if salt has lost its taste

The Greek that is translated “if salt has lost its taste (or “saltiness”)?” or similar in English is translated in Amele as “if salt’s bitterness stings” (source: John Roberts), in Mairasi as “if that salt becomes watery” (source: Enggavoter 2004), and i8n the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) as “even if it would be possible for it to lose its taste.”

John Roberts comments on the nature of the salt in question in this article : “Jesus says salt can lose its salty taste and when it does it is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out. ‘You are the salt of the earth’ in Mat 5.13 is a metaphor. In this metaphor, ‘You’ (the disciples of Jesus) is the tenor and ‘salt of the earth’ is the vehicle of the metaphor. The metaphor applies the properties of salt to the disciples. When Jesus spoke this metaphor the salt (ἅλας) referred to was not pure sodium chloride. It was dug out of the ground mixed with other materials. The salt used in the area mostly came from mines around the Dead Sea and material extracted from that area demonstrates these same properties today. This ‘salt’ was used as seasoning or fertilizer, or as a preservative. However, when exposed to the elements, the sodium chloride in this ‘salt’ would leach out and leave only the sediment or impurities behind. What was left was good for nothing, except that it was used to place in paths, or walks, as we use gravel today. (See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_5:13 ). These are the properties of ‘salt’ that Jesus applies metaphorically to his disciples.”

complete verse (Luke 14:34)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 14:34:

  • Noongar: “This salt is no good for growing food, and no good for the soil. You must throw this salt out. Listen then, if you have ears!'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Noongar: “‘Salt is good, but if salt does not taste like salt, you cannot make this salt become good again.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “‘Salt has many uses. But if its saltiness changes so that it is no longer salty, what then can make it salty?” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Isa parabled again, he said, ‘You know that salt is really good. But when the salt has no more taste, it cannot become salty again.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Then Jesus told a parable because he wanted to let people understand that being his disciple is like salt. He said, ‘Salt is good because it makes food taste good; however, if salt has lost its flavor, there’s no way that you can bring back its flavor.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Jesus parabled again saying, ‘Salt has a use, but if it becomes-insipid, it is emphatically not possible to return its saltiness (lit. bitterness).” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Jesus added on saying, ‘That one who wants to submit to me but he won’t submit all he has to my control, he is like salt which is no longer salty. For as for salt, its usefulness is big. But if it is no longer salty, how can it again be made salty?” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 14:34

Exegesis:

kalon oun to halas ‘salt is good.’ oun is difficult to interpret as to its reference, and best left untranslated.

halas ‘salt,’ here probably referring to discipleship.

ean de kai to halas mōranthē ‘but if even the salt becomes tasteless.’

mōrainō in the passive ‘to become tasteless,’ ‘to lose strength/flavour.’

en tini artuthēsetai ‘with what can it (i.e. the salt) be seasoned?.’ artuō.

Translation:

Jesus concludes by referring to a general truth, leaving it to his hearers to draw the inference; this may make advisable the use of some such introductory expression as, ‘remember,’ ‘you all know.’

Salt is good; but if …, or, ‘even though salt is good, if….’

Has lost its taste, or, ‘no longer has its taste/flavour,’ ‘has become insipid’ (Bahasa Indonesia, using the opposite of ‘salt-ish’), “loses its strength” (An American Translation, similarly Tae’); in Sranan Tongo the idiom is, ‘becomes dead.’

How shall its saltness be restored?, or, ‘how will it be given flavour again?,’ ‘how can it be made salt/salt-ish again?,’ ‘what will you take to awaken/raise it again?’ (Sranan Tongo); or as a statement, “there is no way to make it good again” (Good News Translation). If an active construction has to be used, the subject can best be ‘people,’ or, ‘we’ (inclusive).

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 14:34

Paragraph 14:34–35

In this paragraph Jesus used a figure of speech. He compared the disciples to salt, but he did not mention them explicitly. One way to indicate that Jesus was using a figure of speech is to add a separate section heading for this paragraph. A suggested heading is:

Jesus compared his disciples to salt

Parallel verses occur in Matthew 5:13 and Mark 9:50.

14:34a

If you decide to begin a new section here, you may want to indicate that Jesus was still speaking. For example:

⌊Jesus then told them a parable. He said⌋

If you do not have a separate section heading, a quote introduction like the one above may help to clarify that Jesus was speaking about salt figuratively, not literally.

Salt is good: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as good can also mean “useful.” Salt is useful or valuable because it makes food taste good and it stops food from rotting. Since there is more than one possible use for salt, you should avoid specifying only one use in your translation. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

Salt is a good thing (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
There are good uses for salt
-or-
Salt is useful/valuable

14:34b–c

but if the salt loses its savor, with what will it be seasoned?: This is a rhetorical question. It emphasizes the fact that it certainly cannot become salty again. Some ways to emphasize this fact are:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

But if salt loses its flavor, how can it be restored?
-or-
But if it loses its saltiness, is there a way to make it salty again? ⌊No! It is not possible!⌋

• As a statement. For example:

but if it loses its saltiness, there is no way to make it salty again (Good News Translation)
-or-
but salt that loses its flavor certainly cannot become salty again
-or-
but if it loses its taste/strength, it is definitely not possible to cause its taste/strength to return

14:34b

but if the salt loses its savor: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as loses its savor is literally “becomes tasteless.” It refers to salt that has stopped having a salty flavor. This expression can be difficult to translate. The word “loses” may not fit in this context. The taste of salt is also expressed in many different ways. Some other ways to translate this expression are:

if its saltiness is removed
-or-
if it no longer has its taste/flavor
-or-
if it has become insipid/tasteless
-or-
if its strength is gone

Use a natural expression in your language.

14:34c

with what will it be seasoned?: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as will…be seasoned is passive. Some other ways to translate this passive are:

• Make it active and supply a subject that can refer to any person. For example:

how will you restore its flavor? (God’s Word)

• Use a causative. For example:

it is definitely not possible to cause its taste/strength to return

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