Translation commentary on Luke 15:1

Exegesis:

ēsan de autō eggizontes pantes hoi telōnai kai hoi hamartōloi ‘now all the tax-collectors and sinners were drawing near to him.’ No connexion as to time and place with 14.25-35 is indicated and it is preferable to leave that connexion undefined. The periphrastic form esan … eggizontes is best understood as referring to a specific occasion. pantes may refer to all tax-collectors and sinners of a specific place, or may be used hyperbolically and mean ‘very many,’ preferably the latter. For telōnēs cf. on 3.12; for hamartōlos cf. on 5.8. The repetition of the article hoi before hamartōloi suggests that Luke does not consider the tax-collectors and sinners as one group, as contrasted with inarticulate hamartōlous in v. 2.

akouein autou ‘in order to hear him (speak),’ ‘to listen to him.’

Translation:

Now, or, “one time” (Good News Translation), cf. 1.57.

The tax collectors and sinners, preferably, ‘(both) the tax-collectors (see 3.12) and the sinners’ (cf. Exegesis).

To draw near, or, ‘to approach,’ ‘to come towards him’; or here, since they were many, “to crowd up, or, in” (An American Translation, New English Bible).

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 15:1

Section 15:1–7

Jesus told a parable about a man looking for his lost sheep

In Luke 15 Jesus welcomed sinful people, and many listened to him. However, the Pharisees criticized Jesus for welcoming people like that. Then Jesus told the three parables in this chapter. Each parable tells about something that was lost and the joy of the one who found it. The things that were lost represent sinful people. They need help to be restored to God. The parables illustrate that God feels great joy when even one sinful person repents and is restored to a good relationship with him. In the Notes each parable will be described in a separate section.

The parable in this section is about a sheep that went away from its shepherd. The sheep did not know how to find the shepherd again. When the shepherd noticed that this one sheep was missing, he searched for it diligently until he found it. He then invited his friends and neighbors to rejoice with him that he had found the lost sheep. Another heading for this section is:

The Lost Sheep (God’s Word)
-or-
A shepherd was happy to find his lost sheep

There is a parallel passage for this section in Matthew 18:12–14. However, the context and some of the details are different.

Paragraph 15:1–2

15:1a–b

Now: In this context the Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Now introduces a new event and a new topic. It is not a time word here. Introduce the topic in a natural way in your language.

all the tax collectors and sinners: The terms tax collectors and sinners refer to people who were known to be sinful. Many Jews refused to associate with such people. See how you translated this phrase in 7:34.

It is clear from 15:2 that tax collectors were included among those who were called “sinners.” In some languages it may be necessary to indicate this connection. For example:

tax collectors and other notorious sinners (New Living Translation (2004))

all: In this context the word all emphasizes that very many tax collectors and other sinners gathered around Jesus. It probably does not indicate that every sinner came. In some languages it may be more natural to make this clear. For example:

many tax collectors and sinners

tax collectors: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as tax collectors refers to Jewish men who collected taxes from their fellow Jews for the government. Ordinary Jews despised them because:

(1) Tax collectors worked for a government that oppressed the people.

(2) Tax collectors often cheated the people by collecting more money than the law required and keeping the extra money for themselves.

If you do not have a word in your language for “tax collectors,” some other ways to describe them are:

men who collected taxes/payment for the government
-or-
men who were paid by rulers to collect money for them from people

See how you translated tax collectors in 3:12a. You may also want to include a footnote in your translation to help readers understand why most Jews hated tax collectors.

sinners: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sinners refers to people who habitually disobey God or do not do what he wants them to do. In this context sinners refers to people whom the Pharisees thought were especially sinful. The New International Version uses quote marks to indicate that the people had a reputation for being more sinful than others. Some ways to translate sinners here are:

people who ⌊habitually⌋ sin
-or-
people who do not obey God
-or-
wrongdoers

The word sinners also occurs in 5:30b.

were gathering around to listen to Jesus: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as were…gathering around means “were approaching” or “were coming near.” The people were coming nearer to Jesus so that they could listen to his teaching. Other ways to translate this are:

were…crowding in to listen to him (Revised English Bible)
-or-
were coming near Him to listen to Him (New American Standard Bible)

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