Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 12:49:
Noongar: “‘I came to burn the World. Truly I wish the fire was kindled now!” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “‘My coming here, I come to light fire in the world. And my desire is that that fire be quickly lit.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Isa said yet, ‘I have come to bring a fire to the world and I wished that it were already burning.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Jesus said, ‘The reason I have come here to the earth is so that there will be fire, which is to say, so that people might be judge. And it would please me if that fire were already lighted.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Jesus also said parabling, ‘I came to burn this earth and I wish it were already burning today.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “‘Why I came here,’ said Jesus next, ‘was so that I would as-it-were bring fire here to the world. I-wish it was already lit!” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
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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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
pur ēlthon balein epi tēn gēn ‘I came to cast fire upon the earth.’ pur is emphatic by position. The fire is the fire of judgment (cf. 3.16f).
kai ti thelō ei ēdē anēphthē ‘and what do I want if it is already kindled?,’ or, ‘how I wish it were already kindled!’ The latter is preferable.
anaptō ‘to kindle.’
Translation:
I came to cast fire upon the earth. The final force of the construction should not be pressed; hence one may say also ‘my coming will cast…’ (Balinese), ‘I come and will cast….’ To cast fire upon the earth, or, ‘to start (or, cause to burn) a fire on earth,’ then, “to set the earth on fire” (Good News Translation), ‘to cause the earth to burn.’
Would that, or, ‘how I wish that,’ ‘I very much wish that,’ ‘my whole soul desires that’ (cf. Batak Toba).
Were … kindled, or, ‘were … lighted,’ ‘had … started burning,’ ‘were … burning/aflame.’
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.
In this section Jesus was still talking to his disciples. He told them that a difficult time was coming. He warned them that in many families, some family members would follow him and some would not. This would cause family members to disagree and separate.
Some other headings for this section are:
Jesus Causes Division (New Century Version) -or-
Not Peace but Division (New International Version)
There is a parallel passage for this section in Matthew 10:34–36.
Paragraph 12:49–53
12:49a
This is the first verse in a new section. Jesus continued to speak, and he used a metaphor. In some languages it may be helpful to make this information explicit. For example:
Then Jesus said, using an illustration
I have come to ignite a fire on the earth: In this verse fire is a complex metaphor. It may symbolize several things in this context:
(a) It may symbolize judgment. Jesus came to prepare people to face God’s judgment, and he himself was punished by God on behalf on those who would repent.
(b) It may symbolize purification. God would purify and remove evil from his people.
(c) It may symbolize division. Jesus came with a message that caused people to disagree with one another and separate from one another.
In some languages people may not understand that Jesus was using fire in a figurative way. If that is true in your language, you may be able to keep the figure of fire by using a simile. For example:
What I came to bring to the earth is like fire.
• In other languages, the meaning of fire in this context may not be understood. If that is true in your language, you may need to make the meaning more explicit. Try to use a general expression that could imply any of the meanings listed above. If that is not possible, use an expression that refers to judgment. For example:
I came to bring judgment like fire on the earth.
• If the meaning is still not clear, translate the meaning without the figure of speech. For example:
I came to bring judgment and division on the earth.
You may also want to put the possible interpretations in a footnote. A possible footnote is:
There are several ways to interpret “fire” in this verse: (1) Most scholars think it symbolizes God’s judgment on sin (as in Luke 3:16–17). This could refer to Jesus’ death on the cross or to the future judgment of unbelievers. (2) Other scholars think that it is a symbol of people being divided or in conflict. (3) Other scholars think that it is a symbol of God purifying people. It is probable that fire symbolizes more than one thing here.
I have come to ignite: The phrase I have come to ignite indicates purpose. In some languages it may be more natural to use an explicit purpose statement. For example:
I came ⌊to this earth⌋ in order to cause something like fire to burn ⌊among people⌋.
12:49b
how I wish it were already kindled: The expression how I wish it were already kindled means “I want very much for the fire to begin burning.” This implies that the fire had not yet begun. Another way to translate this is:
and I wish it were already burning (New Century Version)
If you made the meaning more explicit in 12:49a, you may need to do that here, as well. For example:
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