bear child / give birth

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “bear (a child)” or “give birth to” is translated in Mairasi as “go to the forest,” reflecting the traditional place of childbirth for Mairasi women. (Source: Enggavoter 2004)

In Spanish it is translated as dar a luz, literally “to give to light.” Likewise, in Portuguese (dar à luz) and Italian (dare alla luce). (Source: Mark Terwilliger)

See also in childbirth / travail and birth.

formal pronoun: common people addressing Jesus

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, the crowd (or individuals within the crowd) addresses Jesus with the formal pronoun, expressing respect.

complete verse (Luke 11:27)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 11:27:

  • Noongar: “After Jesus said this, a woman among the crowd said to Jesus, ‘How happy, the woman who bore you and breast-fed you!'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “While Yesus was speaking, a woman in the midst of the people said loudly: ‘The woman who bore you (sing.) and nursed you (sing.) is indeed very blessed/fortunate!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Then, when Isa had just finished saying that, a woman from the crowds spoke loudly, she said, ‘Really very happy is the woman who gave birth to you and who nursed you.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then, when Jesus had finished saying that, there was there a woman who said loudly, ‘How big the joy is of the woman who gave birth to you and who nursed you!'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Upon Jesus’ saying that, there was a woman who was-included-with the many-people who raised-her-voice saying, ‘The one who gave-birth-to and nursed you (sing.) is surely fortunate indeed!'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “What Jesus was saying hadn’t yet ended when a woman in that crowd voiced, saying, ‘The woman can really be happy who was-pregnant-with you and who nursed you!'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Honorary "rare" construct denoting God (“speaking”)

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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) 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, hanashiteo-rare-ru (話しておられる) or “speaking” is used.

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

Translation commentary on Luke 11:27

Exegesis:

egeneto de ‘and it happened,’ cf. on 1.8.

eparasa tis phōnēn gunē ek tou ochlou eipen autō ‘raising her voice a woman in the crowd said to him.’ tis and gunē, though separated by phōnēn, go together. ek tou ochlou may go with tis … gunē ‘a certain woman in the crowd,’ or with eparasa … phōnēn ‘raising her voice from the crowd,’ preferably the former.

makaria hē koilia hē bastasasa se ‘blessed the womb that carried you.’ For makarios cf. on 1.45. bastazō ‘to carry,’ here of a pregnant woman.

kai mastoi hous ethēlasas with makarioi understood, ‘and (blessed) the breasts which you have sucked.’ mastos also 23.29.

thēlazō (also 21.23) ‘to give suck’ (21.23), ‘to suck’ (here).

Translation:

Raised her voice and said, or, “called out” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation, New English Bible), ‘spoke with a loud voice (or, loudly).’

Blessed, or, ‘happy,’ see on 1.45.

The womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked, or making the clause structures parallel, “the womb that carried you and the breasts that suckled you” (New English Bible, similarly Tae’). To use the parts (‘womb,’ ‘breasts’) for the whole (‘woman’) is unacceptable in some languages; hence, ‘the person/woman who bore you (in her womb) and suckled you’ (Ekari, Kituba, Tzeltal, Batak Toba, Balinese). Womb; the literal meaning of the Toraja-Sa’dan term used here is ‘place of men.’

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 11:27

Section 11:27–28

Jesus taught about how to be truly happy

A woman in the crowd was very impressed with the way Jesus had answered his critics in the previous section. So she pronounced a blessing on Jesus’ mother. By doing this, the woman was praising Jesus himself. Jesus replied that the people who were truly happy/blessed were those who listened to the word of God and obeyed it.

Some other possible headings for this section are:

People Who Are Truly Happy (New Century Version)
-or-
True Happiness (Good News Translation)

This story occurs only in Luke.

Paragraph 11:27–28

11:27a

As Jesus was saying these things: At some point during Jesus’ teaching, a woman called out. She probably waited until he paused and then called out. The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as these things is literally “this.” Several English versions, such as the Good News Translation and New Revised Standard Version, translate it that way. It refers in general to what Jesus had been talking about in the previous verses. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

When Jesus had said this (Good News Translation)
-or-
While Jesus was speaking (God’s Word)

a woman in the crowd: The phrase a woman in the crowd introduces a new person into the story. Introduce this unnamed woman in a natural way in your language. For example:

there was a woman in the crowd
-or-
a certain woman in the crowd

raised her voice and said: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as raised her voice and said indicates that the woman called out to Jesus. Apparently the woman was not close to Jesus and so she had to speak loudly in order for him to hear her. Some other ways to translate this are:

shouted (God’s Word)
-or-
said loudly

Use an expression in your language that is appropriate for this situation.

11:27b

Blessed is the womb that bore You, and blessed are the breasts that nursed You!: Some English versions translate more literally the Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Blessed is the womb that bore You, and blessed are the breasts that nursed You. For example:

Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked! (Revised Standard Version)

This is a figure of speech. The parts of the body (womb and breasts) that are mentioned here represent the whole person (Jesus’ mother). This is a poetic way of saying:

Blessed is your mother!

The woman who said this was making a statement. She was saying, “Your mother…is blessed.” She was not saying, “May God bless your mother.”

Blessed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Blessed here refers to being in a good situation. Many English versions translate this as “happy.” In your translation, try to use an expression that refers to a fortunate situation rather than simply to a feeling of happiness. For example:

The woman who bore you and nursed you is truly fortunate/privileged!
-or-
God has really blessed the woman who gave birth to you and nursed you!

This word also occurred in 10:23b. See how you translated it there. See bless, Meaning 3, in the Glossary.

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