Translation commentary on Luke 1:53

Exegesis:

peinōntas eneplēsen agathōn ‘hungry people he has filled with good things.’

peinaō ‘to be hungry,’ here in a figurative sense, as shown by agathōn and by the contrasting ploutountas in the next clause. The omission of the article before peinōntas (as compared with hoi peinōntes in 6.21) shows that no special group or class of people is referred to.

empimplēmi (also 6.25) ‘to fill’ or ‘to satisfy’; both meanings are possible here.

kai ploutountas exapesteilen kenous ‘and rich people he has sent away empty.’

plouteō (also 12.21) ‘to be rich.’

exapostellō ‘to send away’; in Luke the verb occurs always with the adjective kenos ‘empty,’ and is construed with an accusative of object and a predicative accusative; the former indicates who is sent away and the latter indicates in what state.

kenos (also 20.10f) ‘empty,’ of persons ‘empty-handed.’

Translation:

He has filled the hungry with good things, i.e. he gives the hungry plenty of good things; where ‘hungry’ cannot have the extended meaning required here one may have to shift to, ‘he gives to those in want plenty of goods,’ ‘he satisfies with what is good the poor’ (Tboli), ‘the needy are filled with treasures’ (Sundanese). Sranan Tongo has here, ‘the hungry-belly people’; in Toraja-Sa’dan the etymology of the term is ‘not-satiated.’

Rich (also in 6.24; 12.16, 21; 14.12; 16.1, 19, 21f; 18.23, 25; 19.2; 21.1) is in some cases rendered by a derivation of ‘to-be(-available)’ (Tae,’ similarly Navajo, Apache), or, ‘to-be-strong/firm/secure’ (another Apache dialect); a possible descriptive rendering is ‘having much property/money,’ ‘having plenty.’

Has sent empty away, or, ‘sends away with empty hands,’ or, ‘without anything’ (Ekari), ‘carrying nothing’ (Tagalog), ‘just as he is’ (Navajo), ‘smooth (i.e. with nothing on them)’ (Apache), ‘hands and hands’ (Kongo), cf. ‘holding his own hands (i.e. with nothing but his own hands)’ (Punu); or, ‘sent-straight-forward-away,’ implying that the person can take nothing with him (Sediq).

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.

Translation commentary on Luke 15:2 – 15:3

Exegesis:

diegogguzon ‘grumbled,’ presumably in Jesus’ presence.

diagogguzō (also 19.7) ‘to murmur,’ ‘to grumble,’ synonymous with gogguzō (cf. on 5.30).

hoi te Pharisaioi kai hoi grammateis ‘the Pharisees and the experts in the law,’ cf. on 5.17 and 21. By te … kai they are represented as belonging very closely together.

houtos ‘this man,’ contemptuously.

hamartōlous prosdechetai ‘welcomes sinners,’ i.e. into his company. For the inarticulate hamartōlous cf. on v. 1.

sunesthiei autois ‘and eats with them,’ presumably at their invitation and in their homes.

(V. 3) eipen de pros autous tēn parabolēn tautēn ‘then he told them this parable,’ i.e. as an answer to their grumbling. Strictly speaking Jesus does not tell them one parable, but two parables in question-form, which closely resemble each other and from which the same application is drawn in vv. 7 and 10.

Translation:

Murmured, cf. on 5.30.

For receives see 9.5. In this context Sranan Tongo has: ‘sides (lit. keeps/holds) with,’ Bible en français courant: fait bon accueil à.

For eats with them see 7.36; for parable see 8.4.

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 15:3

Paragraph 15:3–7

15:3

Then: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then introduces what Jesus said when the religious leaders criticized him. Many English versions translate it as “So.” Some versions do not use a conjunction here. Connect this paragraph to the preceding one in a natural way in your language.

parable: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as parable is a general word that describes different types of wise speech. This includes symbolic stories, metaphors, proverbs, illustrations, and wise sayings. Here Jesus used the word to refer to a story or illustration that answered the complaints of the Jewish leaders.

Some other ways to translate parable in this context are:

illustration (God’s Word)
-or-
story (New Living Translation (2004))

The word parable first occurs in Luke at 5:36a.

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