wash

The Greek that is translated as “wash” in English has to be specified with an object in some languages. Indonesian for instance translates as “wash hands.” In others languages a derivational form of “to wash” is used that has the meaning “to wash one’s-hands-or-feet” (Sundanese) or “to wash-one’s-hands” (Batak Toba).

complete verse (Luke 11:38)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 11:38:

  • Noongar: “The Pharisee was surprised when he saw Jesus did not wash before eating.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “That Parisi person was surprised to see Yesus eat, because he did not wash-his-hands first according to the customs of their religion.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The Pariseo wondered for Isa did not wash his hands before eating.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “When Jesus finished teaching, there was one of the Pharisee people who invited him to eat in his house. And Jesus went there and ate, and the Pharisee noticed that Jesus ate and he did not wash his hands; he was very surprised because Jesus had broken the custom of the Pharisees.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But that Fariseo was amazed upon seeing that Jesus didn’t wash-his-hands first according to their custom.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But that Pariseo was amazed for Jesus ate without having washed according to their handed-down teaching.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Pharisee

The Greek that is a transliteration of the Hebrew Pərūšīm and is typically transliterated into English as “Pharisee” is transliterated in Mandarin Chinese as Fǎlìsài (法利賽 / 法利赛) (Protestant) or Fǎlìsāi (法利塞) (Catholic). In Chinese, transliterations can typically be done with a great number of different and identical-sounding characters. Often the meaning of the characters are not relevant, unless they are chosen carefully as in these cases. The Protestant Fǎlìsài can mean something like “Competition for the profit of the law” and the Catholic Fǎlìsāi “Stuffed by/with the profit of the law.” (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 51)

In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying “prayer shawl”. (Source: Tarja Sandholm)


“Pharisee” in Finnish Sign Language (source )

In British Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts “pointing out the law.” (Source: Anna Smith)


“Pharisee” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)

In French Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts the box of the phylacteries attached to the forehead:


“Pharisees” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

Scot McKnight (in The Second Testament, publ. 2023) translates it into English as Observant. He explains (p. 302): “Pharisee has become a public, universal pejorative term for a hypocrite. Pharisees were observant of the interpretation of the Covenant Code called the ‘tradition of the elders.’ They conformed their behaviors to the interpretation. Among the various groups of Jews at the time of Jesus, they were perhaps closest to Jesus in their overall concern to make a radical commitment to the will of God (as they understood it).”

See also Nicodemus.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Pharisees .

respectful form of "do" (nasaru)

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 of lexical honorific forms, i.e., completely different words, as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.

In these verses, nasaru (なさる), the respectful form of suru (する) or “do” is used. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Luke 11:38

Exegesis:

idōn ethaumasen hoti ou prōton ebaptisthē pro tou aristou lit. ‘seeing he wondered that he did not wash before the meal’ Though syntactically the clause introduced by hoti depends on ethaumasen only, it goes semantically with idōn in the first place. prōton … pro tou aristou lit. ‘first … before the meal’ (cf. Revised Standard Version), but many translations do not render prōton specifically.

baptizō lit. ‘to dip,’ here ‘to wash,’ the hands presumably, cf. Mt. 15.2.

ariston (also 14.12) ‘breakfast,’ ‘noon meal,’ ‘meal.’

Translation:

Was astonished to see, or, “was surprised when he noticed” (Good News Translation). For astonished cf. “wondered” in 1.21.

Wash. In some languages an object has to be added, ‘wash hands’ (Bahasa Indonesia), in others a derivational form of ‘to wash’ has the meaning ‘to wash one’s-hands-or-feet’ (Sundanese), ‘to wash-one’s-hands’ (Batak Toba). That the verb has a ritual connotation here is sometimes made explicit, cf. faire des ablutions (Bible de Jérusalem, similarly Zarma).

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 11:38

11:38

But: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But here introduces an unexpected development in the story. Many English versions do not translate this conjunction here. Use a natural way in your language to connect this verse with 11:37.

the Pharisee was surprised to see that Jesus did not first wash before the meal: In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of parts of this sentence. For example:

The Pharisee saw that Jesus did not wash before the meal, and he was surprised.
-or-
The Pharisee was surprised when he noticed that Jesus had not washed before eating. (Good News Translation)

In some languages it may not be necessary to say explicitly that the Pharisee “noticed” or “saw” what Jesus had not done. For example:

The Pharisee was surprised that he did not wash his hands before eating. (Contemporary English Version)

surprised: The Pharisee was surprised because he saw something that he did not expect. He had expected that Jesus would follow the rules about ceremonial purity.

Jesus did not first wash before the meal: The Pharisees’ custom was to wash their hands and arms before they ate. Before eating they would dip their hands and arms in water or ask a servant to pour water over their hands and arms. They followed this ritual, whether or not their hands were dirty, in order to make themselves ceremonially pure. Jesus did not wash his hands in this way before he sat down to eat.

In some languages it may be necessary to make some of this information explicit in either the text or in a footnote. Otherwise, people may misunderstand the cause of the Pharisee’s surprise. For example:

he sat down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom (New Living Translation (2004))

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