SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 2013 – Page 98

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 23:17

Paragraph 23:17–25

23:17

There is a textual issue concerning 23:17. The majority of Bible scholars think that 23:17 was probably not present in the original manuscript written by Luke. It was probably added later as background information. It explains what the people said in 23:18. They shouted that Barabbas should be set free. This information is in Matthew 27:15 and Mark 15:6.

There are two main options for translating this verse:

• Put a translation of the verse in a footnote. For example, the God’s Word has this footnote:

Some manuscripts and translations add verse 17: “At every Passover festival the governor had to set someone free for them.” (God’s Word)

If you use this option, as most English versions do, you may want to include the verse number for 17 with the number at the beginning of 23:18. For example:

17–18With one voice…

• Put the verse in brackets in the text. Here is one way to translate this:

17[Now he was obliged to release to them at the feast one prisoner.] (New American Standard Bible)

If the national language version includes 23:17 without brackets in the text, you may decide to follow it. If you do this, it is good to include a footnote to explain that this verse is not present in some of the oldest Greek manuscripts of Luke.

The words in the Display and in the following notes come from the Berean Standard Bible footnote.

Now Pilate was obligated to release to the people one prisoner at the feast: This statement is background information. The Berean Standard Bible indicates that with the word Now. The word Now is not a time word in this context. Introduce the background information in a natural way in your language.

This statement contains implied information. Pilate was holding some Jews as prisoners. There was a custom that Pilate had to set one of those prisoners free on the Feast of Passover. Some other ways to translate this verse are:

Now it was necessary for him to release one prisoner to them during the Passover celebration.
-or-

⌊Pilate said this because⌋ it was a custom that he must release one ⌊Jewish⌋ prisoner for them during the time that ⌊the Jews celebrated⌋ their Passover festival.

the feast: The term the feast refers here to the Passover feast. See the notes at 22:1a–b for translation suggestions.

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SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 23:49

23:49a

But all those who knew Jesus: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But can also be translated as “And.” However, here it probably introduces a contrast between the people who went away in 23:48 and the people who knew Jesus. Some English versions do not have a conjunction here. Introduce the people who knew Jesus in a natural way in your language.

all those who knew Jesus: The phrase all those who knew Jesus refers to the people who knew Jesus personally. They were friends who were there at the crucifixion. Some other ways to translate the phrase are:

All his friends (God’s Word)
-or-
All those who knew Jesus personally (Good News Translation)
-or-
all his acquaintances (Revised Standard Version)

The word all does not imply that every friend of Jesus was there. It distinguishes this group of friends from the other people there. One way to make this clear in English is:

His friends had all been standing at a distance (Revised English Bible)

In some languages it may be more natural not to include the word all here. For example:

those who were close friends of Jesus (New Century Version)
-or-
Jesus’ friends (New Living Translation (2004))

23:49b

including the women: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as including the women is literally “and the women.” It implies that the women were among the other people there who knew Jesus well.

Connect this phrase with 23:49a in a natural way in your language. In some languages it is not appropriate to refer to women as “close friends” of a male leader. Your translation should not imply an immoral relationship.

In some languages it may be natural to change the order of clauses in this verse. See the General Comment on 23:49a–c below for an example.

who had followed Him from Galilee: This phrase refers to women who had been with Jesus in Galilee. (See 8:2–3.) They had come with him and his other followers to Jerusalem. Some other ways to translate the phrase are:

who had come with him from Galilee (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
who had accompanied him from Galilee (Revised English Bible)

23:49c

stood at a distance: The phrase stood at a distance indicates that Jesus’ friends were standing some distance away from Jesus. They were close enough to see and hear what happened, but they were not very near him. Probably the soldiers kept friends from coming too near. Describe this distance in a natural way in your language.

watching these things: The phrase watching these things indicates here that Jesus’ friends and the women were watching all that was happening. They saw it and paid attention to it. Another way to translate the phrase is:

seeing/watching what was happening

General Comment on 23:49a–c

In some languages it may be more natural to reorder the information in this verse. For example:

49aBut all those who had known Jesus personally 49cstood at a distance and watched what happened. 49bAmong them were the women who had followed him from Galilee.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 24:25

