30saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here.
The phrase that is translated into English as “a colt that has never been ridden” can be translated in Kalmyk much more succinctly than even the original Greek text since Kalmyk as arkhlata (архлата) a specific word for an unbroken colt. (source: David Clark)
In the Arhuaco translation of Luke 19:35 (in the English translation: “after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.”) the co-translator knew how unruly unbroken colts are so they translated “they held the donkey steady so that Jesus could get on it.” (source: Paul Lundquist in The Bible Translator 1992, p. 246 .)
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “village” or “town” in English is translated in Noongar as karlamaya or “fire (used for “home“) + houses” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
In Elhomwe it is typically translated as “place.” “Here in Malawi, villages very small, so changed to ‘places,’ since not sure whether biblical reference just to small villages or also to bigger towns. (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 19:30:
Noongar: “He told them, ‘Go to the village ahead of you. When you enter, you will see a young donkey tied up which no-one has mounted. Untie the donkey and bring it to me.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “He said to them: ‘Go to the town that we are in front of there. When you enter into the town, you will see a young [lit., child] donkey that is tied. That donkey has not yet one time been ridden. Open/Untie its rope and bring it here.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “He said to them, ‘Go to the village in front of you, and when you arrive there you will see the child of donkey tied, which nobody has yet ridden on. Untie it and bring it here.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “He said, ‘You go into the village ahead of us, and when you arrive there you will see a young donkey tied up, that has never been ridden on since it was born. Untie it and bring it here.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “‘Go to that town across-the-way. Right when you arrive there, you will come-upon a child of a donkey that has not been ridden that is tethered. Untie it to bring it here.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “He said to them, ‘Go to that bario of Betfage. When you get there, you will see a young-one of a (type of) horse which is an asno tethered, which hasn’t yet been broken-for-riding. Untie it and bring it here to me.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Bariai: “and said, ‘The two of you go to the village in front of us(incl) here, and then when you go arrive, you’re going to see a newly grown donki on which no one got up on yet and they’ve tied it with a rope. Untie its rope and then bring it to come.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
Kupsabiny: “’Go to the village over there. When you arrive there, you will find a young donkey (colt) tied which has not gone with a person before. Untie it and and bring it to me.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Mairasi: “’Go over there to that village in front of you!’ says Yesus to them. ‘Go until you get there [then] enter it, and you guys will soon find a small keledai [donkey] tied up. This keledai is one upon which people have not climbed up [and] walked around. Untie this keledai and bring it. ” (Source: Enggavoter 2004)
Hiligaynon: “He said to them, ‘You (pl.) go-ahead there to the next barrio. As you (pl.) enter, you (pl.) will-see a young ass that is-tied. It has never/[intensifier] been ridden. You (pl.) untie and bring (it) here.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.
As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.
Here, Jesus is addressing his disciples, individuals and/or crowds with the formal pronoun, showing respect.
In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
hōs ēggisen eis Bēthphagē kai Bēthania ‘when he approached Bethphage and Bethany,’ two villages on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives.
pros to oros to kaloumenon Elaion ‘at the mountain called (Mount) of Olives,’ or, with different accentuation of Elaiōn (cf. Nestle), ‘Olive-grove’ (hence Revised Standard Version‘s “Olivet”), preferably the former. The phrase pros to oros is directly dependent on ēggisen and hence parallel to eis Bēthphagē kai Bēthania.
(V. 30) hupagete eis tēn katenanti kōmēn ‘go to the village opposite (you).’ For hupagō cf. on 8.42.
katenanti adverb ‘opposite,’ here used as an adjective with a noun.
en hē eisporeuomenoi heurēsete ‘in which you will find when you enter,’ taking en hē with heurēsete.
heurēsete pōlon dedemenon ‘you will find a colt tethered, or, tied up,’ preferably the latter.
pōlos ‘colt (of a horse),’ or ‘foal of an ass,’ or, in a more general meaning, ‘young animal.’ Though the exact meaning is difficult to ascertain, the first of the above interpretations appears preferable.
eph’ hon oudeis pōpote anthrōpōn ekathisen ‘on which no one has ever sat (with the purpose of riding it),’ hence ‘which no one has ever ridden.’
kai lusantes auton agagete ‘and, after you have untied it, bring it.’ kai connects the future heurēsete ‘you will find’ and the imperative agagete. lusantes has also the force of an imperative.
