The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is usually translated into English as “peace,” when referring to one’s inner peace, is (back-) translated with a variety of idioms and phrases:
“rest the heart” (Central Mazahua) / “rest within” (Lacandon) (source: Nida 1952, p. 40 and 128ff.) / “wait well in your heart” (Yatzachi Zapotec) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 19:42:
Noongar: “He said, ‘If you only knew today what you need so you can have peace! But now you can’t see it!” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “He said: ‘How sad for you/Poor you, people of Yerusalem! No kidding how good it would be if you knew what it is that brings you goodness of life now. But all that is hidden from your eyes.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “He said, ‘If only you would understand even this day as to what you should do so that you find peace. But you really do not understand.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “He said, ‘Oh how I wish that you knew which is the proper thing to do, so that there might be peace in your town, but you do not really know!” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “while saying, ‘Ay Jerusalem, if you (sing.) knew koma now what was necessary so that thereby you (sing.) would be-at-peace! But you (sing.) still are not able-to-distinguish-it.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And he spoke, saying, ‘How pathetic, you taga Jerusalem! If only you really knew right now how you could truly be reconciled with God! But all this time you have been saying no to him/it, therefore it’s like it’s hidden from you now.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
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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 choice of a second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.
In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
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®).
legōn ‘saying,’ here denoting an act to be distinguished from that to which the main verb eklausen refers.
ei egnōs en tē hēmera tautē kai su ta pros eirēnēn ‘if only you too had known, on this day, the things which make for peace,’ with no main clause following, and hence virtually equivalent to a wish which cannot be fulfilled. en tē hēmera tautē refers to the day of Jesus’ glorious entry. kai su may mean ‘even you,’ i.e. ‘you yourself,’ or, ‘you too,’ i.e. as well as the disciples, preferably the latter. ta pros eirēnēn lit. ‘the things that have to do with peace,’ hence, ‘the things that make for peace.’
nun de ekrubē apo ophthalmōn sou ‘but as it is they are hidden from your eyes.’ nun means ‘as things are now,’ ‘as it is,’ and refers to the spiritual state in which Jerusalem is. The clause as a whole may refer to inability or to prohibition, preferably the former. Subject of ekrubē is ta pros eirēnēn.
Translation:
Saying, preferably, ‘and (he) said.’
Would that even today you knew, preferably, ‘if only you too had known today.’ The sentence is often introduced by a particle or phrase with desiderative or supplicatory force, e.g. in Sundanese, Sranan Tongo. You (sing.) refers to the city of Jerusalem. Where idiom is such that one cannot address a city but only the people in it, one may have to shift to ‘you (plur.),’ or more explicitly, ‘your inhabitants.’ To know is used here in the sense of ‘to have understanding of,’ ‘to recognize the nature of.’
The things that make for peace, or, “the way that leads to peace” (New English Bible), “what is needed for peace” (Good News Translation), ‘the things which cause-to-happen peace, or, cause peace to come to you, or, assure peace’ (cf. Trukese, Shona 1966, Zarma). In languages that use distinctive terms for the positive and negative meaning of ‘peace’ (see on 1.79) the choice is difficult here. Some versions, e.g. Bahasa Indonesia RC, Batak Toba use the latter because they view the term as primarily referring to reconciliation, the end of the strife between God and his people; others (e.g. Bahasa Indonesia, Javanese) prefer the positive term (which, of course, may imply the concept of being reconciled to God). The latter is preferable, as a rule.
But now, preferably, ‘but as it is’; or bringing out the implied disappointment more strongly, “but no” (New English Bible), mais hélas (Bible de Jérusalem).
They are hid from your eyes, or, ‘they are kept from your sight,’ ‘you are unable to see/perceive these things.’
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.
In these verses Jesus spoke to the city of Jerusalem, using singular forms of “you.” This is a figure of speech. The city represents the people in the city. In some languages it may be necessary to indicate that Jesus spoke to the people. For example:
⌊People of Jerusalem⌋, if you(plur) also had only known…
In other languages the figure may be natural except in certain statements. There you will need to indicate that Jesus spoke of the people. For example:
⌊O Jerusalem,⌋ if only your ⌊people⌋ had known
In some languages it is not natural to speak to people who are not present. In those languages, you may use forms that are natural for talking about a city or its people. For example:
If only Jerusalem too had known the things that would have brought her/it peace… -or-
If only ⌊the people of⌋ Jerusalem had known what would bring them peace…
Translate these verses in a natural way in your language. See the second meaning lines of the Display for examples of Jesus addressing the people directly.
