The Greek in Luke 19:8 that is translated as “I will give to the poor” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with gebe ich immer den Armen or “I always give to the poor.”
complete verse (Luke 19:8)
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 19:8:
- Noongar: “Zacchaeus stood up and said to Jesus, ‘Lord! Listen! I will give half of my wealth to poor people, and if I have robbed a person, I will give him four times more.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
- Uma: “While the Lord Yesus was in the house of Zakheus, Zakheus stood up and said to him: ‘Lord, half of my goods I [will] give to the poor, and whoever I have deceived, I [will] return four times from what I deceived them.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “Then Sakkiyas stood up and he said to Isa, ‘Sir, one half of my wealth I (will) give to the poor. And if I have cheated someone I will return his money to him fourfold/four times as much.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as for Zacchaeus, when Jesus and company arrived at his house, he stood up and he said, ‘I’m going to give half of all my wealth to the poor. And any person that I have cheated before, I’m going to return to him four times as much as I got.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “Meanwhile Zakeus stood up and said to Jesus, ‘Lord, look! I will give to the poor the half of my possessions. If moreover there is someone I have cheated, I will return to him four-times the amount that I took.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “When they were now sitting in the house, Zaqueo stood up again and spoke, saying, ‘Lord, today, half of my possessions I will cause to be given to the poor. And whatever I have over-charged from anyone, four times the amount is what I will return to him.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Lord
The Hebrew adonai in the Old Testament typically refers to God. The shorter adon (and in two cases in the book of Daniel the Aramaic mare [מָרֵא]) is also used to refer to God but more often for concepts like “master,” “owner,” etc. In English Bible translations all of those are translated with “Lord” if they refer to God.
In English Old Testament translations, as in Old Testament translations in many other languages, the use of Lord (or an equivalent term in other languages) is not to be confused with Lord (or the equivalent term with a different typographical display for other languages). While the former translates adonai, adon and mare, the latter is a translation for the tetragrammaton (YHWH) or the Name of God. See tetragrammaton (YHWH) and the article by Andy Warren-Rothlin in Noss / Houser, p. 618ff. for more information.
In the New Testament, the Greek term kurios has at least four different kinds of use:
- referring to “God,” especially in Old Testament quotations,
- meaning “master” or “owner,” especially in parables, etc.,
- as a form of address (see for instance John 4:11: “Sir, you have no bucket”),
- or, most often, referring to Jesus
In the first and fourth case, it is also translated as “Lord” in English.
Most languages naturally don’t have one word that covers all these meanings. According to Bratcher / Nida, “the alternatives are usually (1) a term which is an honorific title of respect for a high-ranking person and (2) a word meaning ‘boss’, ‘master’, or ‘chief.’ (…) and on the whole it has generally seemed better to employ a word of the second category, in order to emphasize the immediate personal relationship, and then by context to build into the word the prestigeful character, since its very association with Jesus Christ will tend to accomplish this purpose.”
When looking at the following list of back-translations of the terms that translators in the different languages have used for both kurios and adonai to refer to God and Jesus respectively, it might be helpful for English readers to recall the etymology of the English “Lord.” While this term might have gained an exalted meaning in the understanding of many, it actually comes from hlaford or “loaf-ward,” referring to the lord of the castle who was the keeper of the bread (source: Rosin 1956, p. 121).
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight
Following are some of the solutions that don’t rely on a different typographical display (see above):
- Navajo (Dinė): “the one who has charge”
- Mossi: “the one who has the head” (the leader)
- Uduk: “chief”
- Guerrero Amuzgo: “the one who commands”
- Kpelle: “person-owner” (a term which may be applied to a chief)
- Central Pame: “the one who owns us” (or “commands us”)
- Piro: “the big one” (used commonly of one in authority)
- San Blas Kuna: “the great one over all” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
- Guhu-Samane: Soopara (“our Supervisor”) (source: Ellis Deibler in Notes on Translation July, 1967, p. 5ff.)
- Balinese: “Venerated-one” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
- Yanesha’: “the one who carries us” (source: Nida 1952, p. 159)
- Northern Emberá: Dadjirã Boro (“our Head”)
- Rarotongan: Atu (“master or owner of a property”)
- Gilbertese: Uea (“a person of high status invested with authority to rule the people”)
- Rotuman: Gagaja (“village chief”)
- Samoan: Ali’i (“an important word in the native culture, it derives from the Samoan understanding of lordship based on the local traditions”)
- Tahitian: Fatu (“owner,” “master”)
- Tuvalu: Te Aliki (“chief”)
- Fijian: Liuliu (“leader”) (source for this and six above: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1994, p. 329ff. )
- Bacama: Həmə miye: “owner of people” (source: David Frank in this blog post )
- Hopi: “Controller” (source: Walls 2000, p. 139)
- Iyansi: Mwol. Mwol is traditionally used for the “chief of a group of communities and villages” with legal, temporal, and spiritual authority (versus the “mfum [the term used in other Bantu languages] which is used for the chief of one community of people in one village”). Mwol is also used for twins who are “treated as special children, highly honored, and taken care of like kings and queens.” (Source: Kividi Kikama in Greed / Kruger, p. 396ff.)
