Πάντα μοι παρεδόθη ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρός μου, καὶ οὐδεὶς γινώσκει τίς ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς εἰ μὴ ὁ πατήρ, καὶ τίς ἐστιν ὁ πατὴρ εἰ μὴ ὁ υἱὸς καὶ ᾧ ἐὰν βούληται ὁ υἱὸς ἀποκαλύψαι.
22All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
The Greek that is translated as “my Father” in English is translated in Matumbi as Tati’ bangu’ or “my fathers.” “Our Father” is translated as “our Fathers” (and likewise “our ancestor” as “our ancestors”). Matumbi uses a majestic plural as an honorific when addressing parents. (Source: Tim Macsaveny)
See also addressing one’s or someone else’s father humbly / respectfully in Japanese (父) and Father (address for God).
The Greek that is translated as “reveal” in English is translated in Maan with the expression “take the leaf from it.” (Source: Don Slager)
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 10:22:
The Greek that is translated with the capitalized “Father” in English when referring to God is translated in Highland Totonac with the regular word for (biological) father to which a suffix is added to indicate respect. The same also is used for “Lord” when referring to Jesus. (Source: Hermann Aschmann in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 171ff. )
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. In the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017, God the Father is addressed with mi-chichi (御父). This form has the “divine” honorific prefix mi– preceding the archaic honorific form chichi for “father.”
If, however, Jesus addresses his Father, he is using chichi-o (父を) which is also highly respectful but does not have the “divine” honorific. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
See also Lord and my / our Father.
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
See also pronoun for “God”.
Exegesis:
panta moi paredothē ‘everything has been handed over to me.’ panta may mean ‘all power,’ or ‘all knowledge,’ preferably the latter. For paradidōmi cf. on 1.2.
oudeis ginōskei tis estin ho huios ei mē ho patēr ‘nobody knows who the son is but the father.’ Both ho huios and ho patēr have the force of a title.
kai hō ean boulētai ho huios apokalupsai ‘and (he) to whom the son may choose to reveal,’ scil. who the father is.
boulomai (also 22.42) ‘to be willing,’ ‘to want,’ ‘to choose.’
Translation:
In this verse Jesus no longer addresses God but speaks to the seventy and other people present. This may have to be marked, e.g. by adding, “Then he went on” (Phillips), or more explicitly, ‘And to the people he said.’ In languages like Javanese and Balinese one has to shift from honorifics in v. 21 to a non-honorific form of address here.
For delivered cf. on 4.6.
The construction no one knows who the Son is except the Father may have to be recast, e.g. ‘no one knows who the Son (really) is (or, knows the true nature of the Son), only the Father (knows him/it)’ (cf. Kituba, Tzeltal), ‘other people do not know who…, but the Father does,’ or reversely, ‘the Father knows who…, no one else (knows him/it).’ Similarly for the next clause, where ‘to know’ may have to be repeated.
Where the Son and the Father have to be possessed, or where third person reference to first person is impossible, one may have to shift to something like, .’.. who I am, except my Father, or who my Father is, except me, his Son.’ For the Son cf. on “Son of God” in 1.35.
And, or ‘and also,’ ‘and further,’ ‘moreover.’
Any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him, or, ‘other persons only (or, in an expanded form, other persons can also know him/it, but only) if the Son chooses to reveal him/it to them.’ — Chooses, or, ‘is willing,’ ‘wishes,’ ‘sees fit.’ To reveal, or here, ‘to make known.’
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.
10:22a
In 10:21 Jesus had been praying to God his Father. Here in 10:22 he began to speak to his disciples as well as the other people who were listening to him. In some languages it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:
⌊Then Jesus said to the people who were there⌋
In 10:23a Jesus spoke only to the disciples. Here in 10:22a the phrase you use should include the disciples as well as the other people who were there.
All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father: This clause describes the power and authority that Jesus’ Father, God, had given him. It indicates that God had given Jesus the ability to do anything he wanted to do and to know everything he wanted to know. He had also entrusted him with the authority to reveal knowledge to others. You should translate this clause in a way that will indicate the extensive authority and power that God gave Jesus. For example:
All ⌊authority and knowledge⌋ has been given to me by my Father.
This clause is passive. In some languages it may be more natural to make it active. For example:
My Father has given me all ⌊authority and knowledge⌋.
All things: In this context All things probably refers to all knowledge as well as all authority/power. It does not refer primarily to material things, though Jesus had power over those as well.
have been entrusted to Me by My Father: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as entrusted has several meanings. It can mean “to entrust/commit” or “to give” to someone. In this context it indicates that God entrusted to Jesus the same authority, power, and knowledge that he himself has. He also gave Jesus the authority to pass knowledge and power on to others.
10:22b–c
In translating these two verse parts, be careful not to use an expression that could imply that Jesus was an illegitimate son.
10:22b
No one knows who the Son is except the Father: This clause means, “No one fully knows the true identity or nature of the Son except his Father.” In this clause Jesus referred to himself as the Son. He referred to God as the Father. Other ways to translate this clause are:
No one truly knows the Son except the Father (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
⌊God⌋ my Father is the only one who knows what ⌊I,⌋ his Son, am really like
10:22c
no one knows who the Father is except the Son: This clause is the other half of the statement in 10:22b. It means here, “No one fully knows the true identity or nature of the Father except his Son.” Jesus referred to himself as the Son and to God as the Father. Other ways to translate this clause are:
no one truly knows the Father except the Son (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
⌊I,⌋ the Son, am the only one who knows what my Father is really like
10:22d
and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him: This clause identifies another group of people who can also truly know the Father. These people are those to whom Jesus the Son decides to make him known. Other ways to translate the clause are:
and also those to whom the Son decides to make Him known
-or-
along with those to whom He desires to reveal/show the Father
chooses: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as chooses means “decides” or “wants.”
reveal: To reveal someone is to show what that person is like. It is to make known their true nature.
General Comment on 10:22b–d
Jesus was referring to himself as the Son. In some languages it may be necessary to use first person pronouns:
No one knows who ⌊I,⌋ the Son, am except the Father. No one knows who the Father is except ⌊me,⌋ the Son, and those to whom ⌊I⌋ choose to reveal him.
General Comment on 10:22c–d
In some languages, the repetition of “Son” and “Father” in these verses may be overly redundant. One way to avoid this repetition is:
I am the only one who knows my Father’s true nature, I and those to whom I decide to make him known.
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