complete verse (Luke 11:41)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 11:41:

  • Noongar: “But take the food and drink and give it to the poor people. Then all will become clean the way the Law says.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “What is in your cups and plates give to those whose lives are pitiful. If your behavior is like that, all is holy for you.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But give to the poor the things in your cups and plates then everything will be clean to you.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Now according to what you are able to do, give to the poor and then it will be possible that you’ll be thoroughly clean.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Therefore what you should do first is to make-good your minds so that you will share what you have with the poor. Because if you do that, you will be completely clean.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Therefore instead of the habit of money-grabbing, give freely with a happy mind to those who are poor. Well, what will become of that is that you are like truly clean now.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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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. )

Translation commentary on Luke 11:41

Exegesis:

plēn ‘but,’ indicating a strong contrast.

ta enonta doe eleēmosunēn ‘give as alms the things that are within.’ If dote eleēmosunēn is not a mistranslation from the Aramaic (zakki ‘give alms’ read instead of dakki ‘cleanse’), ta enonta is best understood as referring to the content of the cups and the vessels, and the emphasis is on dote eleēmosunēn as contrasted with cleansing (cf. The Four Gospels – a New Translation, New English Bible). For further details see commentaries, esp. Plummer.

eleēmosunē (also 12.33) ‘kind deed,’ esp. ‘alms.’

kai idou panta kathara humin estin ‘and behold, all things are clean for you.’ For kai idou cf. on 1.20. panta refers to all things that, in the opinion of the Pharisees, are in need of cleansing, humin ‘for you,’ who are so easily worried about cleanliness.

katharos ‘ritually clean.’

Translation:

Give for alms. The noun has been rendered ‘presents of love’ (Kituba), ‘gifts of pity’ (East Nyanja, Yao), a term combining the words ‘gift’ and ‘religious duty’ (Marathi). With some shifts the phrase may be expressed ‘give freely’ (Ekari), ‘give by way of kindness (lit. whiteness of heart)’ (Tae’; similarly Batak Toba, Toraja-Sa’dan, using a verb derived from ‘kind’ or ‘compassion’), “give to the poor” (Good News Translation), ‘share with others, or, with the needy/pitiable’ (Kele, Tae’ 1933). In some Muslim countries the commonly known Arabic term for ‘alms’ (sadakah) is borrowed, e.g. in Bahasa Indonesia.

Things which are within, or “what is in your cups and dishes” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation, and cf. Exegesis).

Everything, or more specifically, ‘all vessels,’ ‘every utensil.’

Clean. What is ceremonially clean may also be called ‘allowed for use,’ ‘good for you’ (Shona 1963).

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 11:41

11:41a

But: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But introduces a strong contrast. The contrast is between what the Pharisees were actually doing in 11:39b–c and what they should have been doing instead in 11:41a. They were careful about their ritual cleanness, and at the same time were greedy and wicked. Instead, they should have been concerned about giving alms to the poor.

Since the contrast is not with the preceding verse (11:40), it may be necessary to make the connection explicit. For example:

Instead ⌊of acting like that⌋

11:41a is also advice that concludes this paragraph. So in some languages it may be more natural to introduce this verse as a conclusion. For example:

⌊So what you should do⌋ instead ⌊is to⌋…
-or-

⌊So do not be greedy and wicked.⌋ Instead…
-or-

⌊So remove wickedness from your hearts.⌋ Instead…

give as alms: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as give as alms means “give as charity” or “give to the poor.” For example:

Give…as a gift to the poor (God’s Word)

the things that are within you: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the things that are within you is literally “the-(things) being-inside.” There are several ways to interpret this phrase:

(1) It refers figuratively to a person’s possessions. For example:

give what you have to the poor (Contemporary English Version)

(New Jerusalem Bible, New Living Translation (2004), Contemporary English Version, King James Version)

(2) It refers to the inside of a person. Specifically, it refers to giving “inwardly” or “from an inner motivation.” For example:

give from your heart to those in need (NET Bible)

(Berean Standard Bible, NET Bible)

(3) It refers to food that is inside the dishes. For example:

So give what is in your dishes to the poor (New Century Version)

(New International Version, Good News Translation, New Century Version)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) or a combination of interpretations (1) and (2). These two interpretations fit well together and are supported by a majority of scholars. See the General Comment on 11:41a–b at the end of 11:41b for another way to express the relationship between these verse parts.

11:41b

and: The Greek text here is literally “and behold.” Some English versions, such as the English Standard Version, translate it that way. This phrase calls attention to the next statement. It indicates that the next statement is something important. It introduces what will happen if the Pharisees give generously to poor people. Most English versions do not translate this phrase. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

I tell you
-or-
I assure you

everything is clean for you: There are at least two ways to interpret the clause everything is clean for you:

(1) Your entire being will be truly clean in God’s sight and will be acceptable to him. For example:

and you will be clean all over (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
and then you will be fully clean (New Century Version)

(New Living Translation (2004), New Century Version, Contemporary English Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

(2) Everything that needs ceremonial cleansing will be ritually clean and acceptable for you to use. For example:

everything will be ritually clean for you (Good News Translation)

(Berean Standard Bible, Good News Translation)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). It is consistent with Jesus’ overall teaching that God emphasizes inner purity more than ritual purity.

clean: The word clean here means something like “acceptable to God.” Jesus was saying that washing bowls and cups and hands made them ceremonially clean. But in order for the people eating at the feast to be truly clean before God, they had to be clean inside.

One way to be clean inside was to be generous to the poor. If they did that, God would be pleased with them, whether or not they washed their hands.

General Comment on 11:41a–b

Verse 11:41a (giving alms to the poor) may be regarded as a means to achieving the result in 11:41b (becoming truly clean). In some languages, it may be more natural to make this explicit. For example:

So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over. (New Living Translation (2004))

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