bill

The Greek that is translated as “bill” or similar in English is translated by the Panjabi in Persian script as ashtam. “Ashtam is derived from the English term ‘stamped’ (paper). The Indian Stamp Act was introduced in 1899 in order to collect revenue for the government. As a result, a stamped paper came to represent a legal document for any financial transactions. It could be produced in a court of law as a document of evidence. The stamped paper was commonly referred to as ashtam or ashtam paper among villagers in Punjab. The use of ashtam in context signaled the seriousness of the matter to readers and listeners — the shrewd manager was committing an illegal act by telling his master’s debtors to put false amounts on an ashtam paper in order to cause financial loss to his master. Although ashtam was an adapted loanword, its function and legal importance was understood by the people. The translators made a wise decision to use it in the translation.” (Source: Yousaf Sadiq in The Bible Translator 2021, p. 189ff.)

fat, oil

The different Hebrew and Greek terms that are translated as “(olive) oil” and “(animal) fat” in English are translated in Kwere with only one term: mavuta. (Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Luke 16:6)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 16:6:

  • Noongar: “‘100 containers of olive oil’, he said. The worker told him, ‘Here is your account. Sit down and write 50.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “That person answered: ‘Three thousand liters of oil.’ That servant said: ‘Here is your (sing.) letter of debt. Sit down, quickly write, just one thousand five hundred liters!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “‘One hundred cans (5 gallon size) of oil,’ he answered. Then he said to him, ‘Here is your account (receipt). Quickly sit down and write here fifty cans only.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And that one he asked answered, ‘A hundred cans of oil.’ And that servant said, ‘Here’s the list of the things you owe. Sit down here and change the list of the amount you owe to fifty cans only.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘One-hundred cans of vegetable-oil,’ he answered. ‘Here is your (sing.) receipt. Sit right down and write fifty,’ said that employee.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “The one he questioned answered, ‘It’s a big one,’ he said, ‘for it’s one hundred jars of oil.’ ‘Well, here is your piece-of-writing where your debt is written,’ said the manager. ‘Now sit down quickly and write what we (incl.) will exchange for it, only fifty being what you will write.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 16:6

Exegesis:

hekaton batous elaiou ‘a hundred bats of (olive) oil,’ with opheilō ‘I owe’ understood.

batos ‘bat,’ a Hebrew liquid measure of capacity, about 8 gallons, or 37 litres. 800 gallons of olive oil appears to be a great debt.

dexai sou ta grammata ‘take your bill,’ implying that the manager handed it to him.

grammata (also v. 7) plural, ‘written agreement,’ here ‘bill,’ ‘account.’

kathisas tacheōs grapson pentēkonta ‘sit down and write quickly fifty.’ tacheōs goes with both grapson and kathisas. grapson is best understood as referring to writing a new account.

Translation:

On hundred cf. 15.4. For “hundred” and “fifty” (here) and “hundred” and “eighty” (v. 7) Ekari has to say, ‘sixty’ and ‘thirty,’ ‘sixty’ and ‘fifty,’ respectively.

Measure, preferably to be rendered by the designation of a common local measure for liquids, e.g. “barrel” (Good News Translation), ‘jar’ (Bahasa Indonesia 1968), ‘jug’ (Batak Toba), ‘bottle’ (Tae’ 1933). Where the quantity designated considerably differs from that of Gr. batos, one may adjust the renderings of “hundred” and “fifty” in such a way that the sum total approximately agrees with the original.

Take, or, ‘here is,’ ‘this here (is),’ or whatever phrase is idiomatically used when handing over something.

Bill, or, ‘debt letter’ (some Indonesian languages), ‘paper on which your payment is written’ (Sranan Tongo), ‘evidence of your debt’ (Kekchi), ‘small paper of agreement’ (Shona 1963), ‘letter-to-acknowledge your-debt’ (Tae’).

Fifty. The measure may have to be added, e.g. ‘fifty barrels/jars’ (Sranan Tongo, Bahasa Indonesia 1968).

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.