Translation commentary on Luke 19:3

Exegesis:

kai ezētei idein ton Iēsoun tis estin ‘and he tried to see who Jesus was,’ implying that he had heard about Jesus but had never seen him. For the imperfect tense of ezētei cf. on 5.18. tis estin may mean ‘which of all the people Jesus was,’ or “how Jesus looked” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation), preferably the former.

ouk ēdunato apo tou ochlou ‘he could not (see him) because of the crowd.’

hoti tē hēlikia mikros ēn ‘because he was small of stature.’ tē hēlikia is dative of respect, indicating that to what mikros refers.

Translation:

He sought, cf. on 5.18.

But could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature, or, “but being short he could not see him for the crowd” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation), or, ‘But he was a little/short man, and (therefore) he could not see him/Jesus because of the crowd, or, because he was kept-from-seeing by the crowd (cf. Javanese), or, because people stood-packed’ (cf. Balinese). — Zacchaeus’ attempt to see Jesus will have been made inside the city, but their actual meeting (vv. 5ff) probably took place outside.

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 19:3

19:3a

He was trying to see who Jesus was: The Berean Standard Bible follows the literal Greek closely here. The statement probably indicates that Zacchaeus had heard about Jesus and so was trying to see him. He wanted to know what Jesus was like. Other ways to say this are:

He was eager to see what Jesus looked like (Revised English Bible)
-or-
Zacchaeus wanted to see what he was like (Contemporary English Version)

19:3b–c

The Berean Standard Bible follows the Greek order here. Other versions use a different order from the Greek text for the phrases in this verse. For example:

because he was short he could not see over the crowd (New International Version (2011))
-or-
but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small in stature (Revised Standard Version)

The text gives two reasons why Zacchaeus could not see Jesus:

(a) there was a crowd around Jesus;

(b) Zacchaeus was too short to see over the people.

In some languages it is more natural to combine these two reasons. For example:

because he was too short to see above the crowd (New Century Version)

See the General Comment on 19:3a–c below for suggestions about reordering.

19:3b

but: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but introduces a contrast. The contrast is between Zacchaeus wanting to see Jesus (19:3a) but not being able to see him (19:3c). Translate this contrast in a way that is natural in your language.

could not see over the crowd: This clause indicates that Zacchaeus could not see Jesus because many people were standing around Jesus. Zacchaeus was too short to see over them all. Some ways to say this are:

he was unable to see Jesus because there were many people ⌊surrounding Jesus⌋
-or-
he could not, because of the crowd (New International Version)

19:3c

because he was small in stature: The phrase because he was small in stature describes Zacchaeus’ height. He was not as tall as most people. Be sure not to imply that this clause describes Jesus. Other ways to translate this are:

Zacchaeus was a small man (God’s Word)
-or-
he was a little man (Good News Translation)
-or-
he was not a tall man

General Comment on 19:3a–c

It may be more natural in some languages to reorder the parts of 19:3. For example:

3aHe wanted to see who Jesus was 3bbut he could not 3cbecause he was a short man 3band because there was a crowd ⌊around Jesus⌋.
-or-

3aHe wanted to see who Jesus was, 3bbut a crowd was around Jesus. 3cZacchaeus was a short man, 3bso he was not able to see Jesus above the crowd.

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