Translation commentary on Luke 11:39

Exegesis:

eipen de ho kurios ‘but the Lord said,’ in reply to his surprise. For ho kurios cf. on 1.6.

nun humeis hoi Pharisaioi ‘indeed, you Pharisees,’ with emphasis on humeis. nun is best understood as equivalent to Hebrew hinneh and as serving to lend emphasis to what follows.

to exōthen tou potēriou kai tou pinakos katharizete ‘you clean the outside of the cup and the dish.’ The article tou before potēriou and pinakos is generic. exōthen also v. 40.

potērion ‘cup,’ ‘drinking-vessel.’

pinax ‘platter,’ ‘dish.’

to de esōthen humōn gemei harpagēs kai ponērias ‘but the inside of you is full of greed and wickedness,’ hence, ‘inside you are full…’ (cf. Revised Standard Version). As contrasted with to exōthen which is used in a literal sense, to esōthen is used metaphorically.

gemō ‘to be full.’

ponēria ‘wickedness,’ cf. the frequent ponēros.

Translation:

The outside of the cup and of the dish, or, ‘cups and dishes at the outside.’ For cup and dish instrumental or locative derivations of ‘to drink’ and ‘to eat’ are sometimes used, e.g. in Batak Toba (the first), and in Toraja-Sa’dan (both).

Inside you are full of extortion and wickedness, or, ‘inside you are completely/very greedy and wicked.’ In several languages a word for inside can be used in the metaphorical sense required; where such is not the case one will have to shift to a term for the emotional centre of the personality, e.g. ‘your heart is full of…’ (Bahasa Indonesia, similarly Tzeltal). Wickedness, or, ‘bad/evil thoughts.’

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 11:39

11:39a

This verse begins with a Greek conjunction. Several English versions (New International Version, New Living Translation (2004), New Revised Standard Version) translate it as “Then” because it introduces the next thing that happened in the story. Because Jesus’ words in 11:39b were a response to the Pharisee’s surprise, other versions translate it as “So.” For example:

So the Lord said to him (Good News Translation)

The Berean Standard Bible does not translate this conjunction. Introduce Jesus’ response in a way that is natural in your language.

The Lord Jesus responded by giving a metaphor. In some languages it may be clearer to give the readers a clue that the Lord would be speaking figuratively. For example:

Then/So the Lord said to him, using an illustration

Now then: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Now then is literally “Now.” It introduces what Jesus was about to say with a slight emphasis. In this context it is not a time word. Some English versions do not translate it here.

Some languages may have a particle or expression that is appropriate for introducing a rebuke. If so, you may be able to use it here. For example:

Oh you Pharisees! (New American Bible)

the Lord: If you need to supply a name here along with the title, you may say:

the Lord ⌊Jesus⌋

11:39b–c

you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness: This is a metaphor. In this metaphor Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because they carefully followed external cleansing rituals such as hand-washing, but they ignored their inner wickedness. He implied that this was as foolish as cleaning the outside of cups and dishes but ignoring the dirt inside. Jesus did not mean that the Pharisees literally cleaned only the outside of their cups and dishes.

This is a complex metaphor, and parts of both the topic and the image are implied. The chart below gives the full metaphor:

topic

⌊you are concerned about external, ritual cleansing like washing your hands,
⌋ but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

image
this is like cleaning the outside of cups and dishes ⌊but leaving the insides of the cups and dishes filthy⌋

point of similarity
foolishness

In some languages it may be necessary to change this metaphor to a simile and make some of the implied parts of the comparison explicit. For example:

39bYou Pharisees, ⌊it is as if⌋ you clean ⌊only⌋ the outside of your cups and dishes, 39c⌊because you carefully wash your hands,⌋ but you ignore the greed and wickedness that are in your minds/hearts.
-or-

39bYou Pharisees ⌊are like people who⌋ wash ⌊only⌋ the outside of a cup and bowl, ⌊but as for the dirt on the inside, they just leave it alone.⌋ 39c⌊For you wash your hands,⌋ but your inner being is really full of greed and evil.

11:39b

you Pharisees: In the Greek, you is plural. Only one Pharisee has been mentioned at this point in the narrative, but perhaps others were present. Jesus was referring here to the Pharisees as a group.

clean: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as clean means to purify or make ceremonially clean. It is not the usual word for washing things to remove dirt from them. However, the main contrast in this verse is between outward cleanliness (11:39b) and inward wickedness (11:39c). So if it is awkward to specify “ceremonially/ritually clean” in your language, you may use a more general term. For example:

wash

outside: Languages may use different terms to describe the outside of cups, bowls, and plates. For example, the “back of a plate.” Use a natural term in your language.

cup and dish: The word cup refers to a normal cup or glass that people drank from. The word dish refers to any plate that people used to eat their food. You may also substitute terms for other drinking or eating utensils that are used in your language area.

In some languages, it is more natural to use plural terms. For example:

cups and dishes (Contemporary English Version)

11:39c

inside: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as inside refers to the Pharisees’ inner person or nature. It is the part of a person that thinks and feels and desires things. Some other ways to translate this word are:

in your minds
-or-
your hearts

you are full of: In some languages, it may not be possible to say that people are full of bad qualities. If this is true in your language, use an expression that means that these people are characterized by these bad things. For example:

on the inside you are (Contemporary English Version)

greed: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as greed often refers to taking other people’s things wrongly. It can also refer to taking things violently or forcefully.

In this context, “violent greed” fills the minds/hearts of the Pharisees. So it refers here to an inner desire rather than an outward action. Some other ways to translate this word are:

violence (Good News Translation)
-or-
strong desire to gain things violently

wickedness: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wickedness is a general word for sinfulness or evil. For example:

evil (Good News Translation)

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