complete verse (Luke 13:27)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 13:27:

  • Noongar: “But then he will say, ‘I don’t know you. I do not know that place, where you come from. Go away, all you evil people!'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “‘He will say to you: ‘I do not know you or where you are from. Go away from here, you who all have evil behavior.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But he will say to you, ‘I tell you, I really do not know where you are from. Go away from me, all you who do bad.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And he will answer you, ‘I really don’t know who you are or where you come from. As for you whose customs are evil, get away from here.”” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But he will again say, ‘I emphatically don’t know you and where you are from. Get-away-from there (near listener), all of you who do evil!'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “The Lord will reply, saying, ‘I really don’t acknowledge you as my companions. Go far away from me, all of you doers of evil!'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

2nd person pronoun with low register (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 second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.

In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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. )

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.

Translation commentary on Luke 13:27

Exegesis:

kai erei legōn humin ‘and he will say to you.’ Revised Standard Version does not follow GOOD NEWS BIBLE in that it reads: kai erei, Legō humin. The participle legōn as usual introduces direct speech though it has the same meaning as erei.

ouk oida [humas] pothen este ‘I do not know where you come from,’ emphatic repetition of v. 25.

apostēte ap’ emou ‘go away from me,’ ‘withdraw from me.’

pantes ergatai adikias ‘all you workers of wickedness,’ indicating the reason for their rejection. ergatēs (cf. on 10.2) is used here in a neutral sense, ‘doer,’ ‘one who does’ and its colour is determined by the following substantive.

adikia ‘wickedness,’ ‘unrighteousness.’

Translation:

Depart from me, or, ‘(get) away from me’ (cf. Good News Translation, The Four Gospels – a New Translation), “out of my sight” (New English Bible); comparable idioms e.g. in Balinese (lit. ‘away go-off’).

All you workers of iniquity, i.e. “all evil-doers” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation), ‘all you customarily bad-doing people’ (Ekari); or, shifting from address to causal clause, ‘for all of you have done evil.’

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 13:27

13:27a

And he will answer: There is a textual issue here:

(1) Some Greek manuscripts have literally, “he will say, saying to you” or “he will say to you” to introduce the homeowner’s answer to the people. For example:

But he will say, “I do not know…” (New Revised Standard Version)

(New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, God’s Word, New Century Version, New Jerusalem Bible, NET Bible, Contemporary English Version)

(2) Other Greek manuscripts have literally, “he will say, ‘I tell you….’” The clause “I tell you” (or “I say to you”) is part of the homeowner’s answer to the people. For example:

But he will say, “I tell you, I do not know…” (Revised Standard Version)

(Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version, King James Version, New American Standard Bible, Revised English Bible, New Living Translation (2004), Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

It is recommended that you follow option (1). It is supported by some of the earliest manuscripts.

The first part of the reply is the same as in 13:25d. Because of this, it may be natural in some languages to supply a word such as “again.” For example:

But he will say again (Good News Translation)

I tell you, I do not know where you are from: This is the same answer as was given in 13:25d. The repetition emphasizes the owner’s disagreement with the people’s claim that they know him. In some languages, it may be more natural to indicate this emphasis by a word such as “really” or a phrase such as “I assure you.” For example:

I really don’t know who you are! (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
I tell you, I do not know anything about you!

13:27b

Depart from me: The expression Depart from me means “Leave me” or “Go away from me.” The homeowner was rejecting the people who asked him to let them in. He refused to have anything to do with them.

all you evildoers: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as you evildoers means “you who do evil.” These people regularly or habitually did what was wrong.

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