complete verse (Luke 11:35)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 11:35:

  • Noongar: “Jesus told them this parable: ‘One blind man can’t go in front of another person. If he does this, both people will fall into a hole.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “So also with our hearts. We must be very careful: if the Lord shines-on our hearts, let us not make-them-dark again.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Therefore be careful so that your thinking is not at fault. Perhaps you think that it is light in your body, and-what-would-you-know, it is dark, surprise.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “It’s just the same way with a lamp of the mind of a person, which is to say, his understanding what’s right. It is necessary that this is not overcome by evil.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Be careful then lest you (sing.) think your (sing.) mind is lighted-up but sure-enough it’s dark.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Therefore it’s necessary that you be careful, for maybe as for that light which you are sure of, maybe it’s still darkness, for maybe your mind/thinking hasn’t yet been enlightened concerning the will of God.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 11:35

Exegesis:

skopei oun mē to phōs to en soi skotos estin ‘consider, then, whether the light in you is not darkness,’ or, ‘be careful lest the light in you be darkness,’ preferably the former since estin is in the indicative.

skopeō ‘consider,’ ‘look out.’

skotos ‘darkness,’ here used emphatically instead of the adjective skoteinos.

Translation:

Be careful lest, preferably, ‘consider whether,’ ‘think (carefully) whether,’ ‘ask yourself whether perhaps.’

The light in you, or, ‘the light you have in you,’ ‘what is bright about you’ (Nieuwe Vertaling).

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 11:35

11:35

Be careful: The command Be careful functions as a warning. Some other ways to translate this warning are:

See to it (New International Version)
-or-
Make certain (Good News Translation)

then: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as then introduces a command that Jesus made as a logical result of what he had just said. It is not a time word. Other ways to translate this word are:

Therefore (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
So (New Century Version)

that the light within you is not darkness: There are at least two translation issues in this clause:

Issue 1—Implied Information

This clause is an apparent contradiction, since light cannot be darkness. The implied meaning is probably “that ⌊what you think is⌋ the light within you is not ⌊actually⌋ darkness.” In some languages it may be necessary to make this implied information explicit. For example:

that ⌊what you consider to be⌋ inner light is not ⌊really⌋ darkness
-or-
that the light you think you have is not actually darkness (New Living Translation (2004))

Issue 2—Meaning of the metaphor

This clause contains the metaphors of “light” and “darkness,” but the meaning of the metaphors is not stated explicitly. Here the “light” represents the truth. Jesus was telling the people to be sure that their knowledge or understanding of the truth, especially the truth about himself, was correct. If their understanding was not correct, it was like darkness.

You should try to keep the figures of light and darkness in your translation if possible. One way to do this is to use a simile. For example:

be careful lest you think that you are like a person who has light inside him and understands the truth but actually you are like a person who is dark inside

If it is not possible to keep the figures of light and darkness, one possible way to translate this is:

be careful that what you think is the truth is actually true and not false

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