do you not care

The Greek in Luke 10:40 that is translated as “do you not care” or similar in English is translated in Elhomwe as “do you not feel pity,” the commonly-used expression in that situation. (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is translated as findest du es nicht merkwürdig or “don’t you find it strange.”

distracted by all the preparations

The Greek in Luke 10:40 that is translated as something like “(Martha) was distracted by all the preparations” is translated by other languages as:

  • “all kinds of work to do had gone to Martha’s heart” (Tzeltal)
  • “Martha was wearing-herself-out how/the-way her feeding them” (Tboli)
  • “because much work fell to Martha, her agitation flew/flared-up” (Marathi)
  • “Martha’s mind was stirred up with excess of service” (Zarma)
  • “she danced to and fro in serving” (Uab Meto)
  • “much work overwhelmed Martha” (Sranan Tongo) (source for all above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • “her face kept on getting turned with her work inside the house” (Mairasi) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • “she was alone in the kitchen because she was making food for them, and there were many problems that she had with what she was doing” (Western Bukidnon Manobo) (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • “Marta’s eye was here and there with the doing of tasks” (Bariai) (source: Bariai Back Translation)

Martha and Mary


Hand colored stencil print on washi by Sadao Watanabe (1984).

Image taken with permission from the SadaoHanga Catalogue where you can find many more images and information about Sadao Watanabe. For other images of Sadao Watanabe art works in TIPs, see here.

The following image is by He Qi:

He Qi © 2021 All Rights Reserved.

Image taken from He Qi Art . For purchasing prints of this and other artworks by He Qi go to heqiart.com . For other images of He Qi art works in TIPs, see here.

Following is a painting by Ketut Lasia (b. 1945):

Ketut Lasia is one of the last traditional Balinese painters in the Ubud style. As an adult, Lasia converted from Hinduism to Christianity, and he paints primarily biblical scenes. You can find artwork from Ketut Lasia in a variety of formats for sale at Fine Art America .

The following is a contemporary stained glass window from All Saints church, Preston Bagot, Warwickshire, England. The windows were designed by Edward Burne-Jones and made by Morris & Co, Birmingham:

Photo by DeFacto, hosted by Wikimedia Commons , Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Mary and Martha .

Martha

The name that is transliterated as “Martha” in English is translated in Finnish Sign Language with the sign signifying “hostess” (referring to Luke 10:40). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)


“Martha” in Finnish Sign Language (source )

In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with the signs for “woman” and “clean.” (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Martha” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

See also Mary (of Bethany) and more on Bible Odyssey: Mary and Martha .

younger sister (Lama)

The Greek that is translated as “sister” in English in the referenced verses is translated in Lama as rɨtɨwilu or “younger sister.” (Source: Neal Brinneman)

complete verse (Luke 10:40)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 10:40:

  • Noongar: “Martha was not happy because she was doing everything, so she went and said, ‘Lord, you can see my sister, can’t you? She went away and sat down and I must do all the working! Tell Mary she must come and help me!'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “But as for Marta, she was busy dealing-with/taking-care-of the guests. Marta went to Yesus and said to him: ‘Lord, do you (sing.) like for that my relative to leave-me-alone to work by myself! Tell her to help me.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Marta was very troubled by the many things she had to do in preparing for Isa and company. So she came close to Isa and she said, ‘Sir, don’t you do anything about it even though my sister has left me completely alone with the work? Tell her to help me.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as for Martha, she was alone in the kitchen because she was making food for them, and there were many problems that she had with what she was doing. And then she came to Jesus, and she said, ‘Is it good to your breath that I am the only one working hard to make our food? Tell Mary that she should help me.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Whereupon Marta became-distracted by the many things she was preparing. It wasn’t long, she went and said to Jesus, ‘Lord, don’t you (sing.) care that that younger-sibling of mine is leaving-me-be so that I am the only one working? You (sing.) should tell her to help-me!'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But as for Marta, her mind/thinking was agitated being bothered/busy with the meal she was preparing to serve. Well, when she couldn’t take it any longer, she came to Jesus and said, ‘Probably, Lord, you haven’t observed that I alone am preparing-the-meal for I am not/no-longer being helped by this sister of mine. Please tell her to help me.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

location (of God) (Japanese honorifics)

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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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-moto (みもと) referring to the location (of God) in the referenced verses.

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