lame

The Greek that is translated as “lame” in English is translated in various ways:

complete verse (Luke 14:13)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 14:13:

  • Noongar: “When you prepare your feast day, invite other people, poor people and disabled and lame and blind,” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “So if we make a feast, call the poor people, the crippled, the lame and the blind.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But if you make a feast invite the poor ones, the deformed ones, the lame ones and the blind ones.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “However, when you give a feast, the ones you should invite are the poor and the crippled and the lame and the blind.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The way you (sing.) should do it is, invite also the poor, the cripples, the lame, and the blind,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Therefore when you prepare a big feast, who you are to invite are the poor, those with defects in their body, the lame and the blind.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 14:13 – 14:14

Exegesis:

all’ hotan dochēn poiēs ‘but when you give an entertainment.’ For dochē cf. on 5.29. Here it takes up in a general way ariston and deipnon (v. 12).

kalei ptōchous, anapeirous, chōlous, tuphlous ‘invite the poor, the cripple, the lame, the blind,’ not intended as an exhaustive enumeration but as illustration of explicit or implicit social handicaps. For ptōchos cf. on 4.18. For chōlos cf. on 7.22.

anapeiros (also v. 21) ‘crippled,’ ‘cripple’ (subst.).

(V. 14) kai makarios esē ‘and you will be blessed,’ scil. if you do that. For makarios cf. on 1.45.

hoti ouk echousin antapodounai soi ‘because they have not (the means) to repay you,’ i.e. ‘they cannot repay you.’

antapodidōmi ‘to repay,’ ‘to reward’ (cf. antapodoma in v. 12).

antapodothēsetai gar soi lit. ‘for it will be repaid to you,’ i.e. ‘for you will be repaid.’ The agent is God.

en tē anastasei tōn dikaiōn ‘at the resurrection of the righteous, or, the just.’ For anastasis cf. on 2.34.

Translation:

For the blind see 4.18.

Maimed, or, ‘mutilated,’ covering an area of reference in which lame (see 7.22) is included; also rendered, ‘having a bodily defect’ (Javanese), ‘deformed’ (Toraja-Sa’dan), ‘missing a limb’ (Balinese).

(V. 14) You will be blessed, or, ‘happy,’ see 1.45.

Because they cannot repay you, or, ‘they cannot do-to you things that you have done-to them’ (Kituba), expresses the reason of the preceding statement in negative terms, the next clause does the same in positive terms: what the poor etc. are not able to do now God will do in a more splendid way at the resurrection; hence, the two clauses are sometimes more closely connected, e.g. ‘because they cannot repay you, but you will be repaid (cf. New English Bible, Phillips, Malay, Batak Toba), or, but God will repay you.’ Since at its third occurrence to repay has another nuance of meaning, pointing beyond the human sphere, a different rendering may be required.

At the resurrection of the just, or, ‘when the righteous arise from death’ (Thai 1967) ‘when those people who righteous they-will live-up (i.e. return to life)’ (Trukese, Pohnpeian). The just, or, ‘the just/righteous ones,’ or, sometimes, ‘the righteous dead ones,’ ‘the dead ones that have been righteous’; and cf. the references on “righteous” in 1.6.

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 14:13

14:13a

But when you host a banquet, invite: This part of the verse gives the advice that corresponds to the negative advice given in 14:12b–c. It begins with a conjunction that indicates contrast. The Berean Standard Bible translates the conjunction as But. Several English versions say “Instead.” Other versions, such as the Good News Translation, make the contrast implicit.

In some languages it may sound redundant to repeat this clause, when it is so similar to 14:12b. If that is true in your language, you may want to leave some of this information implicit, for example:

Instead, invite… (New Living Translation (2004))

As in 14:12c, the Greek form of the verb invite used here implies habitual or customary action. Consider whether you have a natural way to indicate that in your language here.

banquet: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as banquet refers to any large feast or dinner party. The word you use in your translation should include both meals mentioned in 14:12b. If you used a general term such as “meal” in that verse, you may translate the word in the same way here. No distinction is intended between the words used in 14:12b and the word “banquet” used here.

14:13b

the poor: The word poor here refers to people who own few things and have little or no money.

the crippled: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as crippled refers to people who have lost the use of some part of their body or who are missing a body part. Some other ways to translate this are:

the maimed (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
those having a bodily defect
-or-
those missing a limb

14:13c

the lame: The word lame refers to people who cannot walk properly. There is something wrong with one or both legs.

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