complete verse (Luke 13:30)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 13:30:

  • Noongar: “Then they who are last today, they will be first, and they who are first today, they will be last.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “At the end/finally, many people whose lives are small [i.e., humble] will have big lives [i.e., be important] in the future. And many people whose lives are big at this time will have small lives in the future.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “And look, there are some people who are last/behind now who will be ahead in the future, and there are some people who are ahead now who will be last/behind in the future.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “There are now some people whom you suppose mistakenly, who will be last of all because they are not fellow Jews. But when that day arrives, they will be first of all those whom God rules over. There are also some people today whom you suppose will be first of all, but then when that day arrives, they will be the ones who will be last of all.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “For there are those today who are low who will be made-high, and there are also those today who are high who will be made-low.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Well, think about this. There are people who, you thought-mistakenly, would be first in the kingdom of God because for a long time now they have known about him. Whereas the truth is, they will be too late, for they don’t want to believe-in/obey me. And there are others who, you thought-mistakenly, will be too late, for they have no awareness yet about God. Whereas the truth is, those others will get to be first, because when they have heard, they will believe-in/obey me.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 13:30

Exegesis:

kai idou ‘and behold,’ cf. on 1.20.

eisin eschatoi hoi esontai prōtoi ‘some are (now) last who will be first,’ i.e. when the kingdom comes. The clause refers to the people of v. 29.

eisin prōtoi hoi esontai eschatoi ‘some are (now) first who will be last.’ The people referred to are the Jews whom Jesus addresses.

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 13:30

13:30a

And indeed: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And indeed, literally “And behold,” introduces something that is important and also unexpected. It indicates that the listener should give it special attention. In this context, the unexpected statement that Jesus is about to make is also closely related to what he has just said about Jews and Gentiles. Consider whether there is an expression in your language that has a similar function.

This Greek phrase is not easy to translate into English. Some versions, such as the Revised Standard Version, translate it as “And behold.” Other versions, such as the New Jerusalem Bible, translate it as “Look.” Still other English versions, including the Good News Translation, do not translate it here. Other examples in English are:

Yes, and some who are now last… (Revised English Bible)
-or-
And note this: Some who seem… (New Living Translation (2004))

some who are last will be first: The expression some who are last will be first means that God will consider as very important many people whom others say are not important. In the context this includes Gentiles, whom the Jews considered as less important than themselves. It can also include any other people whom others do not honor or think important. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

Some who seem least important now will be the greatest then (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
There are those who have the lowest place in life now who will have the highest place in the future. (New Century Version)

last: The word last here means “last in importance” or “unimportant.” It does not primarily mean last in time or last in line, though it could include the idea that the Gentiles learned about God after the Jews.

first: The word first here means “important.” It refers to those whom God will favor and honor in his kingdom. It does not primarily refer to being first in time or place. However, it could include the idea that the Jews were the first to know about the true God and hear the gospel of Christ.

13:30b

and some who are first will be last: This expression is the opposite of 13:30a. It contains implied information from that verse part. In many languages it will be necessary to fill in the implied information. For example:

and ⌊there are those who are⌋ first now who will be last

Jesus meant that many people who have high status on this earth will have low status in God’s kingdom. God will not give them important positions, even though people considered them important on earth. Other ways to translate this expression are:

and some who are the greatest now will be least important then (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
And there are those who have the highest place now who will have the lowest place in the future (New Century Version)

You should translate this verse part using terms that correspond to those you used in 13:30a.

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