The Greek that is often translated in English as “truly, truly, I tell you” or similar is translated in the Russian BTI translation (publ. 2015) as Поверьте Мне (Pover’te Mne) or “trust me.” (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
See also Amen.
complete verse (Luke 12:44)
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 12:44:
- Noongar: “Truly, I tell you, the master will put him in charge of all his property.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
- Uma: “Truly I say to you, his nobleman raises him and gives him authority to look-after all his riches.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “Truly I tell you, that his master will entrust to him all his wealth.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “I tell you that the faithful servant will be entrusted with all of the possessions of his master.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “Because this that I tell you is true that his master will raise-him-up so he will be in charge of all his possessions.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “What I will say to you is true. He will also be given by his master the responsibility for all the possessions of his master.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
formal pronoun: Jesus addressing his disciples and common people
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 his disciples, individuals and/or crowds with the formal pronoun, showing respect.
In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.
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 12:44
Exegesis:
alēthōs legō humin ‘truly I tell you,’ cf. on 3.8 and 9.27.
epi pasin tois huparchousin autou katastēsei auton ‘he will put him in charge of all his possessions.’ Subject of katastēsei is ho kurios. For ta huparchonta cf. on 8.3.
Translation:
Truly I tell you, see 4.24.
Will set him over all his possessions, repeating the verb used in v. 42b, and preferably to be rendered alike, unless the presence of a non-personal object compels one to use a different rendering.
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 12:44
12:44
Truly I tell you: The expression Truly I tell you emphasizes that what Jesus was about to say would certainly happen. The same expression occurs in 12:37b.
you: The word you here is plural. Although Jesus was answering Peter’s question, what he said applied to all of his disciples.
he will put him in charge of all his possessions: The expression he will put him in charge of all his possessions means here that the master will give his faithful servant authority to manage his whole estate. Previously he had just been in charge of the other servants.
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