complete verse (Luke 10:26)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 10:26:

  • Noongar: “Jesus said to him, ‘What do the Scriptures say? What truth do you read?'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “Yesus said: ‘What is written in the Law of the Lord? How do you read it?'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Isa answered, he said, ‘What is written in God’s law left by Musa? What do you read there?'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Jesus said to him, ‘What do the Laws of God say that were left behind by Moses. What do you understand from what you have read?'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘What does the written word of God say? What is your (sing.) understanding?’ Jesus also said to him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Jesus answered him, saying, ‘What is contained in what is written in the laws? What do you read there?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

formal pronoun: Jesus addressing religious leaders

Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.

As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.

Here, Jesus is addressing religious leaders with the formal pronoun, showing respect. Compare that with the typical address with the informal pronoun of the religious leaders.

The only two exceptions to this are Luke 7:40/43 and 10:26 where Jesus uses the informal pronoun as a response to the sycophantic use of the formal pronoun by the religious leaders (see formal pronoun: religious leaders addressing Jesus).

In most Dutch translations, the same distinctions are made, with the exception of Luke 10:26 where Jesus is using the formal pronoun. In Afrikaans and Western Frisian the informal pronoun is used throughout.

law

The Greek that is translated in English as “Law” or “law” is translated in Mairasi as oro nasinggiei or “prohibited things” (source: Enggavoter 2004) and in Noongar with a capitalized form of the term for “words” (Warrinya) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

In Yucateco the phrase that is used for “law” is “ordered-word” (for “commandment,” it is “spoken-word”) (source: Nida 1947, p. 198) and in Central Tarahumara it is “writing-command.” (wsource: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)

See also teaching / law (of God) (Japanese honorifics).

Honorary "are" construct denoting God (“say”)

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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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Luke 10:26

Exegesis:

en tō nomō ‘in the law,’ cf. on 2.22.

pōs anaginōskeis lit. ‘how do you read,’ or, ‘how do you recite,’ i.e. in the worship service in the synagogue, a rabbinical formula used when a scripture quotation is called for. The latter rendering appears to be slightly preferable. pōs refers to the content of what is read, cf. Translator’s New Testament.

Translation:

He said, i.e. Jesus said/asked.

What is written in the law, see on 2.22f.

How do you read, or, “what do you read there” (Translator’s New Testament), ‘how/what do you (usually) read aloud, or, recite.’ For to read cf. on 4.16.

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.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 10:26

10:26a

What is written in the Law?: Jesus responded to the law expert’s question about eternal life by asking him another question. Jesus’ question contains implied information:

What is written in the Law ⌊about what a person must do to inherit eternal life⌋?

In some languages it may be necessary to supply some of this implied information. For example:

What ⌊answer⌋ is written in the Law?
-or-
What is written ⌊concerning this⌋ in the Law?

is written in the Law: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as is written is a passive verb. The text does not say who wrote the words in the Law, but the Jews knew that God caused Moses to write them. Some ways to translate this clause are:

What did ⌊God⌋ cause to be written in the Scriptures?
-or-
What did ⌊Moses⌋ write in the Law ⌊concerning this⌋?
-or-
What does the law of Moses say? (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
What do the Scriptures say? (Good News Translation)

in the Law: The term the Law can refer specifically to the first five books of the Old Testament, which Moses wrote. But it can also refer more generally to the Old Testament Scriptures. You may use either sense to translate this term here.

In Greek, the phrase in the Law is emphasized in this verse. Jesus wanted the expert to think specifically about what the Law said concerning the question that he had asked. You may want to use a method in your language to emphasize the Law.

Jesus replied: The Berean Standard Bible has placed the phrase Jesus replied in the middle of the two questions in this verse. In Greek it occurs before the two questions. You should place this phrase wherever is most natural in your language.

The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Jesus replied is more literally “he replied.” The Berean Standard Bible has used the name Jesus to identify the speaker more clearly. Some languages may be able to follow the Greek here and say “he replied.” Use a natural way in your language to refer to Jesus here.

10:26b

How do you read it?: Here Jesus was probably asking the expert to summarize or explain what he thought the Law said about the issue. Some other ways to translate this question are:

What do you read there? (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
How do you understand it? (NET Bible)
-or-
How do you interpret them? (Good News Translation)

This question is very similar to Jesus’ first question in 10:26a. Notice that the law expert answered both questions with a single answer.

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