complete verse (Luke 19:32)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 19:32:

  • Noongar: “They went to the village and saw everything which Jesus had said.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “Those two disciples really did go, and they found [it] definitely like what Yesus had said to them.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Then the ones he told to, went to that village and they saw all as Isa had told them.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then those whom he sent, when they arrived there, it was exactly as Jesus said. They saw the donkey there.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “They went then and all that Jesus had told them came true.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Those two who were sent set out. They found that asno which was referred to just as Jesus had said.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “Okay, he sent the two of them to go and then they saw everything like he spoke to the two of them about.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Kupsabiny: “The disciples went and found the donkey as Jesus had told (them).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Mairasi: “Yesus’ two disciples already departed [and] went and they saw according to whatever He Himself had said.” (Source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Hiligaynon: “Therefore the two of them left and what Jesus told them was really/[intensifier] fulfilled.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Honorary "are" construct denoting God ("say")

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Luke 19:32

Exegesis:

hoi apestalmenoi lit. ‘the sent,’ i.e. the messengers.

heuron kathōs eipen autois ‘(the messengers) found (it) just as he had told them.’ The object of heuron is not stated specifically. From the context an object like ‘the situation,’ or, ‘the colt,’ may be understood. eipen (aorist) has the force of a pluperfect.

Translation:

Those who were sent. Bahasa Indonesia RC has, ‘the two disciples,’ to avoid a rather cumbersome literal rendering.

Found it as, or, ‘what they found (was) as/in-accordance-with’ (cf. Javanese). For the verb cf. on 7.10.

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 19:32

Paragraph 19:32–34

19:32a

So: This verse begins with a Greek conjunction. The Berean Standard Bible and several other versions (English Standard Version, NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004)) translate it as So in order to show that these two disciples went to the village as a result of the instructions that Jesus gave them. Many other versions do not translate this conjunction. Introduce what the disciples did in a natural way in your language.

those who were sent went out: This clause indicates that the two disciples left and went to the next village, just as Jesus had told them to. Here is another way to translate this:

They went off (Contemporary English Version)

those who were sent: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as those who were sent is literally “those who had been sent.” It refers to the two disciples whom Jesus had just been talking to. Some English versions translate it simply with the pronoun “they.” Other ways to translate this phrase are:

The two disciples
-or-
The messengers (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
The men Jesus sent (God’s Word)

19:32b

and found it just as Jesus had told them: In Greek the verb found has no object here. The Berean Standard Bible supplies the word it because an object is needed in English. In this context the phrase found…just as is used in a special way. It indicates that the disciples saw that everything was exactly as Jesus told them it would be. They did find the colt tied up. However, the emphasis is on the fact that what Jesus told them happened exactly as he said it would. Some ways to translate this are:

and found everything just as he had told them (Revised English Bible)
-or-
and found it as he had told them (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
and all that Jesus had told them came true
-or-
when they arrived there, it was exactly as Jesus said

Translate it in a way that is natural in your language.

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