Paragraph 24:25–27

24:25a

Then Jesus said to them: The clause Jesus said to them introduces Jesus’ response to the two men. Jesus responded with a mild rebuke. It is important to understand this response before you translate the introduction to it. Then you will be able to introduce it in an appropriate way in your language. Some ways to introduce the response in English are:

Then Jesus said to them (God’s Word)
-or-
And then Jesus replied

O foolish ones: The Berean Standard Bible literally represents the Greek text (“Oh foolish-(ones/men)!”). This is a mild rebuke. It expresses disappointment in a friendly way. Jesus was disappointed that they did not understand what had happened. Other ways to translate the expression O foolish ones are:

You are such foolish people! (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
Oh, how foolish you are… (New Revised Standard Version)

In some languages it may be natural to use a rhetorical question to express this mild rebuke, especially since 24:26 is a rhetorical question. For example:

Why are you being so foolish?

foolish ones: The word foolish refers to people who refuse to use their minds to understand important truth that they ought to know. They have enough intelligence to understand, but they do not use that intelligence. Some other ways to translate the word foolish in this context are:

How dull you are! (Revised English Bible)
-or-
Why do you refuse to think?

In some languages there may be an idiom or other special expression that fits here. For example:

Oh…you whose thoughts are lacking!

If you use a special expression like this, be sure to check it with other people to see that it communicates the right meaning in this context.

24:25b

how slow are your hearts to believe: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as how slow are your hearts to believe is an idiom. It indicates that a person is reluctant or unwilling to believe. Other ways to translate this reluctance to believe are:

unwilling to believe
-or-
slow/reluctant to believe

In some languages it may be helpful to begin a separate clause at 24:25b. For example:

Why is it so difficult for you to believe?
-or-
You find it so hard to believe… (New Living Translation (2004))

hearts: The word hearts is used in a special way here to refer to the spiritual part of a person. Jewish people spoke of people believing with their hearts. They also spoke of the heart as the part of themselves that they used to understand, love, and make decisions and commitments.

In some languages people use a different part of the body to speak of believing. In other languages it is not necessary to refer to a part of the body. Use an appropriate way in your language to speak of believing.

to believe all that the prophets have spoken: The word believe refers here to accepting that what the prophets said was true. The disciples did not have confidence that what the prophets said would really happen.

The word believe occurred with this meaning also in 22:67. For more information, see believe, Meaning 1, in the Glossary.

all that the prophets have spoken: This phrase refers specifically to what God’s prophets predicted about the Messiah. Those prophets told people many things that would happen to him. Those things were written in the OT Scriptures. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

everything the prophets said (Good News Translation)
-or-
all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures (New Living Translation (2004))

prophets: The word “prophet” occurred in 24:19, where it referred to Jesus himself. See the note there for more information and translation suggestions. See also prophet in the Glossary.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 1:23

Paragraph 1:23–25

1:23a

And when the days of his service were complete: Zechariah continued working in the temple as a priest until he finished his week of work. Some other ways to translate this are:

When his time of service at the Temple was finished (New Century Version)
-or-
When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over (New Living Translation (2004))

1:23b

he returned home: Zechariah and Elizabeth lived outside Jerusalem in the hill country of Judea.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 1:55

1:55a

as He promised to our fathers: Mary used the phrase our fathers to refer to all the people of Israel who had lived before Mary and Elizabeth were born. Some versions translate this phrase as “our ancestors.” She also used the word our to refer to the ancestors of all the people of Israel. God had promised to all the people of Israel that he would send a Savior. He did not make this promise only to the ancestors of Mary and Elizabeth. So it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

just as he said to the ancestors ⌊of our people⌋

1:55b

to Abraham and his descendants forever: There are two interpretations of the way this clause relates to the context:

(1) Abraham and his descendants are the ones who received God’s mercy that is mentioned in 1:54b. For example:

He has remembered to show mercy to Abraham and to all his descendants forever! (Good News Translation)

(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, and the majority of commentators)

(2) Abraham and his descendants are the ones who received God’s promise that is mentioned in 1:55b. In this interpretation, Abraham and his descendants has the same meaning as “our fathers” in 1:55b. This means that God spoke a promise to our fathers/ancestors who are Abraham and his descendants. For example:

as he promised to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his children forever (New Century Version)

(Revised Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, God’s Word, NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004), New American Standard Bible, New Century Version, King James Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

to Abraham and his descendants: As mentioned above, the phrase Abraham and his descendants is connected to the word “merciful” in 1:54b. God showed his mercy to Abraham and Abraham’s descendants by sending the Messiah. This phrase is another way to refer to Israel, since Abraham was the ancestor of the Israelites.

