complete verse (Luke 18:23)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 18:23:

  • Noongar: “But this man, when he heard that, he became very sad, because he had much property.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “When he heard those words, he was sad, because he was very rich.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When he heard those words of Isa, he was very sad for he was very rich.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when the person heard Jesus’ advice, his breath became very painful (he was very sorrowful) because he had much wealth.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When he heard that-aforementioned which Jesus had said, he was greatly sad, because he was extremely rich.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When that person heard, he was really grieved, for he was extremely-wealthy.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 18:23

Exegesis:

perilupos egenēthē ‘he became very sad.’ egenēthē is best understood as ingressive aorist. perilupos.

ēn gar plousios sphodra ‘for he was very rich.’ sphodra ‘very’ modifies plousios though placed after it.

Translation:

He was very rich, or, ‘he was a very rich man.’

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 18:23

Paragraph 18:23–25

18:23a

But when the ruler heard this, he became very sad: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as when the ruler heard this is literally “having-heard these things.” As in 18:22a, in some languages it may not be natural to say the ruler heard here because it is already obvious from the context. If that is true in your language, you may leave it implied. You may also choose not to translate the Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But. For example:

These words caused him to feel very sad
-or-
Jesus’ response/answer made him very sad
-or-
When/After Jesus said that, he was very sad

he became very sad: The words very sad here indicate that he was distressed and grieved. The man was sad because he did not want to give away what he owned. He thought that it was too hard to do what Jesus had said.

In some languages there may be an idiom to express this. For example:

his heart sank (Revised English Bible)

18:23b

because he was extremely wealthy: The conjunction because introduces the reason why the ruler felt sad. However, there is some implied information here. The man did not want to sell all that he had because he loved his possessions. In some languages it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

because ⌊he did not want to give away⌋ his great wealth
-or-
because ⌊it was hard for him to think of selling⌋ his many valuable possessions

he was extremely wealthy: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as he was extremely wealthy indicates that he owned many valuable things. These may have included houses, land, and animals as well as other possessions. Other ways to translate this are:

he was very rich (God’s Word)
-or-
he had many possessions

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