eternal life

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The Greek that is translated in English as “eternal life” is translated in various ways:

Lloyd Peckham explains the Mairasi translation: “In secret stories, not knowable to women nor children, there was a magical fruit of life. If referred to vaguely, without specifying the specific ‘fruit,’ it can be an expression for eternity.”

See also eternity / forever and salvation.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Eternal Life in John .

teacher

The Greek that is translated as “teacher” (also: “master”) in English is translated in the 1941 Yiddish by Einspruch as rebe (רֶבּי) or “Rabbi” in an effort to identify Jesus as a teacher of the Jews. (Source: Naomi Seidmann in Elliott / Boer 2012, p. 151ff.)

Likewise, a number of Hebrew translations, including the 2018 and 2020 editions by the The Bible Society in Israel also use “Rabbi” (רַבִּי).

See also rabbi.

complete verse (Luke 18:18)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 18:18:

  • Noongar: “An important man of Judea, he asked Jesus, ‘Great Lord, what must I do to get eternal life?'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “One time, a Yahudi leader asked Yesus, he said: ‘Good teacher, what must I do so that I please receive eternal life?'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “One day a prominent Yahudi went to Isa asking him, he said, ‘Sir, you are a good person. What shall I do so that I will be given eternal life?'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “There was a time when one of the Jewish rulers asked Jesus, he said, ‘Hey, Chief — your works are very good. What shall I do so that I might be given life which has no end?'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “There was a leader of the Jews who said to Jesus, ‘Good Sir, what must I do so that I will have life that has no end?'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Once there was a man who had a position/responsibility in the town who questioned Jesus, saying, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do so that life which has no ending can be mine?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 18:18

Exegesis:

kai epērōtēsen tis auton archōn ‘a certain man of the ruling class asked him.’ For eperōtaō cf. on 2.46. archōn is used here in a general sense and denotes a person who belongs to the important and influential groups that have the ruling functions in society.

didaskale agathe ‘good teacher.’

ti poiēsas zōēn aiōnion klēronomēsō lit. ‘(by) doing what shall I inherit eternal life?,’ cf. on 10.25.

Translation:

Ruler, preferably, “a man of high standing” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation), ‘a prominent man’ (Leyden, Nieuwe Vertaling), un notable (Bible de Jérusalem).

Good Teacher, or shifting to an attributive clause, ‘teacher, you who are good.’ In this verse good is used in the sense of ‘kind,’ ‘generous,’ but in v. 19 it refers to moral perfection. Where one term covering both meanings is not available considerable difficulty may arise, since Jesus’ reply in v. 19 takes up the same term but gives it a slightly different meaning. It may then be possible, however, to qualify the term in v. 18, e.g. ‘good of heart,’ i.e. kind (Batak Toba), but to use it without qualification and in a more absolute sense in v. 19. If this also proves impossible, the term for moral goodness, or perfection, is best used in both verses.

Inherit eternal life, see on 10.25 and references.

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 18:18

Section 18:18–30

It is hard for rich people to enter God’s kingdom

The theme of this section is similar in some ways to the theme of the preceding section. In both sections Jesus talked about entering the kingdom of God. This section also contrasts with the preceding one. In that section the children represent humble people who easily depend on God and welcome his rule/reign. The ruler in this section represents people who are rich and powerful. It is very difficult for such people to welcome God’s reign and submit to it.

The ruler asked Jesus how he could obtain eternal life. Jesus told him to obey God’s commands. Among the Jews, this was a well-known answer to the question of how to obtain eternal life. The ruler said that he had obeyed God’s commands since he was a child. Then Jesus told him to sell what he had, give the money to the poor, and become his disciple. But the ruler valued his riches too much to do that. Then Jesus said that it is very hard for rich people to enter God’s kingdom.

At the end of the section Jesus promised that people who left their possessions and family behind to serve him would receive great rewards.

Other examples of headings for this section are:

Jesus taught that riches make it difficult to obtain eternal life
-or-
A Rich Man’s Question (New Century Version)
-or-
The rich young man (New Jerusalem Bible)

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 19:16–30 and Mark 10:17–31.

Paragraph 18:18–22

18:18a

Then: The events in this section happened sometime after the events in 18:15–17. The Greek text does not indicate how much time passed between these two events. In some languages, it is natural to introduce a section with a time word or phrase. If this is true in your language, use an expression here that is not too specific. For example, the Berean Standard Bible translates the Greek conjunction that begins this verse as Then. Another way to translate this is:

After that

In other languages, a time word or phrase is not necessary. Introduce this event in a natural way in your language.

a certain ruler: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as ruler refers here to a Jewish leader. This leader may have been an official of a local synagogue. He was not one of the Roman political rulers. Other ways to translate the word are:

An important man (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
A Jewish leader (Good News Translation)

In some languages there may be a special way to introduce this ruler at the beginning of this event. For example:

There was a leader of the Jews who…

Introduce him in a natural way in your language.

asked Him: The pronoun Him refers to Jesus. In some languages it may be helpful to use his name here at the beginning of the section. For example:

asked Jesus (Good News Translation)

Good Teacher: The ruler addressed Jesus as Good Teacher to show respect for him. In this context the phrase Good Teacher refers to a teacher who is morally good, upright, or holy. It does not refer to his ability to teach well.

In some languages it may not be natural to use a description like “good” as part of a person’s title when you are speaking to that person. If that is true in your language, you may want to put the word “good” in a different phrase. For example:

Teacher, you are a good person.

Teacher: The word Teacher was a polite title for a Jewish religious leader. It was a title of respect for a Jewish man who had authority to teach other people things about God and his commands. In some languages the appropriate way to address a religious teacher may be:

Honored Teacher
-or-
Sir
-or-
Master

The term does not refer to a person who taught children in school.

18:18b

what must I do to inherit eternal life?: Here the ruler was asking what religious duty or deed he should perform in order to receive eternal life. Some other ways to translate this are:

…what must I do to have eternal life? (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
…what ⌊deed⌋ should I do so that I may live eternally?

to inherit: In this context, the word inherit means “receive, obtain” in a general sense. It does not refer to receiving a person’s property after he dies. Another way to translate this is:

so that I may receive

The context implies that the ruler wanted to receive eternal life from God. In some languages, it may be necessary to say from whom the man expected to obtain eternal life. If that is true in your language, you may need to supply the information that it is God who gives that life. For example:

so that ⌊God⌋ will give me eternal life

In 10:25, a law expert asked the same question.

eternal life: The word eternal refers to something that does not end. The phrase eternal life refers to life in heaven with God. This life continues forever. Some ways to translate this are:

unending life
-or-
life that never ends

In some languages, a literal translation of eternal life would wrongly mean that the man hoped to live forever on earth without dying. If that is true in your language, it may be necessary to supply some implied information. For example:

unending life ⌊in heaven⌋
-or-
to live forever ⌊with God⌋ ⌊after I die⌋

In some languages, it may be best to translate life as a verb. For example:

to live eternally/forever
-or-
so that ⌊God will cause me⌋ to live forever ⌊in heaven⌋

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