forget

The Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that is translated as “forget” in English is translated in Noongar as dwangka-anbangbat, lit. “ear-lose.” (Source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018).

See also remember and forget (Japanese honorifics).

sell

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “sell” in English is translated in Noongar as wort-bangal or “away-barter.” Note that “buy” is translated as bangal-barranga or “get-barter.” (Source: Bardip Ruth-Ang 2020)

See also buy and buying / selling.

sparrow

While the Greek word strouthion is certainly the name for the sparrow, the Hebrew tsippor is actually an inclusive word that refers to sparrow-sized birds in general. These small birds, especially sparrows, were caught in nets and traps and were an important part of the diet of poor people.

There are three types of sparrow that are common in Israel, the House Sparrow Passer domesticus, the Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis, and the Dead Sea Sparrow Passer moabiticus. All three are small speckled brown birds. Additional small birds that abound around towns and settlements are members of the bunting, finch, and tit families. Sparrows in particular are usually found in fairly large numbers roosting and nesting together. All are seed eaters and live mainly on grass seeds and grain.

Sparrows were considered clean birds and were associated with the poor.

Sparrows or sparrow-like small birds are found all over the world. Finding a local word is not usually difficult. The reference to “a lonely bird on the housetop” in Psalms 102:7 takes on additional meaning if the sparrow was intended, since it is a bird that is seldom seen alone. It would then indicate the psalmist’s sense of loneliness at being separated from those with whom he belongs.

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

complete verse (Luke 12:6)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 12:6:

  • Noongar: “‘People sell five little birds for two small coins, don’t they? But God does not forget one little bird.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “‘Five sparrows usually are sold for about only two pieces of see [a see is one hundredth of a rupiah] money. But even so, there is not one bird that God does not remember.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Isa said yet, ‘There are small birds which we (dual) can buy five for two centavos. Even though they have little value none of them, not even one is forgotten by God.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Jesus said, ‘There are birds that people can buy, five of them for two centavos. And even though they have not much value to people, yet to God, He never removes from his thinking even one of them.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But consider also God’s manner with the rice-birds. Five rice-birds (see here) are sold for just two five-cent-pieces only, isn’t that so? But God doesn’t forget even one of them.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But the valuing by God is really big. The truth/proof of this is, isn’t it so that for a few centavos only one can buy five ricebirds (see here )? However even though it’s as cheap as that, not even one of them is ignored/left-alone by God.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

before / in the sight of / presence of (God) (Japanese honorifics)

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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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-mae (御前) or “before (God)” in the referenced verses. In some cases in can also be used in reference to being before a king, such as in 1 Samuel 16:16.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also presence (Japanese honorifics) and before you / to you.

Translation commentary on Luke 12:6

Exegesis:

ouchi pente strouthia pōlountai assariōn duo ‘are not five sparrows sold for two cents,’ i.e. “do not sparrows sell five for two cents” (An American Translation). The clause means that sparrows are of very little value. For ouchi cf. on 6.39.

strouthion (also v. 7) ‘sparrow,’ or, in a more general sense, ‘bird.’

pōleō ‘to sell,’ here in the passive.

assarion a Latin loanword. It is one of the smallest coins used in Roman coinage and best rendered as ‘cent,’ ‘penny’ etc.

kai hen ex autōn ouk estin epilelēsmenon enōpion tou theou ‘and (yet) not one of them is forgotten in the sight of God.’ kai hen with following negation is emphatic, ‘not even one….’ For enōpion cf. on 1.15.

epilanthanomai ‘to forget,’ ‘to overlook.’ The perfect tense refers to a state, or, situation in which one is overlooked.

Translation:

In the interrogative sentence the price is in focus rather than the process of selling; hence some idiomatic renderings omit the verb, e.g. ‘isn’t the price of five sparrows two pennies?’ (cf. Tae’ 1933), “are not sparrows five for twopence?” (New English Bible). The force of the question is, ‘everyone knows that….’

Sparrow, or the name of a common small bird, e.g. a rice-eating finch (some Indonesian languages), or simply ‘small bird’ (Sranan Tongo).

Penny should preferably be rendered by the name of a small coin used in the culture, but not the smallest one, for which see “copper coin” (21.2). Where no distinctive names are available or usable one may say ‘small coin,’ ‘piece of money of small value.’

Forgotten before God, or not to obscure the fact that God is the implied agent, “forgotten in the thoughts of God” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation), or simply ‘forgotten by God,’ ‘God forgets’ (cf. e.g. Shona 1966, Sranan Tongo).

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 12:6

12:6–7

In 12:4–5 Jesus warned his disciples not to fear people but to fear/respect God. In 12:6–7 he began to encourage his disciples by telling them how much God cares for them. Jesus began this encouragement by talking about sparrows. God remembers each sparrow, though sparrows do not have much value, and God values the disciples much more than sparrows.

In some languages it may be necessary to make the connection between 12:6 and 12:5 more explicit. For example:

⌊Consider also God’s attitude toward sparrows.⌋…

See the note on 12:7b and the General Comment on 12:7a–c at the end of 12:7c for other ways to make the connection between these verses clearer.

12:6a

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?: Here Jesus asked a rhetorical question to state something that everyone already knew. The question expects the answer “yes, five sparrows are sold for only this small amount of money.”

Some ways to translate this question are:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

Don’t you realize that five sparrows are sold for only two pennies?

• As a statement. For example:

Everyone knows that five sparrows are sold for just two pennies.

Use a way that is natural in your language to express a statement that people already know to be true.

sparrows: The word sparrows refers to a type of small, common bird that poor people ate. In some areas people are not familiar with sparrows or sparrows are not sold in the market. If this is true in your area, you may:

• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:

five small birds

• Use the name of a small local bird. For example:

five rice birds

two pennies: The word pennies refers to certain Roman coins. Each of these coins was worth about one sixteenth of a workman’s daily pay. The point is that the sparrows cost very little. The exact value of two pennies is not important here. Some other ways to translate two pennies are:

• Use a descriptive phrase for a small amount of money. For example:

two copper coins (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
only a few small coins

• Use a local equivalent for a coin of little value. For example:

two cents (God’s Word)

12:6b

Yet: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as Yet introduces an unexpected fact that contrasts with 12:6a. In spite of the fact that sparrows are of almost no value, God cares about each one of them. Other ways to introduce this unexpected statement are:

but (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
But/Yet even though that is true

not one of them is forgotten by God: The clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as not one of them is forgotten by God means that God does not neglect or overlook even one sparrow. He knows and cares about each one. Other ways to translate this clause are:

Yet God does not forget a single one of them. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Yet God remembers ⌊and cares for⌋ every one of ⌊those sparrows⌋.

General Comment on 12:6a–b

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of 12:6a and 12:6b. For example:

6bDo you think God forgets even one of 6athe small birds that cost less than a penny? ⌊Of course not!⌋

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