Translation commentary on Luke 15:27

Exegesis:

ho adelphos sou hēkei ‘your brother has come,’ stating the situation that caused the event mentioned in the next clause.

kai ethusen ho patēr sou ton moschon ton siteuton ‘and (therefore) your father has killed the fatted calf.’ Note the shift from perfective present tense (hēkei) to aorist denoting a punctiliar act.

hoti hugiainonta auton apelaben ‘because he has got him back safe and sound.’ hugiainonta (cf. on 5.31) is emphatic by position. For apolambanō cf. on 6.34.

Translation:

Brother, or, ‘younger brother.’

Has killed. The father certainly was not the direct agent (cf. v. 23); hence, ‘has had killed,’ ‘has ordered (us, exclus.) to slaughter’ may be preferable.

He has received him, or, “he has (gotten) him back” (An American Translation, New English Bible), ‘he has met again with the son’ (Javanese, where the use of the pronoun would sound impolite), does not imply an activity on the part of the father; hence one may shift to, ‘he, or, his son has been given back to him, or, has been found/met again’ (Balinese, Sundanese), ‘he has returned’ (Ekari).

Safe and sound, or, “alive and well” (An American Translation); and cf. “well” in 5.31.

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 15:27

15:27a

Your brother has returned: The word brother refers here to the younger brother. The verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as has returned is literally “is here/present.” Other ways to translate this verb are:

has come home (God’s Word)
-or-
has returned/arrived

he said: The Berean Standard Bible has placed the phrase he said in the middle of what the servant said. In Greek this phrase occurs at the beginning of the verse. You should place it where it is natural in your language.

15:27b

and: The conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as and introduces what the father did because his son returned home. Another way to translate this is:

So (God’s Word)

your father has killed the fattened calf: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as your father has killed the fattened calf means that the father had given orders to the servants and they had killed the fattened calf. One way to make this information explicit is:

your father ordered us to kill the best calf (Contemporary English Version)

fattened calf: See the note on 15:23a.

15:27c

because he has him back: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as he has him back means “he has received/gotten him back” or “he has been reunited with him.”

him: The pronoun him refers back to “your brother” in 15:27a.

safe and sound: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as safe and sound means “healthy” and refers to being in good bodily health.

In some languages it may be difficult to translate the idea of getting a person back in good health. Some English versions have made the reference to the father implicit in this part of the verse. For example:

your brother came home safely (New Century Version)
-or-
to celebrate your brother’s safe return (God’s Word)

Other ways to translate this idea are:

your brother has rejoined him and nothing bad has happened to him
-or-
he has come home to him without harm

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