Translation commentary on Luke 19:5

Exegesis:

hōs ēlthen epi ton topon ‘when he came to the spot,’ with change of subject. The article ton has demonstrative force.

anablepsas ho Iēsous eipen pros auton ‘Jesus looked up and said to him.’ For anablepō cf. on 7.22.

speusas katabēthi ‘come down with haste.’ The participle speusas lit. ‘hurrying,’ does not denote an act of its own but qualifies the imperative katabēthi. For speudō cf. on 2.16.

sēmeron gar en tō oikō sou dei me meinai ‘for today I must stay at your home.’ sēmeron is emphatic by position and is taken up by sēmeron in v. 9. dei implies that Jesus considered his staying at Zacchaeus’ home as part of his mission. meinai ‘to stay’ includes staying overnight (cf. katalusai in v. 7).

Translation:

He looked up and said to him. In some languages the person has to be mentioned earlier in the sentence, e.g. ‘he looked up towards him/Zacchaeus, and said,’ or even, .’.. came to where he/Zacchaeus was, he looked up (towards him), and said.’

Make haste and come down, or, ‘come down quickly.’ Similarly in v. 6.

I must stay at your house, or, ‘I must descend at your home’ (Zarma), ‘I must lodge with you,’ ‘I must be your guest, or, guest in your house’ (cf. Phillips, Willibrord, Tae’); or with further shifts, “you must be my host” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation). For must cf. on 2.49.

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 19:5

Paragraph 19:5–7

In Jewish culture, a person usually would not eat or stay in someone’s house if that person did not invite him. But Jesus invited himself to be the guest of Zacchaeus. Jesus showed that he was willing to enter the house of a tax collector even if it meant that he would be considered ritually unclean.

If you are using footnotes to give background information, you might want to use one here. For example:

In Jewish culture it was not customary for a person to invite himself to eat at another person’s house. Jesus did that to help Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus knew that most religious leaders would not enter a tax collector’s house, so Zacchaeus might not feel that he should invite Jesus.

For more background information about tax collectors, see the introduction to Section 19:1–10.

19:5a

When Jesus came to that place: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as that place refers to the location of the tree into which Zacchaeus had climbed. As he was walking along, Jesus stopped near that tree. In some languages it may be natural to refer to the tree specifically. For example:

When Jesus came to the tree (God’s Word)

In other languages it may not be necessary to refer specifically to the place. For example:

When Jesus came by (New Living Translation (2004))

19:5b

He looked up and said: Here the phrase He looked up indicates that Jesus looked up into the tree at Zacchaeus. Then Jesus spoke to him. Some other ways to translate this part of the verse are:

he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
he/Jesus looked up ⌊and saw him/Zacchaeus⌋. Then Jesus said

19:5c

Zacchaeus: Jesus called Zacchaeus by name and showed him that he knew about him. Jesus was speaking in a friendly way. He was not angry at Zacchaeus for climbing the tree.

In some languages people do not call other adults by their names. If that is true in your language, you may want to use a term of respect with his name. For example:

Elder/Brother Zacchaeus

In such languages it may also be helpful to include a footnote. For example:

In that culture it was the custom to call people by their names to show friendliness.

hurry down: The Greek command that the Berean Standard Bible translates as hurry down is more literally, “hurrying, come down.” Some other ways to translate it are:

come down immediately (New International Version)
-or-
Quick, come down! (New Living Translation (2004))

19:5d

for: In the Greek text, 19:5d begins with a conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for. It introduces the reason or explanation for 19:5c. Some English versions have “because” here. Jesus called Zacchaeus to come down out of the tree because he intended to stay at his house that night. Connect 19:5c and 19:5d in a way that is natural in your language.

I must stay at your house today: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as I must stay at your house today is more literally “today it is necessary that I stay at your house.” This clause implies that it was necessary because it was God’s will. God had decided that Jesus must do that.

Some other ways to translate the clause are:

It is necessary for me to stay at your house today
-or-
I am to stay at your house today (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
It is ⌊God’s will⌋ that I stay at your house today

In the Greek text this clause begins with the word today. For example:

today I must stay at your house (New American Standard Bible)

In this section it probably implies a connection with what Jesus said in 19:9a: “Today salvation has come to this house.”

stay at your house today: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as stay at your house today implies that Jesus would remain at Zacchaeus’ house for the rest of the day. It probably implies that he would also spend the night there. Use an appropriate expression in your language. Here is another way to translate this:

be a guest in your home today (New Living Translation (2004))

General Comment on 19:5c–d

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of the clauses in this verse. For example:

5cZacchaeus, 5dtoday I must stay at your house, 5cso hurry down.

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