host

The Greek that is translated as “host” in English is translated in Elhomwe as enyumba yootthinddaanyerana or “owner” (of the feast). (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Luke 14:8)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 14:8:

  • Noongar: “‘When a person invites you to a wedding to eat and drink, you must not take the best seats. Perhaps, other people greater than you have been invited” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “He said: ‘If you (sing.) are called to go to a wedding feast, so not sit in the seats of honor. Perhaps there will be someone who was invited who is more honored than you (sing.).” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “‘If you are invited to a wedding, do not sit down in the seat for the important people. Perhaps there is someone more important than you invited.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “‘When we (dual) are invited to a feast, we must not first sit down in the good seats, because there might be somebody else who arrives whose rank is higher than us.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘If someone invites you (sing.) to join-in-eating, you (sing.) ought not to go join-in-sitting in the place-where-all-the-high-up people -sit lest someone has been invited who is higher than you (sing.). [Note: The only word for feast is unacceptable because it implies accompanying pagan practices. Thus the use of ‘join-in-eating,’ which does not specify the size of the gathering.]” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “‘Supposing someone invites you (sing.) to join in a wedding celebration, don’t choose a far from ordinary seat, for maybe there is someone invited who is more important than you.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 14:8 – 14:9

Exegesis:

hotan klēthēs hupo tinos eis gamous ‘when you are invited by somebody to a banquet.’ For gamos cf. on 12.36. The rendering ‘wedding-party’ is also possible though less probable.

mē kataklithēs eis tēn prōtoklisian ‘do not recline at the place of honour,’ or, somewhat simplified, ‘do not take the place of honour.’ For kataklinomai cf. on 7.36.

mēpote entimoteros sou ē keklēmenos hup’ autou (v. 9) kai elthōn ho se kai auton kalesas erei soi ‘lest (i.e. in order to avoid that) a more respected person than you be invited by him, and he who has invited (both) you and him, will come and say to you.’ Both clauses are modified by mēpote. The change from the usual subjunctive (ē keklēmenos) to the indicative (erei) does not constitute a change of meaning. The first clause describes a situation which, if it occurs, will cause the host to remove one from the place of honour. ho se kai auton kalesas is emphatic and stresses the fact that both have been invited by him. For entimos cf. on 7.2. For mēpote cf. on 4.11.

dos toutō topon ‘give place (i.e. your place) to this man.’

kai tote arxē meta aischunēs ton eschaton topon katechein ‘and then you will begin with disgrace to occupy the lowest place,’ no longer modified by mēpote. arxē denotes here the fact that he will find himself in a new and unexpected situation, cf. on 4.21. ton eschaton topon ‘the lowest place,’ i.e. the least honourable place, probably the place farthest away from the host.

aischunē ‘shame,’ ‘disgrace,’ ‘ignominy,’ i.e. not a feeling one has but an experience which comes to someone, and The Four Gospels – a New Translation, “to your shame”.

Translation:

When you are invited by any one, or, ‘when someone has invited you’ (cf. e.g. Tzeltal, Ekari, Kituba), or focussing on the result, i.e. the being a guest, ‘when you come as a guest.’

Marriage Feast, preferably, ‘banquet,’ see 12.36.

Sit down in a place of honour, or more generically, ‘take/occupy the place of honour,’ the exact attitude not being relevant.

Lest a more eminent man … be invited by him; (9) and he who invited you both will come …, or, to bring out that “lest” semantically goes with the second clause only, ‘lest, if a man … has been invited by him, (9) he … will come….’ Usually the sentence is better divided into two, e.g. ‘there might be somebody called … (9) Then the one who called you both would come…’ (Ekari, similarly Kituba, Good News Translation), cf. also ‘someone … might be caused to sit there. (9) The one who called you to eat, and him, “make a place for this other to sit down”, might say to you. Thus…’ (Tzeltal). More eminent, or, ‘higher’ (Sranan Tongo), ‘who (is) above you’ (Tae’), ‘surpassing you in importance/honour’ (Kituba). Invited by him, or otherwise expressed, ‘amongst his/the guests,’ or simply ‘present,’ because his being invited is clear from what follows. He who invited you both (or, “him as well as you”, The Four Gospels – a New Translation); or again, ‘his host and yours.’ Come, or, ‘come towards (or, approach) you,’ or, ‘enter (the house/room),’ implying that the host makes his entrance after those he invited have taken their places.