- Ghomala’: Cyəpɔ (“he who is above everyone,” consisting of the verb cyə — to surpass or go beyond — and pɔ — referring to people. No human can claim this attribute, no matter what his or her social status or prestige.” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn )
- Binumarien: Karaambaia: “fight-leader” (Source: Oates 1995, p. 255)
-
Warlpiri: Warlaljamarri (owner or possessor of something — for more information tap or click here)
We have come to rely on another term which emphasizes God’s essential nature as YHWH, namely jukurrarnu (see tetragrammaton (YHWH)). This word is built on the same root jukurr– as is jukurrpa, ‘dreaming.’ Its basic meaning is ‘timelessness’ and it is used to describe physical features of the land which are viewed as always being there. Some speakers view jukurrarnu in terms of ‘history.’ In all Genesis references to YHWH we have used Kaatu Jukurrarnu. In all Mark passages where kurios refers to God and not specifically to Christ we have also used Kaatu Jukurrarnu.
New Testament references to Christ as kurios are handled differently. At one stage we experimented with the term Watirirririrri which refers to a ceremonial boss of highest rank who has the authority to instigate ceremonies. While adequately conveying the sense of Christ’s authority, there remained potential negative connotations relating to Warlpiri ceremonial life of which we might be unaware.
Here it is that the Holy Spirit led us to make a chance discovery. Transcribing the personal testimony of the local Warlpiri pastor, I noticed that he described how ‘my Warlaljamarri called and embraced me (to the faith)’. Warlaljamarri is based on the root warlalja which means variously ‘family, possessions, belongingness’. A warlaljamarri is the ‘owner’ or ‘possessor’ of something. While previously being aware of the ‘ownership’ aspect of warlaljamarri, this was the first time I had heard it applied spontaneously and naturally in a fashion which did justice to the entire concept of ‘Lordship’. Thus references to Christ as kurios are now being handled by Warlaljamarri.” (Source: Stephen Swartz, The Bible Translator 1985, p. 415ff. )
- Mairasi: Onggoao Nem (“Throated One” — “Leader,” “Elder”) or Enggavot Nan (“Above-One”) (source: Enggavoter 2004)
- Obolo: Okaan̄-ene (“Owner of person(s)”) (source: Enene Enene)
- Angami Naga: Niepu (“master,” “owner”)
- Lotha Naga: Opvui (“owner of house / field / cattle”) — since both “Lord” and YHWH are translated as Opvui there is an understanding that “Opvui Jesus is the same as the Opvui of the Old Testament”
- Ao Naga: Kibuba (“human master,” “teacher,” “owner of property,” etc.) (source for this and two above: Nitoy Achumi in The Bible Translator 1992 p. 438ff. )
- Seediq: Tholang, loan word from Min Nan Chinese (the majority language in Taiwan) thâu-lâng (頭儂): “Master” (source: Covell 1998, p. 248)
- Thai: phra’ phu pen cao (พระผู้เป็นเจ้า) (divine person who is lord) or ong(kh) cao nay (องค์เจ้านาย) (<divine classifier>-lord-boss) (source: Stephen Pattemore)
- Arabic often uses different terms for adonai or kurios referring to God (al-rabb الرب) and kurios referring to Jesus (al-sayyid الـسـيـد). Al-rabb is also the term traditionally used in Arabic Christian-idiom translations for YHWH, and al-sayyid is an honorary term, similar to English “lord” or “sir” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
- Tamil also uses different terms for adonai/kurios when referring to God and kurios when referring to Jesus. The former is Karttar கர்த்தர், a Sanskrit-derived term with the original meaning of “creator,” and the latter in Āṇṭavar ஆண்டவர், a Tamil term originally meaning “govern” or “reign” (source: Natarajan Subramani).
