woe (to you)

The Greek that is translated as “woe to you” or similar in English is translated in Martu Wangka as “you sit as sorry ones” (source: Carl Gross). Toraja-Sa’dan has two expressions that can be used: upu’ allomu or “to-their-end are your days” and sumpu sumandakmu or “finished is what-is-measured-out to you.” In the case of Luke 10:13, where “woe” is doubled, both are used for stylistic, non-repetitive purposes (see Reiling / Swellengrebel).

In Matumbi it is translated as Wakibona or “You will see” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext) and in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) with a phrase containing tsoka, a word to describe something bad that happens (or may happen) to a person because of doing something against established traditions in a community (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation).

In Hebrew it is translated as oy (אוֹי) and in Yiddish as oy (אוי) or vey (וֵויי). Note that oy vey in combination is also commonly used in Yiddish as an interjection of dismay and vey is derived from the German Wehe (which in turn has the same root than the English woe). (Source: Jost Zetzsche)

key of knowledge

The Greek in Luke 11:52 that is translated as “key of knowledge” in English is translated in Elhomwe as “key to the house of knowledge” to make the metaphor more explicit. (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

taken away the key of knowledge

The Greek in Luke 11:52 that is translated as “taken away the key of knowledge” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with den Schlüssel zu eurem Schulhaus habt ihr eingesteckt or “You keep the key to your schoolhouse in your pocket.”

complete verse (Luke 11:52)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 11:52:

  • Noongar: “‘Very terrible for you, Law Men! You keep the way to open the door to the house of knowledge. I say truly, you will not enter and you stop other people who want to enter!'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “‘Disaster to you religion teachers! Really, it should be you who teach the people the way to know God. However, you yourselves do not want to follow that way, and you just hinder people who want to follow [it].'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “‘You are to be pitied, teachers of the religious law. You block (the way for) the people so that they do not know the true way to God. You do not follow the way and you forbid those who want to follow that way.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Pity you teachers of the Law in the future, because you put a barrier in front of the people so that they might not know the true way of going to God. You don’t want to walk on that true way, but you hinder the people who do want to walk on that way!'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘Pitiful are you teachers of the law, because you have removed that which is compared to the key which opens people’s knowing of the word of God. You are-blind-to its correct meaning and at the same time you turn-aside/distract the many-people so they don’t believe it either!'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Really very hard is what is in store for you explainers of law. Because as for the truth which comes from God, you don’t want to believe/obey it, and you are even hiding it from the people. What you are like is a person who doesn’t want to enter a house, and he took away the key so that no-one else could enter.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

formal pronoun: Jesus addressing religious leaders

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, Jesus is addressing religious leaders with the formal pronoun, showing respect. Compare that with the typical address with the informal pronoun of the religious leaders.

The only two exceptions to this are Luke 7:40/43 and 10:26 where Jesus uses the informal pronoun as a response to the sycophantic use of the formal pronoun by the religious leaders (see formal pronoun: religious leaders addressing Jesus).

In most Dutch translations, the same distinctions are made, with the exception of Luke 10:26 where Jesus is using the formal pronoun. In Afrikaans and Western Frisian the informal pronoun is used throughout.

2nd person pronoun with low register (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 second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.

In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.

Translation commentary on Luke 11:52

Exegesis:

ērate tēn kleida tēs gnēseōs ‘you have taken away the key to knowledge.’ airō means here ‘to take away from its proper place, so that it cannot be used’ (cf. 8.12). The phrase kleis tēs gnōseōs is best understood metaphorically as the key that opens the way to the understanding of Scripture which is the way of salvation (cf. gnōsis sōtērias ‘knowledge of salvation,’ 1.77). The experts in the law have a wrong interpretation of the Old Testament and this makes it impossible for them to find salvation. kleis.

autoi ouk eisēlthate ‘(consequently) you have not gone in yourselves,’ scil. into the knowledge of salvation. This metaphorical use of eiserchomai (cf. also 22.40, 46, Mt. 25.21) is a Hebraism. The asyndeton indicates that this clause, and also the next one, are the result of the taking away of the key.

tous eiserchomenous ekōlusate ‘those who wanted to enter you have stopped.’ The participle tous eiserchomenous is best understood as conative. For kōluō cf. on 6.29.

Translation:

The key of knowledge, preferably, “the key to (the door of) knowledge” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation, An American Translation), “the key that opens the door to the house of knowledge” (Good News Translation). The function of key may have to be described, e.g. ‘unlocker’ (East Nyanja, Yao), ‘means to open,’ ‘what opens the way to,’ and knowledge, or, ‘house of knowledge’ may have to be explained, e.g. ‘the place where people can acquire knowledge, or, can learn to understand the Scriptures.’

Hindered, or, “kept out” (An American Translation), ‘stopped’ (Shona 1963), ‘did not allow’ (Tzeltal).

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.