Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Luke 10:1-12:
Later the Lord chose seventy-two other followers
and sent them out two by two to every town and village
that he intended to visit. He said to them:
“So many crops in the field, and so few workers!
Pray for the Lord of the harvest to send more workers.
Now go, and remember I’m sending you out
like lambs among hungry wolves.
Take only the clothes you absolutely need,
and don’t waste time just hanging loose!
Ask God’s blessing upon every home
where you are welcomed,
but withhold it where you are rejected.
Stay with the first family that invites you,
eating and drinking whatever they provide,
without moving from place to place.
Remember you are worth what you receive,
if you work really hard.
“When a town welcomes you, heal their sick and say,
‘The Ultimate Kingdom will soon be here!’
But when a town rejects you,
stand on the top of a soap box and shout,
‘This is your final warning!
The Ultimate Kingdom will soon be here!’
“My followers, I tell you now
that no town will be judged more harshly
than those that reject you!”
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 10:7:
Noongar: “Stay in one home, eat and drink everything they give you, because workers should get their pay. Do not go from one home to another home.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “Just one-house your staying-place, do not move-around to other-houses while you are carrying the Good News in that town. What food is given to you, just eat it, because the worker is deserving/worthy to receive his salary.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Stay just in one house. Don’t keep changing your place-for-staying. Eat and drink whatever they place before you, for that is like their wages to you. People who work are worthy to be paid.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “But that house where are no people who welcome you, you should stay there until you leave. And you accept anything that they feed you and give you to drink, because it’s like their payment to you. The one who labors is worthy of being paid. Don’t you transfer around to other houses.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “If someone shows-you -hospitality, there is where you are to stay without transferring to another house. Do not also be embarrassed to eat and drink what they set-before you, because the one who works is worthy to be salaried.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And you just be there in that house where you went to stay. Eat and drink whatever it served to you, for of course as for a worker, he has the right to receive his pay. Now don’t go transfering from one house to another. Wherever you went to stay, you just be there.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
en autē de tē oikia menete ‘in that very house you must stay.’ autē has the force of a strong demonstrative pronoun.
esthiontes kai pinontes ta par’ autōn ‘eating and drinking what comes from them,’ i.e. ‘what they offer you.’ ta par’ autōn is virtually equivalent to ta paratithemena humin (v. 8). autōn refers to the people who live in the house. For the phrase ‘eating and drinking’ cf. on 5.30.
axios gar ho ergatēs tou misthou autou ‘for the worker is worth his pay.’ Probably a proverbial saying which applies only indirectly to the present situation. The disciples are to consider the food and shelter they receive as payment for their service to the master of the crop.
mē metabainete ex oikias eis oikian ‘do not move from one house to another,’ i.e. do not change quarters; stay where you are.
metabainō ‘to change one’s residence.’
Translation:
Remain in the same house, cf. on “stay there” in 9.4.
Eating and drinking what they provide, or, ‘what those who live there offer you.’ For to eat and drink cf. on 5.30.
The labourer, often better an indefinite form, e.g. ‘a labourer,’ ‘anyone who works.’
Deserves, or, ‘is worthy of,’ ‘is worthy to receive,’ cf. on 3.16.
Wages, i.e. what (or, the things) people give him in return for his services/work.
Do not go from house to house, stating negatively what the first clause has said positively.
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.
Stay at the same house: Jesus wanted the disciples to return to that house to sleep each night. He did not mean they could not leave that house for any reason. See the note on 9:4a–b. Other ways to translate this command are:
Stay with the same family (Contemporary English Version) -or-
Stay with the family that accepts you. (God’s Word)
the same house: The phrase the same house refers to the house where there was a man of peace who was willing to receive them.
10:7b
eating and drinking whatever you are offered: Jesus wanted the disciples to feel free to eat whatever their hosts gave them to eat. He implied that they would not pay for this food.
whatever you are offered: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as whatever you are offered is literally “the [things] from them.” The pronoun “them” refers to the people in the house where the disciples stayed. For example:
eating and drinking what the people there give you (New Century Version)
10:7c
For: The Greek conjunction gar that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For here introduces a proverb. The proverb implies that the disciples have the right to eat and drink what their hosts give them. If it is not clear how this proverb gives the basis for the previous statement in 10:7b, you may want to supply the implied connection. For example:
⌊It is appropriate for you to do this⌋ because the worker…
the worker is worthy of his wages: The clause the worker is worthy of his wages was probably a proverb or common saying in Jesus’ time. It meant that anyone who did work had the right to receive payment for his work. Jesus used this proverb to say that it was right for his disciples to receive food and a place to sleep from those whom they were teaching and serving. They did not need to pay their hosts for this. See also 1 Timothy 5:18, where this same proverb is quoted. Some other ways to translate this proverb include:
those who work deserve their pay (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
workers are worth what they earn (Contemporary English Version) -or-
A worker should be given his pay. (New Century Version)
10:7d
Do not move around from house to house: The command Do not move around from house to house indicates that the disciples should sleep and eat with the family that had first invited them. They should not sleep in different houses. See the note on 9:4a–b.
General Comment on 10:7a–d
In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of the parts in this verse. For example:
7dDon’t move around from home to home. 7aStay in one place, 7beating and drinking what they provide. 7cDon’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve their pay. (New Living Translation (2004))
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