19:42a–b
If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace: In this lament Jesus expressed his longing for something that did not happen. The lament implies that:
(a) the people of Jerusalem did not know what would bring them peace;
(b) if they had known, they would have recognized Jesus as the Messiah. Then God would have given them peace, and the city would not have been destroyed.
In most languages, this information can be left implied. However, in some languages it may be necessary to make some of it explicit. If that is true in your language, express it in a general way. For example:
then God would have given peace to you/it
19:42a
If only you had known: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as If only you had known is an exclamation of sorrow and regret. It implies “⌊I wish that⌋ you had known” or “⌊it would have been so good⌋ if you had known, ⌊but you did not⌋.”
Jesus knew the terrible things that would happen to the people because they refused to know the truth. The result would be tragedy, destruction, and death. Jesus used this lament to express his sorrow over that. Some other ways to translate it are:
It is so terrible/tragic that you did not know -or-
How I wish that you had known -or-
If you only knew (Good News Translation) -or-
It is such a grief that you did not know
Consider how to express Jesus’ lament in a natural way in your language.
you had known: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as you had known is literally “you, even you, had known.” Scholars differ about the function of the word “even” here. However, it is probably best understood as “you also (in addition to my disciples).” The disciples recognized Jesus as the Messiah, but most people in Jerusalem did not. Here is another way to translate this:
If you too had only recognized on this day the way to peace! (New Jerusalem Bible)
Several English versions, including the Berean Standard Bible, do not translate this word. This is a good option in languages where it may imply a wrong or ambiguous meaning.
on this day: The phrase on this day refers to that day when Jesus came to Jerusalem as their king and Messiah. He came to them, but they did not accept him. It happened as Jesus predicted in the parable in the preceding section.
19:42b
what would bring you peace: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as what would bring you peace is literally: “the for/toward peace things.” It is translated in various ways in English versions:
the things that make for peace (Revised Standard Version) -or-
what would bring you peace (New International Version) -or-
what is needed for peace (Good News Translation) -or-
the way that leads to peace (Revised English Bible)
In all these examples, the idea is that the people of Jerusalem did not recognize what would cause them to have peace. Express this in a way that is natural in your language.
peace: See the note on peace at 19:38b. Here Jesus probably referred to two aspects of peace: harmony with God and absence of war/conflict. In 19:43–44 Jesus implied that if the people had recognized him as the Messiah, God would have given them peace. They would have been in harmony with God, and they would have had freedom from war as well. They would not have been judged and punished by having their city destroyed.
Some ways to translate peace in this context are:
• Choose a term that can imply different types of peace.
• Indicate that two aspects of peace are in focus here. For example:
harmony ⌊with God and people⌋
• Use a term that refers mainly to freedom from conflict, war, or hostility. For example:
save you from hostility/war -or-
free you from conflict ⌊with God and people⌋
See how you translated peace in 12:51 and 19:38. See also peace, Meanings 1 and peace, Meaning 2, in the Glossary. Remember that some languages have idioms to express this meaning.
19:42c
But now: The phrase But now introduces a contrast between a previous situation and the present situation. Before that time, the people could have realized what would cause them to have peace. But at the present time (as Jesus was speaking), it was already too late for Jerusalem to realize that and change. Some ways to translate this could be:
But as it is -or-
But as things are now -or-
But alas, as it is -or-
But now ⌊it is too late⌋
it is hidden from your eyes: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as it is hidden from your eyes is a figure of speech. Jesus was saying that the people of Jerusalem were not able to understand the things that would have brought them peace.
In some languages, this figure of speech is hard to understand or is not natural. Other ways to translate the meaning are:
• Use a different figure of speech in your language that has the same meaning.
• Substitute “you” for your eyes:
they are hidden from you
• Translate the meaning more directly:
you are not able to understand them
it: The word it probably refers back to the phrase “the things that would bring you peace” instead of to “peace” itself.
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