making implicit plural form explicit (Luke 18:35)

In many, if not most of the languages in the Philippines, proper nouns, such as personal names, are tagged with a marker that signals their grammatical role within a sentence. For Tagalog and the Visayan languages , this typically includes si to mark the proper noun as the actor or subject (nominative case), ni to mark the proper noun as an owner (genitive case), and kay to mark the proper noun as as an indirect object, i.e. the one to or toward whom an action is directed (dative case). All of these also have plural forms — sina, nina and kina respectively — and unlike in the biblical languages or in English, the plural form has to be used when only a single proper name is mentioned but implicitly that proper name includes more than just one.

In this verse, where English translates “he (approached),” the Tagalog translation translates “sina Jesus” because the context of the text makes clear that Jesus approached together with his disciples. (Source: Kermit Titrud and Steve Quakenbush)

Jericho

The name that is transliterated in English as “Jericho” means “city of the moon,” “a fragrant place.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a sign that alludes to the walls of Jericho coming tumbling down (see Joshua 6:20). (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)


“Jericho” in Hungarian Sign Language — note that only the first part refers to “Jericho,” the second parts refer to “town” (source )

See also The Fall of Jericho.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Jericho .

complete verse (Luke 18:35)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 18:35:

  • Noongar: “Jesus was going near Jericho. A blind man was sitting close to the road, begging.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “When Yesus was close to the town of Yerikho, there was a blind person sitting by the side of the road begging.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When they were already close to the town Ariha, there was a blind person sitting there at the edge of the road they were passing begging/asking for money.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when they were already near to the town of Jericho, there was there a blind person sitting by the side of the path, and the only thing he did was to hold out his hand, in begging for money.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “As plural Jesus were approaching Jerico, there was a blind-person sitting at the edge of the road begging.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When Jesus and company were now close to Jerico, there was a man who was blind who was sitting at the edge of the trail begging-to-be-given-to.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 18:35

Exegesis:

egeneto de ‘and it happened,’ cf. on 1.8.

en tō eggizein auton eis Ierichō lit. ‘at his approaching Jericho,’ i.e. ‘as he approached Jericho.’ eggizō eis followed by the name of a town means ‘to approach,’ ‘to come into the neighbourhood of.’

tuphlos tis ekathēto para tēn hodon epaitōn ‘a blind man was sitting by the road, begging.’ tis has the force of an indefinite article. epaitōn adds a secondary trait to the picture and plays no part in what follows.

Translation:

Drew near, cf. on 7.12.

A blind man was sitting by the roadside begging tends to lend emphasis to the last verb; to avoid this one may better say e.g. “a certain blind man was sitting and begging by the road” (Good News Translation), ‘a blind man who was begging (or, a blind beggar) sat by the side of the road.’ To beg may require an object, ‘to beg for something’ (Sranan Tongo).

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 18:35

Section 18:35–43

Jesus healed a blind beggar

As Jesus and his disciples continued their journey to Jerusalem, they came to Jericho. A blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. He asked Jesus to make him able to see again. Luke does not mention the beggar’s name, but Mark mentions that his name was Bartimaeus. Jesus healed him and told him that the reason he could now see was because he believed in Jesus.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some other possible headings for this section are:

Jesus Heals a Blind Man (New Century Version)
-or-
Jesus gives sight to a blind man

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 9:27–31, 20:29–34 and Mark 10:46–52.

Paragraph 18:35–39

18:35a

As Jesus drew near to Jericho: This verse begins with a Greek word that means “it came about.” It introduces this new event. Here is another way to translate this:

Now it happened that as he drew near to Jericho (New Jerusalem Bible)

The Berean Standard Bible and many other English versions do not translate this word. The word may indicate that the events in this section did not happen immediately after those of the preceding section. Introduce the section in a natural way in your language.

The context shows that Jesus was not traveling alone. His disciples were with him, and other people were also traveling with them. In some languages it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:

Jesus ⌊and those who were with him⌋ were coming near Jericho

Jericho: Jericho was a city that was between Jerusalem and the Jordan River. It was located about twenty four kilometers (12.5 miles) northeast of Jerusalem. It was mentioned in 10:30. Herod the Great had built several huge public buildings there before Jesus was born. Here is another way to translate this:

the city of Jericho (New Century Version)

18:35b

a blind man was sitting beside the road, begging: In this verse the blind man was sitting by the road because many people traveled on this road on their way to Jerusalem. It was a good place to beg people for help. Here is another way to translate this:

a blind man sat begging beside the road (Contemporary English Version)

begging: The word begging indicates here that the blind man was humbly requesting something. In New Testament times, blind people sometimes had to ask people for food or money in order to stay alive. In some languages it is necessary to indicate what he was requesting and from whom he was requesting it. For example:

The blind man was begging ⌊the people who passed by on the road⌋ ⌊to give him money/something⌋.

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