persistence

The Greek in Luke 11:8 that is translated as “persistence” or similar in English is translated in Bijago with the idiomatic expression “stiff-necked.” (Source: David Frank, quoted in Nicoleti 2012, p. 78)

The Insistent Friend

Following is a 1973 painting of the JESUS MAFA project, a response to New Testament readings from the Lectionary by a Christian community in Cameroon, Africa. Each of the readings was selected and adapted to dramatic interpretation by the community members. Photographs of their interpretations were made, and these were then transcribed to paintings:

From Art in the Christian Tradition , a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. Image retrieved March 23, 2026. Original source: librairie-emmanuel.fr.

complete verse (Luke 11:8)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 11:8:

  • Noongar: “Now what then? I tell you, if he will not get up and give you the bread because you are his friend, yet he will get up and give you everything you need because you are not ashamed to ask again and again.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “His answer will not be like that. Even if our friend does not want to get up and give us anything, but because we do not let-up/give-up and we are not ashamed to request-of him, he will certainly get up and give us what we need.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “I tell you,’ said Isa, ‘eventually that friend of yours will get up and give you all you need, not because you are friends but because you do not stop asking.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “That’s the way it is,’ says Jesus, ‘even though he does not want to get up and help his friend, if his friend does not stop begging, he will force himself to get up and give him everything he needs.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “If for-example that’s what happened, what then will take-place? I tell you, even though your (sing.) friend will not be persuaded to get up because of your (pl.) friendship, yet because you (sing.) insisted on repeatedly-requesting, he will get up anyway to give you (sing.) all you (sing.) need.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “This which I will tell you is true, that even if he doesn’t want to get up because of their friendship, however because that one requesting is really persisting, that’s why his friend will indeed get up and give him what he came for.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

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

formal pronoun: Jesus addressing his disciples and common people

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 his disciples, individuals and/or crowds with the formal pronoun, showing respect.

In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.

Translation commentary on Luke 11:8

Exegesis:

legō humin ‘I tell you,’ cf. on 3.8.

ei kai ou dōsei autō anastas ‘even if he will not get up and give him.’ For anastas cf. on v. 7. Strictly speaking ei kai ou here is not introducing a supposition since it is clear from v. 7 that he will not give his friend because of their friendship.

dia to einai philon autou ‘because of (his) being his friend,’ articular infinitive.

dia ge tēn anaideian autou ‘because of his persistence.’ ge emphasizes the substantive which follows, i.e. anaideian.

anaideia lit. ‘shamelessness,’ or, ‘persistence,’ preferably the latter.

egertheis dōsei autō hosōn chrēzei ‘he will get up and give him whatever he needs.’ egertheis is equivalent to anastas. The phrase hosōn chrēzei may imply that he gave more than was asked for at first. chrēzō also 12.30.

Translation:

When vv. 5-7 have been rendered by conditional or suppositional clauses they are virtually elliptical; then the transition to v. 8 can best be made by indicating the ellipsis (e.g. by dots, Bahasa Indonesia RC), or by some phrase like, “Well, what then?” (Good News Translation). To take v. 8 as the apodosis of vv. 5-7 results in a construction that is usually too heavy to be a practical solution.

It is important to keep straight the pronominal references, i.e. to the one outside who has asked (A), and the one within who has been asked (B), respectively: B will not … give A anything because A is B’s friend, yet because of A’s importunity B will … give A whatever A needs. Probably the most practical way to do so is to refer to A by pronouns of the second person (as done by Moffatt, The Four Gospels – a New Translation, cf. also on vv. 5ff). — The structure of the two clauses in this verse differs in the position of the two causal phrases; this is done in order to emphasize the contrast between them. Where a more parallel clause structure is required the emphasis must be brought out by other means.

Not goes with both ‘to get-up/rise’ and ‘to give.’

Because he is his friend, or, ‘because of their friendship,’ or with a reciprocal form, e.g. ‘under name-of their being-friends-together’ (Trukese, similarly Batak Toba, Tae’ 1933).

Because of his importunity may be better rendered as a verbal construction, ‘because he (A) kept asking him (B),’ ‘because he insisted (or, asked persistently).’

He will rise may require an emphasizer, e.g. ‘he will certainly rise’ (Balinese), ‘he just has to rise’ (Batak Toba).

Whatever he needs, or, ‘all things he needs/wants/asks.’

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.