- Burunge: Looimoo: “owner who owns everything” (in the Burunge Bible translation, this term is only used as a reference to Jesus and was originally used to refer to the traditional highest deity — source: Michael Endl in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 48)
- Yagaria: Souve, originally “war lord” (source: Renck, p. 94)
- Aguacateco: Ajcaw ske’j: “the one to whom we belong and who is above us” (source: Rita Peterson in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 49)
- Konkomba: Tidindaan: “He who is the owner of the land and reigns over the people” (source: Lidorio 2007, p. 66)
- Chichewa: Ambuye Ambuye comes from the singular form Mbuye which is used to refer to: (1) someone who is a guardian or protector of someone or group of people — a grandparent who has founded a community or village; (2) someone who is a boss or master over a group of people or servants and has absolute control over them; (3) owner of something, be it a property, animals and people who are bound under his/her rule — for people this was mostly commonly used in the context of slaves and their owner. In short, Mbuye is someone who has some authorities over those who call him/her their “Mbuye.” Now, when the form Ambuye is used it will either be for honorific when used for singular or plural when referring to more than one person. When this term is used in reference to God, it is for respect to God as he is acknowledged as a guardian, protector, and ruler of everything. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation).
- Hdi uses rveri (“lion”) as a title of respect and as such it regularly translates adon in the Old Testament. As an address, it’s most often with a possessive pronoun as in rvera ɗa (“my lion” = “my lord” or “sir”). So, for example, Genesis 15:2 (“O Lord God”) is Rvera ɗa Yawe (“My lion Yahweh”) or Ruth to Boaz in Ruth 2:13: “May I find your grace [lit. good-stomach] my lion.” This ties in nicely with the imagery of the Lord roaring like a lion (Hosea 11:10; Amos 3:8; Joel 3:16). Better still, this makes passages like Revelation 5:5 even richer when we read about rveri ma taba məndəra la Yuda, “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”. In Revelation 19:16, Jesus is rveri ta ghəŋa rveriha “the lion above lions” (“lord of lords”). (Source: Drew Maust)
Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient Greek Septuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew adonai was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments: “Another case is the use of kurios referring to Jesus. For Yahweh (in English Bibles: ‘the Lord‘), the Septuagint uses kurios. Although the term kurios usually has to do with one’s authority over others, when the New Testament authors use this word from the Septuagint to refer to Jesus, they are making an extraordinary claim: Jesus of Nazareth is to be identified with Yahweh.”
See also Father / Lord.
Japanese benefactives (goran)
Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.
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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, goran (ご覧) or “see/behold/look” (itself a combination of “behold/see” [ran] and the honorific prefix go- — see behold / look / see (Japanese honorifics)) is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Scriptures Plain & Simple (Luke 19:1-10)
Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Luke 19:1-10:
Zacchaeus lived in Jericho and was rich — yet he was hated,
because he collected taxes for the Roman authorities.
Somehow Zacchaeus found out
that Jesus was passing through Jericho,
and he wanted to see what he was like.
Crowds covered every inch of the ground,
and since Zacchaeus was short and couldn’t see the road,
he climbed up a big tree and waited.
Jesus spotted him in the tree and shouted,
“Zacchaeus, come down! I want to visit with you today.”
Zacchaeus scampered down and greeted Jesus with a smile.
But jealousy took control of the crowds, and they grumbled,
“This guy Zacchaeus is scum!
Is Jesus really going to eat with him?”
When Zacchaeus got up from the meal, he said to Jesus,
“Lord, I promise to give half of my property to the poor,
and to everyone I’ve ever cheated,
I’ll pay back four times as much.”
“Now you and your family are acceptable to God!” said Jesus.
“Indeed you are truly a son of your ancestor Abraham.
I came to look for and to save people that others reject.”
Sung version of Luke 19
Translation commentary on Luke 19:8
Exegesis:
statheis lit. ‘having taken his stand,’ cf. on 18.11. Here it could mean that Zacchaeus took a position where everyone could hear him.
pros ton kurion ‘to the Lord,’ cf. on 1.6.
idou ‘behold,’ emphatic introduction of what follows.
ta hēmiseia mou tōn huparchontōn ‘half of my possessions.’ ta hēmiseia, or ta hēmisē (Nestle). Possessive mou goes with huparchontōn (cf. on 8.3).
tois ptōchois didōmi ‘I give to the poor,’ best understood as a pledge and hence often rendered in the future (cf. Translator’s New Testament).
ei tinos ti esukophantēsa ‘if I have defrauded anyone of anything,’ implicit admission. For sukophanteō cf. on 3.14.
apodidōmi tetraploun ‘I make fourfold restitution,’ also a pledge.
Translation:
Stood, or, “took his stand” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation), or, ‘came forward,’ ‘stood in front of all.’
I have defrauded any one of anything, or, ‘I have taken anything from (or, things belonging to) any one by deceit,’ ‘from any person I have taken wrongfully’ (Ekari, using a combination of the verbs ‘to clutch-a-prey’ and ‘to take’), ‘there are some I have deceived (by taking) their money’ (Tzeltal).
I restore it fourfold, or, ‘I give-instead-of-it fourfold’ (Balinese, Bahasa Indonesia RC), ‘I pay (or, give) back four times as much’ (cf. An American Translation, Sranan Tongo).
