complete verse (Luke 12:57)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 12:57:

  • Noongar: “Why don’t you know the way of doing right?” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “‘Why do you still not make-clear your hearts and admit/confess what is true!” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Why can’t you think for yourselves as to what is fitting/right to do?” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Jesus said, ‘You don’t know what is the proper path to follow because your faith in God is just a pretense. It is much better if you believe today what I am teaching you, so that you might do as you do when for example, there is” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Jesus continued parabling, ‘You should think about the right thing for you to do.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Why don’t you stretch your mind/thinking, that you can judge what is good for you to do?” (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 12:57

Exegesis:

ti de kai aph’ heautōn ou krinete to dikaion ‘why then (is it) not of yourselves (that) you judge what is right?’ de kai serves to emphasize aph’ heautōn.

aph’ heautōn ‘of yourselves,’ i.e. ‘out of your own judgment,’ contrasting with the external signs of the time, or with being taught by Jesus or somebody else, preferably the latter.

to dikaion ‘what is right,’ i.e. ‘what you ought to do.’ It refers to the implication of vv. 58f (see below).

Translation:

You judge for yourselves, or, ‘you yourselves decide,’ ‘you take your own decision.’ The verb is used here in a non-legal context, but it anticipates the example given in v. 58, which is in a legal sphere; hence a term that is appropriate in both spheres is preferable, such as e.g. ‘to weigh/consider’ (Javanese), ‘take/give a decision’ (cf. Bahasa Indonesia).

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 12:57

12:57

And why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?: This is a rhetorical question. It functions as a rebuke. It indicates that the people themselves should think about what was happening and decide what was right. Jesus was rebuking them because they did not do that.

Some ways to translate this rebuke are:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

Why can’t you decide for yourselves what is right? (New Living Translation (2004))

• As a statement. For example:

You should judge for yourselves what is right.

Translate this rebuke in a way that is natural in your language.

judge for yourselves what is right: In this context the phrase judge for yourselves what is right probably refers back to 12:56. It indicates that the people should think about what was happening and decide the right way to interpret it. It probably also implies that they should decide what was right to do about it. The parable in 12:58–59 indicates that they should make peace with God.

Translate this phrase in a way that implies this meaning. In some languages you may need to add a phrase to make the meaning clear. For example:

think ⌊about this⌋ and decide for yourselves what is right
-or-
decide for yourselves what is the right ⌊thing to do in these times⌋

judge for yourselves: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as judge often refers to deciding what is right in court cases. In this context the phrase judge for yourselves indicates that the people themselves should think carefully about what was right. They should not rely only on what someone else told them.

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