General Comment on 1:54–55

In some languages it may be helpful to reorder these verses in order to put God’s promise to their ancestors first (1:55b). Here is one way you could do that:

55bGod promised our ancestors that 54ahe would help his servants the Israelites. ⌊Now he has fulfilled his promise.⌋ 54bHe has remembered to be merciful 55ato Abraham and to all of his descendants.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 2:7

2:7a

her firstborn, a Son: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as her firstborn, a Son is literally “her son, the firstborn.” It indicates that this baby was Mary’s first child, and that he was a boy. Another way to translate this is:

She gave birth to her first child, a son. (New Living Translation (2004))

2:7b

She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths: Mary wrapped strips of cloth around the baby Jesus. It was a Jewish custom to wrap newborn babies in that way. This kept them warm, and it also kept their arms and legs straight.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

She wrapped the baby with pieces of cloth (New Century Version)
-or-
She wrapped his ⌊arms and legs snugly⌋ with pieces of cloth
-or-
She put/wrapped strips of cloth around him ⌊as was their custom⌋

swaddling cloths: These cloths were long strips of cloth like bandages that were wrapped about the baby many times.

2:7c-d

and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn: According to many people’s understanding or traditions, Mary and Joseph arrived at Bethlehem just at the time when Mary was ready to give birth. They approached an inn or hotel in Bethlehem, but were told that it was full. Instead they were guided to a stable with animals, where Mary gave birth.

But according to Luke 2:6, they had already been in Bethlehem for a time when the moment came to give birth. And it is likely that they stayed in a house. Joseph probably had relatives in Bethlehem, and they would have invited him to stay with them. The home where they stayed had a room for guests, but it was already occupied. So they stayed in another room that was close to where animals were kept inside the house at night. This meant that a manger would have been nearby, and it became a good place to lay the newborn baby. This understanding of the story is followed in the notes below.

because there was no room for them in the inn: This clause explains the reason why Mary laid the baby in a manger, which was not a usual place to lay a baby. It was because there was not enough space for the couple to stay, or to have the baby, in the guest room of the house. Instead they stayed near where the family kept their animals, and so they laid the baby in a nearby manger. See the translation suggestions at the end of the note on “because there was no room for them” at 2:7d for ways to make some of this information explicit.

In some languages, it may be more natural to put the reason clause before the result clause. For example:

Because there was no space for them in the guest room, she placed him in a manger.
-or-
There was no place for them in the room for travelers, so she laid him in a manger.

2:7c

in a manger: A manger was a box or trough that held food for animals, especially for large animals such as cattle and horses. People made this feeding box out of wood or stone. Other ways to translate this are:

in a feeding trough
-or-
in a feeding box for animals
-or-
in a trough where people put food for the animals (Translation for Translators)
-or-
on a bed of hay (Contemporary English Version)

Jewish peasant families commonly kept their animals in their houses at night. So the manger was probably inside a house where Mary and Joseph were invited to stay, and not in a stable away from a house. You may want to make this information explicit in your translation. For example:

in a feeding trough ⌊in a home⌋
-or-
in an animal’s feeding box ⌊at the house where they were staying⌋

2:7d

because there was no room for them in the inn: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as inn is a general word that refers to any place for travelers to stay or lodge. (This is a different Greek word than the word translated as “inn” in Luke 10:34.) The word can refer to an inn, a guesthouse, or a guest room in a house. In this context, it probably refers to a room in a village home where guests could stay. It does not refer to a building such as a hotel with many rooms.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

guest room (New International Version (2011))
-or-
in the room ⌊of the house⌋ for travelers/visitors

because there was no room for them in the inn: In this context, the words no room mean that there was not enough space for them either to stay or to have the baby in the guest room. That room was already occupied, possibly by other relatives or travelers who had arrived for the census before Joseph and Mary or who had higher status. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

because there was no place for them in the guestroom (CEB)
-or-
because there was not enough space for them in the room/place for travelers
-or-
because the guest room was full (English Easy-to-Read Version)
-or-
because other people were already staying in the guest room ⌊of the house where they stayed⌋

This clause because there was no room for them explains the reason why Mary laid Jesus in a manger, a place where people do not usually lay a baby. Mary and Joseph were probably invited to stay in a home, possibly with relatives. But since the guest room of that home was already full, they stayed in another part of the house. They may have shared the room where the host family stayed. Wherever they stayed, it was near the part of the house where the family kept their animals inside at night. So the most suitable place Mary could find to lay the baby was in a nearby manager.