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 19:8
Paragraph 19:8–10
19:8a
Bible scholars have different views about exactly when and where the events of this paragraph happened. But some time passed before Zacchaeus spoke the words in 19:8. Zacchaeus and Jesus may have been in his house with other guests or outside the house where the whole crowd could hear what they said. In some languages it may be necessary or helpful to indicate that some time had passed. For example:
A little later
-or-
Later that day (Contemporary English Version)
But: What Zacchaeus said in this verse contrasts with what the crowd said about him in 19:7 (that he was a sinful man). So some English versions begin this verse with But. Other versions have “and” or do not have a conjunction. Begin the verse in a way that natural in your language.
Zacchaeus stood up: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as stood up is literally “stood” or “standing.” There are two ways to interpret it in this context:
(1) It indicates that Zacchaeus stood up from a sitting position. For example:
Zacchaeus stood up (Contemporary English Version)
(Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Translation, Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version, God’s Word, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, King James Version)
(2) It indicates that Zacchaeus stopped or kept standing where he was. For example:
Zacchaeus stood there (New Revised Standard Version)
(New Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, Revised English Bible, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, New Living Translation (2004))
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). Zacchaeus was about to make an important statement. It was proper for him to stand so that everyone there could see him and listen to what he said.
and said to the Lord: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Lord means “master.” It is also a word that the Jews used to address God. Luke often used the title Lord to refer to Jesus. In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit that the title refers to Jesus here. For example:
and said to the/our Lord ⌊Jesus⌋
See Lord, Context 3, in the Glossary.
19:8b
Look: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Look introduces a statement that Zacchaeus wanted Jesus to pay special attention to. In this context the word Look implies that the statement will be important. It may also imply that the statement will be surprising. Some ways to translate the word in English are:
Behold (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Listen (Good News Translation)
-or-
See
If you have a word or phrase in your language that draws special attention to a statement, you may be able to use it here.
Lord: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Lord is often used as a polite way to address a master or respected religious leader. Here Zacchaeus used it to address Jesus.
The word Lord occurs twice in this verse. Both Luke and Zacchaeus recognized Jesus as representing God. It should be clear in your translation that Zacchaeus was being very respectful in the way he spoke to Jesus.
See Lord, Context 3, in the Glossary for more information and for translation suggestions.
half of my possessions I give to the poor: In this clause Zacchaeus was promising to give half of his goods to poor people in the future. He was not literally giving those things to them while he was speaking. The present form of give indicates that Zacchaeus would certainly keep his promise.
Use a natural way in your language to make a promise like this. Some other ways to translate it in English are:
I will give half my wealth to the poor (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
I am going to give half my property to the poor (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
half of my possessions I will give to the poor (New American Standard Bible)
Notice that the New Living Translation (2004) and New Jerusalem Bible have used a different order of phrases than the Berean Standard Bible has. Use a natural order in your language to emphasize this promise.
half of my possessions: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as possessions refers to what Zacchaeus owned. It can also be translated “belongings” or “property.”
In some languages it may be difficult to translate a word like half. It may be more helpful to translate the idea in a different way. For example:
I will divide what I own into two equal groups/parts and give one group/part to poor people
the poor: See how you translated this phrase in 18:22.
19:8c–d
and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold: In this statement Zacchaeus announced what he would do for anyone whom he had cheated. He was probably admitting that he had cheated people when he collected their taxes.
In many languages it may be helpful to use a more definite statement than the if clause expresses in English. For example:
I’ll pay four times as much as I owe to those I have cheated in any way. (God’s Word)
-or-
And I will now pay back four times as much to everyone I have ever cheated. (Contemporary English Version)
Notice that both of these examples change the order of the clauses in the statement. Use a natural order in your language.
cheated anyone: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as cheated refers here to taking money from people by making false charges. In his work as a tax collector Zacchaeus could say that people must pay more money than they really owed. Other ways to translate this are:
defrauded anyone (Revised English Bible)
-or-
dishonestly taken too much money/payment from someone
repay it fourfold: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as repay means “to give” or “to pay.” Here Zacchaeus promised to give four times what he had gained. For example, if he had cheated a person and gained one hundred silver coins, he promised to give him four hundred silver coins. Here is another way to translate this:
I will give them back four times as much! (New Living Translation (2004))
When Zacchaeus did this, he was obeying the Old Testament Law. If you are using footnotes to give your readers background information, you may want to include one here. For example:
Old Testament law required that when someone had gained money or goods by trickery or stealing, he must pay back more than the amount that was taken. See Exodus 22:1–9 for a list of cases and how much to pay back. Zacchaeus promised to pay back the maximum amount.
© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.