buying / selling

The Greek that is translated as “buying” and “selling” in English is both translated in Ulithian as “exchange.” Stephen Hre Kio (in The Bible Translator 1987, p. 246f. ) explains: “There are buyers and sellers in the Temple whom Jesus drove away. But Ulithians do not buy or sell; they only exchange. And so we have ‘exchange’ for both buying and selling.”

In righteous anger he attacked hypocrisy (image)

“Jesus is doing something extremely dangerous here. The Thai temple is a place in which it is considered by religious people inappropriate to show any anger or strong emotions. It has to be an extremely urgent reason for someone to do something as violent as this in such a sacred space.”

Drawing by Sawai Chinnawong who employs northern and central Thailand’s popular distinctive artistic style originally used to depict Buddhist moral principles and other religious themes; explanation by Paul DeNeui. From That Man Who Came to Save Us by Sawai Chinnawong and Paul H. DeNeui, William Carey Library, 2010.

For more images by Sawai Chinnawong in TIPs see here.

sell

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “sell” in English is translated in Noongar as wort-bangal or “away-barter.” Note that “buy” is translated as bangal-barranga or “get-barter.” (Source: Bardip Ruth-Ang 2020)

See also buy and buying / selling.

synagogue, temple (inner), temple (outer)

In many English translations the Greek terms “hieron” (the whole “temple” in Jerusalem or specifically the outer courts open to worshippers) and “naos” (the inner “shrine” or “sanctuary”) are translated with only one word: “temple” (see also for instance “Tempel” in German [for exception see below] and “tempel” in Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans).

Other languages make a distinction: (Click or tap here to see more)

  • Navajo (Dinė): “house in which worship is carried out” (for naos)
  • Balinese: “inner part of the Great Temple” (“the term ‘inner part’ denoting the hindmost and holiest of the two or three courts that temples on Bali usually possess”) vs. “Great Temple”
  • Telugu: “womb (i.e. interior)-of-the-abode” vs. “abode”
  • Thai: a term denoting the main audience hall of a Buddhist temple compound vs. “environs-of-the-main-audience-hall”
  • Kituba: “place of holiness of house-God Lord” vs. “house-God Lord”
  • Shipibo-Conibo: “deep in God’s house” vs. “God’s house” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022): “inner court of the temple” (Tempelinnenhof) vs. “temple”

Languages that, like English, German, Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans, don’t make that distinction include:

  • Mandarin Chinese: “聖殿 Shèng diàn” (“holy palace”)
  • Loma: “the holy place”
  • Pular: “the sacred house” (source for this and the one above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Zarma: “God’s compound”
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “big church of the Jews”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “big house on top (i.e. most important)”
  • Toraja-Sa’dan: “house that is looked upon as holy, that is sacred, that is taboo and where one may not set foot” (lit. “house where-the-belly-gets-swollen” — because taboo is violated — using a term that is also applied to a Muslim mosque) (source for this and the three above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Mairasi: Janav Enggwarjer Weso: “Great Above One’s (God’s) House” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Noongar: Maya-maya-Kooranyi: “Sacred House” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Huehuetla Tepehua: “the big church of the Israelites”
  • Aguaruna: “the house for talking to God” (source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
  • Guhu-Samane: “festival longhouse of God” (“The biiri, ‘festival longhouse’, being the religious and social center of the community, is a possible term for ‘temple’. It is not the ‘poro house’ as such. That would be too closely identified with the cult of poro. The physical features of the building, huge and sub-divided, lend it further favor for this consideration. By qualifying it as ‘God’s biiri’ the term has become meaningful and appropriate in the context of the Scriptures.”) (Source: Ernest Richert in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. )
  • Enga: “God’s restricted access house” (source: Adam Boyd on his blog )

Another distinction that tends to be overlooked in translations is that between hieron (“temple” in English) and sunagógé (“synagogue” in English). Euan Fry (in The Bible Translator 1987, p. 213ff. ) reports on this:

“Many older translations have simply used transliterations of ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ rather than trying to find equivalent terms or meaningful expressions in their own languages. This approach does keep the two terms separate; but it makes the readers depend on explanations given by pastors or teachers for their understanding of the text.

“Translators who have tried to find meaningful equivalents, for the two terms ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ have usually made a distinction between them in one of two ways (which focus on the contrasting components of meaning). One way takes the size and importance of the Temple to make a contrast, so that expressions such as ‘sacred meeting/ worship house of the Jews’ and ‘big sacred meeting/worship house of the Jews’ are used. The other way focuses on the different nature of the religious activity at each of the places, so that expressions such as ‘meeting/worship house of the Jews’ and ‘sacrifice/ceremony place of the Jews’ are used.

“It is not my purpose in this article to discuss how to arrive at the most precise equivalent to cover all the components of meaning of ‘temple’. That is something that each translator really has to work through for himself in the light of the present usage and possibilities in his own language. My chief concern here is that the basic term or terms chosen for ‘temple’ should give the reader of a translation a clear and correct picture of the location referred to in each passage. And I am afraid that in many cases where an equivalent like ‘house of God’ or ‘worship house’ has been chosen, the readers have quite the wrong picture of what going to the Temple or being in the Temple means. (This may be the case for the word ‘temple’ in English too, for many readers.)”

