The name that is transliterated as “Zacchaeus” in English is translated in Finnish Sign Language with the sign signifying “short” (referring to Luke 19:3). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 19:4:
Noongar: “Jesus was coming on the road, so he ran ahead and climbed a tree to see Jesus.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “So, he ran ahead of the crown, and he climbed a fig tree so that he could look-down on Yesus when he passed by there.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Therefore he ran ahead of the people and climbed up on a tree sikamol at the edge of the road so that he could see Isa when he passed by.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “So what Zacchaeus did was, he ran on up ahead and he climbed up in a tree named sycamore, where Jesus was to pass by, so that ha might see Jesus very well as he passed by.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “So he ran to-go-ahead of plural Jesus and went and climbed a sikomoro tree so that thus he would have a way of seeing Jesus when he passed.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Therefore what he did was, he ran on ahead and climbed a sikumoro tree so that he would see Jesus well when he passed by.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “sycamore” in English is translated in Chichewa as mkuyu or “fig tree.” (Source: Wendland 1987, p. 72)
The use of “sycomore” might be preferable to “sycamore,” since the “o” spelling preserves the Latin (sycomorus) and Greek (sukomorea) better and is used in French.
The Sycomore Fig Ficus sycomorus, also called the Mulberry Fig (compare GermanMaulbeerfeigenbaum), is a type of fig that is found especially in lowland areas in the Mediterranean region. It was known in Egypt as early as 3000 B.C. but also in the Indus Valley in India.
The prophet Amos identified himself as “a dresser of sycamore trees” (Amos 7:14). It is possible that this refers to the practice of making a cut in the immature fruit, which has the effect of accelerating the growth of the fruit. Hepper (Baker Encyclopedia of Bible Plants: Flowers and Trees, Fruits and Vegetables, Ecology. Baker Book House, 1992) reports that this sudden growth is caused by ethylene gas released when the fruit is cut.
The sycomore fig is not a tall tree (up to 10 meters [33 feet]) but has large low, spreading branches — just right for a short man to climb up in order to see over a crowd of taller people (see the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19:4). The fruit, while edible, is not as juicy or sweet as the more common variety. The most unusual thing about the fruit is that it grows in bunches right on the trunk and branches of the tree rather than among the leaves.
In 1 Kings 10:27 the sycomore is used as an image of something plentiful. The last half of this verse says “he [King Solomon] made cedar as plentiful as the sycamore of the Shephelah.” Translators should take care with the logic here. The verse does not say that Solomon would introduce cedars into the lowlands (the Shephelah), but rather that just as there are plenty of sycomores in the lowlands, there will be plenty of cedars in the land of Israel.
Translators need to deal with both sycomore and fig at the same time. If the translation leans toward foreignization, the translator may want to transliterate both fig and sycomore (sikomori, for example). It may be useful to use the full name sycomore fig in some cases. If a local type of fig is known, the translator could use the local name for the domestic fig (Hebrew te’enah, Greek sukē), and add the word “wild” or “lowland” when referring to the sycomore fig (Hebrew shiqmah, Greek sukomorea).
Where figs are totally unknown, transliterations can be made from an international language, for example, French (sycomore), Spanish (sicomoro), or Hebrew (shiqmah). In contrast to the regular fig, the sycomore grows in the lower elevations (Shephelah), a fact that could potentially come into use in a translation (for example, “lowland fig”).
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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 rare (られ) 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, sugiyōtoshiteo-rare-ru (過ぎようとしておられる) or “intending to pass” is used.
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®).
prodramōn eis to emprosthen lit. ‘after running on ahead.’ eis to emprosthen lit. ‘to the front,’ hence ‘ahead,’ which is pleonastic since protrechō means ‘to run ahead.’
anebē epi sukomorean hina idē auton ‘he climbed up a fig-mulberry tree in order to see him.’
sukomorea ‘ficus sycomorus,’ ‘fig-mulberry tree,’ a fig tree whose leaves resemble those of a mulberry tree.
hoti ekeinēs ēmellen dierchesthai ‘because he was going to pass that way,’ with hodou ‘way’ understood with ekeinēs.
Translation:
He ran on ahead, i.e. some distance in front of Jesus and his companions.
Sycamore tree. Where the exact species is unknown the term for ‘(wild) fig tree,’ is an acceptable rendering; or simply, ‘a tree’ (Tae’ 1933), the kind of tree not being of specific relevance here.
For he (or, Jesus) was to pass that way, stating explicitly what has been implied already in the words “ran on ahead”, i.e. that Zacchaeus could foresee along which road Jesus would come; hence, ‘expecting that Jesus was going to take that way’ (cf. The Four Gospels – a New Translation) is an acceptable rendering also.
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.
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