Give place to this man, or, ‘give this/your seat to this man’ (cf. New English Bible, Balinese), ‘you move on, this place (lit. here) will be used by this man’ (Javanese). The command may have to be softened, cf. e.g. “I am afraid you must” (Phillips, similarly in Balinese).

And then, or. ‘in that case,’ ‘consequently’ (e.g. in Batak Toba), introducing the expected result.

You will begin … to take, or, “you … would find yourself in occupation of” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation), cf. 13.25.

With shame, or, changing the phrase into a clause in different position, ‘which will cause you to be/feel ashamed,’ or, ‘and so you will be put to shame.’ For the term cf. 13.17.

Lowest place contrasts with “place of honour” in v. 7. Some locative renderings used are, ‘farthest place’ (i.e. farthest from the principal guests), ‘at the far end,’ ‘at the lower end (also called, the leg) of the table’ (Uab Meto), ‘place at the very back, or, towards the side end’ (West Nyanja versions), ‘last seat’ (Tzeltal), ‘downstream side’ (Balinese); functional renderings are “poorest/humblest place” (An American Translation, Phillips), ‘where the ordinary people sit’ (Shona 1966, similarly Pohnpeian), ‘place that surpasses in-not-having honour’ (Kituba).

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 14:8

14:8a

When you are invited to a wedding banquet: In Greek this clause is passive. If your language does not use passive verbs, you may want to use an active verb here. For example:

When someone invites you to a wedding feast (New International Version)

The context implies that when someone is invited to a feast, they will accept the invitation and attend the feast. In some languages it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

Suppose someone invites you to a wedding feast. ⌊When you arrive at the feast⌋…

you: In Greek Jesus used a singular form here. This implied that he was referring to any of his listeners. He wanted each of them to think about himself and his own actions. In some languages, it is natural for a person who gives advice in this kind of situation to use you(plur), we(dual), or we(incl). Use a pronoun that is appropriate for your own language throughout this section (14:8–10).

a wedding banquet: Among the Jews, when a man and a woman got married, their families held a feast to celebrate the wedding. Jesus may have specified a wedding banquet because such feasts were formal events at which guests were seated according to their importance. Jesus did not mean that his advice was limited only to wedding feasts. If that would be the implication in your language, you may use a more general expression. For example:

a feast
-or-
an important celebration

14:8b

do not sit in: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as do not sit in is literally “do not recline at.” See the note at 11:37c, where the same word occurs. Jesus advised them here that they should not choose to sit/recline in a place of honor. Another way to translate this is:

do not sit down in (Revised English Bible)

the place of honor: This same phrase is plural in 14:7a (“places of honor”). There was probably more than one place of honor at weddings as well. So you could also translate this phrase as:

one of the places of honor

14:8c–9

in case…Then…And: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as in case is more literally “lest.” Usually, it introduces a “negative purpose” (so that something would not happen). Here it introduces something bad that might happen to a guest if he did not follow Jesus’ advice in 14:8b. He might be shamed. For example:

lest a more eminent man than you be invited by him and he who invited you both will come and say to you “Give place to this man,” and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. (Revised Standard Version)

Two events that might happen were mentioned following the conjunctions “in case” and “Then.” The phrase “And in humiliation” introduces the result of these events. So another way to translate this is:

It could happen that someone more important than you has been invited, and your host, who invited both of you, would have to come and say to you, “Let him have this place.” Then you would be embarrassed and have to sit in the lowest place. (Good News Translation)

In the examples above and below, notice the conjunctions and verbs that are used in English. In some languages special verb forms, conjunctions, or affixes are used for situations like this. For example:

A more distinguished person than you may have been invited and the person who invited you both may come and say, “Give up your place to this man.” And then, to your embarrassment, you will have to go and take the lowest place. (New Jerusalem Bible)

Express this situation in a natural way in your language.

14:8c

someone more distinguished than you has been invited: The verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as has been invited is passive. If you need to use an active verb here and to supply a subject, the implied subject is “the host” (14:9a). For example:

It may be that ⌊the host⌋ has invited another person to the feast who is more important than you are.

someone more distinguished than you: The phrase someone more distinguished refers to a person of higher social status. Some other ways to translate it are:

Someone more important (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
a person whom ⌊people⌋ respect/honor more than you
-or-
a very prominent/eminent person

© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.