Translation commentary on Luke 13:26

Exegesis:

tote arxesthe legein lit. ‘then you will begin to say.’ tote ‘then,’ i.e. when the master of the house has denied the relationship (v. 25). arxesthe indicates that the activity of those whom Jesus addresses takes a new turn in that they attempt to prove their relationship to the householder, cf. on 4.21.

ephagomen enōpion sou kai epiomen ‘we ate and drank in your presence,’ i.e. ‘we had fellowship with you at table,’ cf. on 5.30. enōpion sou goes with both verbs which form one expression. For enōpion cf. on 1.15.

en tais plateiais hēmōn edidaxas ‘you taught in our streets,’ i.e. in the streets of the towns in which we live, implicit reference to Jesus’ activity as a teacher.

Translation:

We ate and drank in your presence, preferably, ‘with you’; or, ‘we sat at table (or, had meals) with you’ (cf. New English Bible, Phillips); and cf. the note on 5.30.

In our streets, or, ‘in the roads/paths/trails of our towns and villages,’ ‘in our village-squares’ (cf. Kele, one West Nyanja version), ‘on the crossroads of our villages,’ or simply, ‘in our settlements’ (Tae’); cf. on 10.10.

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 13:26

13:26a

We ate and drank with you: The people whom the homeowner did not allow to come inside want to show him that they really do have a relationship with him. The first way they try to prove this is by saying that they have shared meals with him. In their culture that was a sign of friendship.

In some languages it is necessary to provide objects for ate and drank. If this is true in your language, use general words that can refer to various kinds of food and drink. In other languages, it may be more natural to use a term that implies both eating and drinking. For example:

We dined with you. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
We ate meals with you.

13:26b

you taught in our streets: This was a second way the people tried to show that the owner of the house did know them. They said that he had taught in the streets of the town (or towns) where they lived. In some languages it may be more natural not to specify “streets.” For example:

you taught in our town (Good News Translation)

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