Translation commentary on Luke 18:29 – 18:30

Exegesis:

amēn legō humin ‘truly I say to you,’ cf. on 3.8 and 4.24.

oudeis estin hos aphēken … hos ouchi mē apolabē… ‘there is no one who has given up … who will not receive…’ oudeis estin … hos is equivalent to an emphatic oudeis: ‘absolutely no one.’ The clause hos aphēken…, subordinate to the main clause, has the function of a conditional clause.

adelphous ‘brothers,’ implying sisters.

heneken tēs basileias tou theou ‘for the sake of the kingdom of God,’ i.e. in order to serve the cause of the kingdom.

(V. 30) (oudeis) … hos ouchi mē apolabē ‘(no one) who will not receive….’ Together with, and because of the preceding oudeis, ouchi mē serves to express a strongly positive assertion, which is in the nature of a promise. For apolambanō cf. on 6.34.

pollaplasiona ‘many times as much,’ ‘many times more.’

en tō kairō toutō ‘in this time,’ en tō aiōni tō erchomenō ‘in the coming age.’

zōēn aiōnion ‘eternal life,’ cf. on 10.25.

Translation:

There is no man who has left … who will not receive, or, ‘everybody who has left (or, if a man has left…, he) will be sure to receive…’; cf. also on 9.24.

House … children, cf. on 14.26. Each or some of the terms used may obligatorily be possessed. For parents see on 2.27.

For the sake of the kingdom of God, or shifting to a verbal clause ‘in order that God may rule (the world/people).’

(V. 30) Receive, or “get back” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation), ‘receive in return’ (Thai), ‘come to have in return,’ ‘be given in exchange’ (Tzeltal).

Manifold more, or, ‘many times as much’: the idioms used in Fulah and Uab Meto lit. mean ‘pile surpassing in quantity,’ and ‘in layers,’ respectively. The ellipsis may have to be filled out, .’.. more than he has left’ (Shona 1966), .’.. more than all he had, or, than all his family and property.’

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 18:29

18:29a

Truly I tell you: Jesus also used this phrase at 18:17. Here the phrase emphasizes what Jesus was about to say to the disciples in 18:29b–30b. Other ways to translate it are:

I assure you that… (Good News Translation)
-or-
I can promise you that…
-or-
I can guarantee this truth: (God’s Word)

For more suggestions, see the notes on 18:17a.

Jesus replied: In the Greek text, this clause occurs before the words “Truly I tell you.” Place it where it is most natural in your language.

18:29b–30a

no one who has left…will fail to receive: The phrase no one who has left…will fail to receive is an emphatic way to say “anyone who has left…will certainly receive.” For example:

Anyone who gave up his home, wife, brothers, parents, or children…will certainly receive many times as much in this life… (God’s Word)

18:29b–c

has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God: Here Jesus implied that sometimes his disciples must leave their homes and families in order to serve God and his kingdom. In this context, leaving family members probably implies being away from them for a long time. Jesus’ disciples did this when they left their families to travel with Jesus. Sometimes people may also have to leave their family members in order to become people in God’s kingdom. This is especially true when family members oppose Jesus.

Some other ways to translate this are:

has left behind their homes or wives or brothers or parents or children in order to serve God as his king
-or-
has given up his home, wife, brothers, parents, or children to submit to God as his king

home: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as home can refer to any house. It can also refer to the family members who live in a person’s house.

brothers or parents or children: The word brothers includes all siblings, older and younger, male and female. The word parents refers to both mother and father. The word children refers to a person’s sons and daughters. Use appropriate kinship terms in your language.

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