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 14:9)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 14:9:

  • Noongar: “and your friend who invited you, he will come and say to you, ‘Give him your seat’. Then you will be shamed and you must go to the lowest seat.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “The houseowner will come and say to you (sing.) like this: ‘Give that seat to him!’ You will be embarrassed/ashamed going to sit in a seat in a low place.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “And then the host (lit. owner of the feast) will come and say to you, ‘Change your place. Let this person sit here.’ Then you will be ashamed and you will have to sit at the lower end of the table.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And the one who is giving the feast will say to us, ‘Let’s transfer because that place is for someone who is higher in rank than we are.’ And we will be very much ashamed then, if we have to be seated in a seat which is not as good.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Because when the higher-up person arrives, then the house-resident (i.e. host) will come to you (sing.) and say, ‘Please move-over so this-one can sit there.’ Surely that would be embarrassing, because you (sing.) will have to move-over to go join-in-sitting at the edge.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Well after you sit, the one who invited you will approach you, and he will say to you, ‘Go ahead, let this person sit down on this seat.’ Well, isn’t it so that you will be embarrassed being moved to where the insignificant are seated?” (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 14:9

14:9a–b

In 14:9a–b Jesus quoted what the host might say to a person who chose an important seat. In some languages it may be more natural to use indirect speech for this quotation. For example:

If that happens, the one who invited the two of you ⌊to join in the feast⌋ will go to you and ask you to let the other man sit in your place.

In this verse Jesus continued to use a singular form of “you” to refer to any of his listeners. You should continue to use the appropriate form in your language for this type of context. You may want to refer back to the note on “you” in 14:8a.

14:9a

Then: In Greek this verse begins with the conjunction that is often translated as “and.” It introduces what might happen if a more important guest arrived in 14:8. The Berean Standard Bible has translated this conjunction as Then as one natural way in English to express this connection. Use a natural way in your language to express this. See the note on 14:8c–9 for other suggestions.

the host who invited: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as host is literally “(one) having-invited.” It refers to the man who decided to give the feast and invite all the guests. The Berean Standard Bible has used the word host because that is an appropriate term in English. In other languages there may be different expressions to refer to this person. For example:

your host (Good News Translation)
-or-
the one who invited you (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
the house owner
-or-
the one who gave the feast

both of you: The phrase both of you means “you(sing) and the more distinguished guest.” Notice that these were not the only two guests. They were just two guests among many others.

will come and tell you: Languages use the verbs “come” and “go” in different ways. Consider whether it may be more natural in this context to say “will go to you.”

14:9b

Give this man your seat: In this context the clause Give this man your seat means “Let this man sit where you are sitting.” It indicates that the host will tell the person to move to a different seat so that the more distinguished guest can sit in the seat of honor.

Consider what a host in your language area would say in this situation. It may be necessary to use special polite expressions so that the host will not sound rude. For example:

Please move to a different place so that this man may sit in your chair.
-or-
Excuse me, please. You seem to be sitting in this gentleman’s seat. Would you sit in another place?

14:9c

And: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And is more literally “and then.” Some English versions, such as the Revised Standard Version, translate it that way. This phrase introduces the next thing that will happen to the less important guest as a result of what the host told him in 14:9b.

in humiliation: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as in humiliation is more literally “with shame.” Some English versions, such as the Revised Standard Version, translate it that way. In this context it implies that the first guest will feel embarrassed when he has to leave his good seat and take the least important one.

In some languages it may be more natural to translate the word humiliation as a noun or a verb in a separate sentence. Consider whether it will be more natural to place it at the beginning or the end of the verse. For example:

You will be embarrassed and will have to sit in the worst place. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
So you will have to transfer to the least important seat. This will make you feel very ashamed.
-or-
You will have to move to the lowest place. How shameful!
-or-
This will cause/give you much shame. You will have to get up and go sit in the seat where no one else wanted to sit.

you will have to take: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as you will have to take is more literally “you will begin to take.” Some English versions, such as the Revised Standard Version, translate it that way. The man will have to get out of the best seat and start to move down the table to the worst seat.

you: Here Jesus continued to refer to any of his listeners. Use an appropriate form to do this in your language. You may want to refer again to the note on 14:8a.

the last place: The phrase the last place probably refers to the seat farthest from the host. It implies that people were already seated in all the other places. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

• Use a similar descriptive phrase. For example:

the worst place (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
the last place (New Century Version)
-or-
the lowest place (Good News Translation)

If you cannot use a phrase such as the last place here in your language, you may be able to use a phrase such as “a very unimportant/low place.”

• Use a phrase in your language that refers to a seat where a person of low status would sit. For example:

whatever seat is left at the foot of the table (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
at the back/edge of the room

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