Here are some examples:

  • Bambara: “house of God” (or: “big house of worship”) vs. “worship house” (or: “small houses of worship”)
  • Toraja-Sa’dan: “house where-the-belly-gets-swollen” (see above) vs. “meeting house for discussing matters concerning religious customs” (and “church” is “house where one meets on Sunday”)
  • Navajo (Dinė): “house in which worship is carried out” vs. “house of gathering” (source for all above: Bratcher / Nida)

    • Bangandu: “the great house of God” vs. “house of prayer” (Source: Ervais Fotso Noumsi in Le Sycomore, 16/1, 2022 )

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Herod’s temple (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Click or tap here to see a short video clip showing synagogues in New Testament times (source: Bible Lands 2012)

See also this devotion on YouVersion .

complete verse (Luke 19:45)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 19:45:

  • Noongar: “Then Jesus went into the Temple and started driving out people exchanging money,” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “After that, Yesus entered into the yard of the House of God and he expelled the people who were selling there.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Then when Isa entered the town Awrusalam he entered the temple and he chased out the people who were trading there,” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when Jesus arrived there in the town of Jerusalem, he continued on to the big church called the house of God, and he went inside there, and he drove out the people who were selling things there.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, he went to the Temple and began to drive-out the sellers” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, he entered the Templo. He drove out the traders and ones buying there in its like-a-yard.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 19:45

Exegesis:

eis to hieron ‘into the temple,’ cf. on 2.27.

ērxato ekballein tous pōlountas ‘he began to drive out those who were selling.’ For ērxato with infinitive cf. on v. 37.

Translation:

The event is to be located in the outer court of the temple, called the Court of the Gentiles.

Those who sold may require an object and/or a locative qualification, e.g. “those who were selling things there” (An American Translation), ‘those who were trading there/in-it’ (cf. The Four Gospels – a New Translation, Sranan Tongo, several Indonesian languages); elsewhere the phrase is rendered by a noun ‘the merchants’ (e.g. in Batak Toba).

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 19:45

Section 19:45–48

Jesus expelled sellers from the temple courtyard

In this section, Jesus went to the temple in the city of Jerusalem. There he drove out the people who were selling things in the temple area. Then he quoted what God said in Isaiah 56:7: God intended his temple to be a place of prayer. Then Jesus told them that in contrast, they had made it “a den of robbers.” This is a reference to Jeremiah 7:11, where God used this phrase to accuse people who had done evil things in his temple. By using this phrase, Jesus implied that the sellers were cheating people and working against God’s purpose for the temple.

At the end of this section, Luke summarized the events of the next few days. Jesus taught in the temple. The Jewish leaders were angry and wanted to kill him. But they could not do it because he was surrounded by many people who listened eagerly to his teachings.

Other examples of headings for this section are:

Jesus Goes to the Temple (Good News Translation)
-or-
Jesus Clears the Temple (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Jesus sends the merchants from the temple

Parallel passages for this section occur in Matthew 21:12–17, Mark 11:15–18, and John 2:13–16.

Paragraph 19:45–46

19:45a

Then Jesus entered the temple courts: The word Then introduces what happened sometime after Jesus had come into Jerusalem. In your translation, it may be helpful to indicate that the events of 19:45 did not occur immediately after Jesus finished speaking in 19:44. Before Jesus entered the temple in 19:45, he completed his journey and came into the city of Jerusalem.

Jesus entered: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Jesus entered is literally “entering.” Many English versions say “he entered.” For clarity, it may be helpful to use the name Jesus, as the Berean Standard Bible and several other English versions do.

the temple courts: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as temple courts is literally just “temple” (as in most English versions). The temple consisted of the temple building itself and the walls and courtyards that surrounded it. Here temple refers specifically to the large outer courtyard, and not to the temple building itself.

Some English versions have made this clear by translating temple as “temple area” (New International Version), “temple grounds” (New American Standard Bible), or “temple courtyard” (God’s Word). You may want to do this also if your word or phrase for “temple” would make readers think that Jesus entered the temple building. If not, you can simply say “temple.”

Some ways to translate the term temple courts are:

• Use a descriptive phrase. For example:

courtyard of the house of God
-or-
courtyard of the house of sacrifice
-or-
courtyard of the house of worship
-or-
holy/sacred house courtyard

• If your language has a word for temple, consider using it. But you may need to modify it by saying:

courtyard of the temple of the Jews/Lord
-or-

big/great temple courtyard

See how you translated temple in 2:27 and 18:10. Also, see the word temple, Meaning 1, in the Glossary for more information about the temple and how to translate it.

19:45b

and began to drive out those who were selling there: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as drive out is literally “throw out.” In this context it indicates that Jesus forced people who were selling things in the temple to leave. Some other ways to translate the action are:

he started chasing out the people who were selling things (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
and began to throw out the people who were selling things there (New Century Version)

those who were selling there: The phrase those who were selling there refers to people who sold things in the temple area. They sold things that people needed for sacrifices such as animals, wine, oil, and salt. Here is another way to translate this:

merchants (Good News Translation)

If you are using footnotes in your translation to give background information, you may want to include one here. For example:

If someone needed to buy an animal so that he could offer it as a sacrifice to God in the temple, these merchants would sell it to him. They also sold other things that people needed for the sacrifices such as wine, oil, and salt.

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