You may want to make some of this information explicit in your translation. For example:

Since the guest room was already full, ⌊the most suitable place that Mary could find⌋ to lay the baby was the manager.
-or-
She laid him there ⌊because there was no better place for him where they were staying⌋. That was because other people were staying in the guest room.
-or-
Since other people were staying in the guest room, ⌊Mary and Joseph stayed near where their hosts kept their animals in the house.⌋ So she laid the baby in a ⌊nearby⌋ manger.
-or-

⌊That was the best place to lay the baby.⌋ This was because there was no space for them in the guest room of the house. ⌊Instead/so they stayed in the house near the animals and the manger was there.⌋

General Comment on 2:6a–7d

In some languages, it may be more natural to put 2:7d before 2:6a. For example:

7dThere was not enough room/space for them in the guest room ⌊of the house where they stayed,⌋ ⌊so they stayed in the part of the house near where the animals sleep⌋. 6a-7cWhile they were there…

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 2:50

2:50

But they did not understand the statement He was making to them: The pronoun they refers to Joseph and Mary. Joseph and Mary heard what Jesus said (2:49), but they did not understand what he meant.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 4:3

Paragraph 4:3–4

This paragraph is about one way that the devil tempted Jesus. The devil tempted him to show that he was the Son of God by performing a miracle in order to feed himself.

The events in this paragraph occur after the events in 4:1–2. In some languages, it may be natural to begin this paragraph with a time word or phrase. That would reflect a connecting word that is in the Greek. For example:

Then (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
After this

4:3a

If You are the Son of God: Satan said the words If You are the Son of God to challenge Jesus to prove that he really was the Son of God. Another way to translate this is:

If you really are the Son of God (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

the Son of God: This is the second time that the phrase the Son of God occurs in Luke. It also occurs in 1:35c. Translate it the same way in both places.

The Bible uses the title Son of God to express the fact that Jesus has the same nature as God. This title also indicates that the relationship between God and Jesus, his Son, is similar in some way to the relationship of human fathers and sons. God does not have a physical body, and he did not create/produce Jesus the way a human father produces a son. Before Jesus was born, he already existed from eternity as the Son with his Father.

In areas where people do not understand the term Son of God in this way, you may wish to include a footnote. For example:

God the Father is the Father of his Son, Jesus Christ, in a different way than human males are fathers of their sons. The Bible gives Jesus Christ the title Son of God to express the fact that Jesus has the same nature as his Father. It also indicates that the relationship between the Father and Jesus Christ, his Son, is similar in some ways to the relationship between a human father and son.

In some languages, it is natural to speak of a Son as a “child,” without specifying male or female. If that is true in your language, you may translate Son of God as:

Child of God

The context will usually make it clear that “Child of God,” when speaking of Jesus, refers to a male child. If you decide to use a phrase such as “male Child of God,” be sure that it does not imply there might also be a “female Child of God.”

God: For help in translating the word God, see the note at 1:6b.

4:3b

tell this stone to become bread: There is some implied information here. Satan did not simply want Jesus to tell the stone to become bread. Satan wanted Jesus actually to cause it to become bread for Jesus to eat. So you could translate this as:

speak to this stone and cause it to become bread ⌊for you⌋
-or-
change this stone into ⌊a loaf of⌋ bread ⌊that you can eat⌋

this stone: Satan probably pointed at one of the stones or perhaps picked up one of them.

bread: In Jesus’ time, bread was the most common and basic food. The bread that the Jews ate was made of wheat flour. It was round and flat.

If you do not already have a word for bread in your language, some ways to translate bread are:

• Use a generic term such as “food.”

• Borrow the word for bread from the national language or major language in your area.

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Source: SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 2013