complete verse (Luke 17:35)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 17:35:

  • Noongar: “Two women will be grinding [with stone] grain together. One woman will be taken and the other woman remain.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “Two women who are pounding rice together, one will be taken, the other will be left behind.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “There will be two women helping each other grinding, one will be taken and the other one left behind.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And in the same way also, if it’s day time when it happens, because if there are two women helping each other grinding grain, one will be able to accompany me and the other will be left behind.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “If there are also two women pounding (e.g. rice), one will be taken and one will be left.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “If daytime if when I come, maybe there will be two pounding(rice) together, but if they are not the same in being my people, one will be left, only one taken.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 17:35

Exegesis:

esontai duo alēthousai epi to auto ‘there will be two women grinding at the same place,’ because the mills are usually operated by two persons.

epi to auto ‘on the same spot,’ hence here ‘together.’

Translation:

Grinding may require the cereal as object, cf. e.g. “grinding corn” (New English Bible), or, the result, cf. e.g. ‘grinding meal’ (Good News Translation, Malay; and Pohnpeian, ‘rub flour’); in Toraja-Sa’dan the verb used is a derivation from ‘meal.’ A common cultural equivalent is ‘to pound rice’ (e.g. in Balinese, Kele). Sometimes a generic rendering is preferable, e.g. because grinding or pounding is not a daily task of women; hence ‘to work’ (Trukese).

Together, or, ‘at the same place,’ may be taken as referring to working the same instrument, e.g. ‘mill’ (The Four Gospels – a New Translation), or, ‘mortar/pounding-block,’ or to working two instruments at the same spot, as is normal e.g. in Shona and Fulah.

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 17:35

17:35a

Two women will be grinding grain together: This clause refers to grinding grain to make flour. Women placed grain on one flat millstone and placed another flat millstone on top of the grain. They rotated the top stone on the lower stone. This crushed the grain into flour. This was a normal activity for women to do. See the note on “millstone” in 17:2b. Here is another way to translate this:

There will be two women grinding grain together (NET Bible)

If people do not know about grinding grain in your area, you may want to use a more general phrase. For example:

Two women will be preparing food together

grain: The grain was probably wheat, or perhaps barley.

17:35b

one will be taken and the other left: This clause is basically the same as 17:34b. The difference is that the people here are women instead of two married people (or men). Be sure to use the proper forms in your language for referring back to women.

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