and seen (2:20b). See glory, sense C1, in Key Biblical Terms.

all they had heard and seen: The phrase all they had heard and seen refers to the baby in the manger, what the angel had said about him, and how the angels had praised God.

2:20c

just as the angel had told them: This clause is passive in Greek, literally “just as it was told to them.” It is similar to the phrase in 2:17b that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “they had received about Him.” In Greek the phrase is more literally “that had been told to them.” In some languages it may be more natural to use an active verb and indicate who told the shepherds the message. If that is true in your language, you may indicate that the angel told the shepherds (2:9–12). For example:

exactly as ⌊the angel⌋ had told them ⌊it would happen⌋

General Comment on 2:20a–c

In some languages, it may be more natural to put 2:20a after 2:20b–c. For example:

20bAll the things that the shepherds heard and saw 20cwere just as they had been told. 20aSo they returned, glorifying and praising God.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 2:52

2:52a

Jesus grew in wisdom and stature: In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of wisdom and stature here. For example:

Jesus grew both in body and in wisdom (Good News Translation)

grew: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as grew is literally “increased.” In this context, Jesus increased in wisdom and size. This indicates that Jesus grew and developed. He was becoming mature.

wisdom: The word wisdom here means the ability to think clearly and sensibly, to understand matters, and to be able to act wisely based on that understanding. In the Bible, wisdom often refers to godly wisdom. A person who has godly wisdom understands what God says and what God wants people to do. The wise person acts on the basis of that understanding.

stature: The word stature refers here to Jesus’ body. Jesus was growing and maturing physically. He was becoming a man.

2:52b

and in favor with God and man: The phrase and in favor with God and man means that God approved of him and people also approved of him. That approval from God and man increased as Jesus grew. Other ways to say this are:

He gained favor from God and people. (God’s Word)
-or-
increased…in divine and human favor (New Revised Standard Version)

favor: In this context favor refers to an attitude that people had toward Jesus. They were pleased with him and appreciated him.

man: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as man is literally “people,” including both males and females. For example:

gained favor from…people (God’s Word)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 4:5

Paragraph 4:5–8

In this paragraph, Luke reported another way that the devil tempted Jesus. The devil tempted Jesus to make an agreement with him.

4:5a

Then: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then is a 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 International Version and NET Bible, do not translate this conjunction here. But since the events in this paragraph occur after the events in 4:3–4, in some languages, it may be natural to begin this paragraph with a time word or phrase. That is why the Berean Standard Bible and other translations (NET Bible, Good News Translation, etc.) translate the conjunction as “then.” Connect 4:4a to 4:3b in a way that is natural in your language.

the devil led Him up: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as led Him up can also be translated as “took him up,” as in the Good News Translation. Another way to translate this is:

brought him up

up to a high place: The phrase to a high place is not in Greek. Some English versions add a phrase to explain the specific meaning of the word up in this context.

The parallel passage in Matthew 4:8 says that the devil took Jesus to “a very high mountain.” In some languages a word such as up alone may imply a wrong meaning. If that is true in your language, you may want to use a more specific phrase, as the Berean Standard Bible has done. However, since Luke did not include the phrase to a high place, you do not have to translate it here unless your language requires it.

4:5b

and showed Him: The devil showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. This was a supernatural showing.

in an instant: The phrase in an instant means that Jesus saw all the countries at once. Some other ways to translate this are:

in a moment
-or-
in single/brief moment of time

all the kingdoms of the world: The phrase all the kingdoms of the world means “all the countries/nations on the earth.” For example:

all the nations on earth (Contemporary English Version)

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 4:37

4:37

And: This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Since the events in 4:37 happened as a result of the events in 4:31–36, some versions indicate that 4:37 is the result by translating this conjunction as “So.” For example:

So the news about him (NET Bible)

Other versions begin this verse without a conjunction.

the news about Jesus spread: The phrase the news about Jesus spread means that people told other people what Jesus had said and done. A similar phrase occurs in 4:14b.

throughout the surrounding region: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as throughout the surrounding region is literally “into every place of the surrounding region.” This included the towns and the more rural areas.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

to every place in the whole area (New Century Version)
-or-
all over that part of the country (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
through every village in the entire region (New Living Translation (2004))

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 5:25

Paragraph 5:25–26

5:25a

And immediately: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And immediately is literally “And at once.” It introduces what happened when Jesus spoke to the man. As soon as Jesus spoke, the man was healed. This was proof of Jesus’ authority to forgive sins. Use a natural way in your language to begin this verse.

the man stood up before them: The phrase before them means “in the sight/presence of the crowd” or “while everyone was watching.” Some other ways to translate this are:

the man stood up in front of everyone (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
as everyone watched, the man jumped up (New Living Translation (2004))

5:25b

took what he had been lying on: The phrase took what he had been lying on means “picked up his mat.” For example:

He picked up his mat (Contemporary English Version)

You may use the same word as you used in 5:24c for “mat.” The reader should understand that it is referring to the same item.

glorifying God: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as glorifying God means to speak about how wonderful and excellent someone or something is. The man thanked and praised God that he could now walk. Other ways to translate this are:

praising God (New International Version)
-or-
giving thanks to God (Contemporary English Version)

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 2013