Translation:
Draw near, see on 7.12.
At the mount that is called Olivet, preferably, ‘to the mount (or, hill, or, place) called the Mount of Olives,’ the phrase “of Olives” characterizing the mountain or hill as a place well known for its olive trees. The rendering of this geographic name is sometimes a transliteration of the form used in the language of prestige in the area, cf. e.g. Olèfbergi in Sranan Tongo, but often it is some kind of translation, cf. ‘(the mount) of the olive-trees’ (Bible de Jérusalem), ‘the hill with the oil-trees’ (Tae’). In predominantly Muslim countries it may be better not to use a term built on the borrowing ‘olive,’ but on the borrowing zaitūn, the Arabic name for this fruit and its tree.
(V. 30) Opposite, or, “that lies in front of you” (An American Translation), ‘there before us’ (Leyden).
Where on entering you will find a colt tied, usually better a new sentence, ‘when you enter (it) you will come upon (or, you will see there) a colt that is tied.’ For find cf. on 7.10. A colt. Where horses are unknown, one may use a descriptive rendering, e.g. ‘a young riding-animal,’ or a borrowed term with or without classifier. Tied, or, ‘that is (or, is standing) tied up.’ The term used in some Indonesian languages refers to the pole or post to which the animal is tied up, e.g. Balinese (lit. ‘having-a-post’).
On which no one has ever yet sat, or, ‘no one has ever used it yet to ride upon.’
Untie it, or, ‘untie (or, make loose) its rope’ (Bahasa Indonesia).
Bring, sometimes a specific term, e.g. for leading an animal by a rope (Tae’ 1933).
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.
saying The word saying introduces the details of what Jesus told these disciples to do. Use an appropriate way in your language to express this.
Go into the village ahead of you: The phrase the village ahead of you refers to a village that was near the disciples or across from them. The phrase may imply that the disciples could see it from where they were standing. Other ways to translate it are:
the next village (Contemporary English Version) -or-
that village over there (New Living Translation (2004))
you: The word you refers to the two disciples whom Jesus sent in 19:29. If your language uses a dual form, you could use it here.
19:30b
and as you enter it, you will find a colt: The clause and as you enter it refers to the two disciples coming into the village. In this context the verb find indicates that they would see a colt. It does not imply that they would have to search for it. Here is another way to translate this:
As you enter it, you will see a young donkey (New Living Translation (2004))
a colt: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a colt refers to a young horse or donkey. Here it refers to one that would be big enough for a man to ride on. The parallel passages in Matthew and John (Matthew 21:2, John 12:14–15) make it clear that this was a young donkey. The Jewish people used donkeys to ride on and for carrying loads. The Greek text of Matthew 21:5 indicates that it was a male donkey.
If donkeys are not known in your area, you may use a more general term. For example:
a young riding animal ⌊called a donkey⌋ -or-
a young animal upon which people ride
You should not use a term that refers to an animal that was recently born or that is less than a year old.
tied: People tied their animals to a tree or post so they would not walk away when no one was using them. It was probably tied with the rope around its neck. You should not imply that its legs were bound so that it could not move.
Luke does not say where the colt was tied, but Mark 11:4 says that it was tied to a door. It was probably either tied to the doorpost or to a post near the door. In some languages it may be necessary to make this explicit. For example:
tied ⌊by a cord⌋ ⌊to a post⌋
there: The Berean Standard Bible has supplied the word there to make it clear that the disciples would see the colt as soon as they entered the village. You may not need to supply this word. Here is another way to translate this:
you will find a colt tied up (Good News Translation)
19:30c
on which no one has ever sat: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as on which no one has ever sat is more literally “on which no one among people has ever sat.” It describes the colt in 19:30b. In some languages it may be more natural to express the clause as a complete sentence. For example:
No one has ever ridden it.
General Comment on 19:30b–c
In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of some phrases in 19:30b–c. For example:
30bAs you enter the village, you will find a colt 30cthat no one has ever ridden. 30bIt will be tied ⌊to a post⌋.
19:30d
Untie it and bring it here: Here Jesus told the two disciples to untie the colt and bring it to him. The context implies that the disciples did not ride the colt. They led it to Jesus. Another way to translate this is:
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