Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 2:38:
Noongar: “That moment, she arrived and thanked God. She spoke to all the people, those expecting God would liberate Jerusalem. Anna told them of the child.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “So, when Yusuf and Maria were in the House of God, Hana also arrived, saying thank you to God, and continually talking about that child to all the people who were waiting for the time when God would free the Yerusalem people from their enemies.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “She came close and thanked God and spoke about the child to the people, to whoever hoped that God would save their tribe Isra’il.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then, while Mary and Joseph were still in the church, she arrived and she praised God because of that child. And all the people who were gathered there, whose expectancy was true that God would set free the descendants of Israel, she caused them to understand who that child was.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “At that hour in which plural Jesus were in the Temple, she arrived and thanked God. Starting-from then, she was relating-about the baby to all who were waiting for God’s setting-free of those from-Israel.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “The words of Simeon hadn’t yet ended when Ana approached Jose and spouse. She gave thanks to God. And then she kept on relating concerning that child to anyone who was also longing for the saving/freeing of them who were the Judio.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
This is a contemporary tempera/gouache on leather painting by an unknown Ethiopian artist. Source: Sacred Art Pilgrim website .
Following is a painting by Chen Yuandu 陳緣督 (1902–1967):
Housed in the Société des Auxiliaires des Missions Collection – Whitworth University.
Image taken from Chinese Christian Posters . For more information on the “Ars Sacra Pekinensis” school of art, see this article , for other artworks of that school in TIPs, see here.
The following is a stained glass window from the Three choir windows in the Marienkirche, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, of the 14th century:
Source: Der gläserne Schatz: Die Bilderbibel der St. Marienkirche in Frankfurt (Oder), Neuer Berlin Verlag, 2005, copyright for this image: Brandenburgisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologisches Landesmuseum
Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )
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®).
kai autē tē hōra ‘and at that very hour,’ i.e. at the time that Jesus was presented in the temple by his parents, stronger than ‘at that time’ and suggesting that the meeting with Anna was more than just a coincidence.
epistasa anthōmologeito tō theō ‘after coming up, she returned thanks to God.’ epistasa expresses an action which precedes the action of the main verb, and is to be connected with autē tē hōra. For ephistēmi cf. on v. 9. Here it suggests the idea of approaching somebody.
anthomologeomai ‘to return praise,’ ‘to thank’; anti brings out that she thanked God in return for what He had done, i.e. the birth of the Messiah.
kai elalei peri autou ‘and she spoke about him.’ The imperfect tense has durative meaning, and suggests that she spoke about Jesus till long afterwards. autou refers to the child.
pasin tois prosdechomenois lutrōsin Ierousalēm ‘to all who were expecting the redemption of Jerusalem.’ In Old Testament passages referring to Messianic redemption, Jerusalem often represents all Israel, cf. Is. 40.2; Zeph. 3.14-20; Zech. 9.9f. For lutrōsis cf. on 1.68.
Translation:
Coming up, or, ‘coming near,’ or, co-ordinating the clause and specifying the participants, ‘she came (to) stand on their side’ (Sranan Tongo).
She gave thanks to God. Some languages can use a rendering built on their normal expression for ‘Thank(fulness),’ for which see on “ungrateful” in 6.35; other languages (e.g. Bahasa Indonesia) use a specific term for thank offered to God, or say, ‘she praised God’ (Bible de Jérusalem, Tae’), ‘she praised God for his gift/deed, or, for that child’ (Tboli).
Spoke of him (or, ‘the child’), or, ‘kept on talking about him’ (Ekari).
Redemption of Jerusalem, or, ‘(God’s) redeeming (lit. action redeem) Jerusalem’ (Thai), ‘that Jerusalem would be made free,’ ‘the time that God would pull Jerusalem from its distress’ (Sranan Tongo). For redemption see references on “redeemed” in 1.68.
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 this verse the author finished giving background information and told the next event in the story after 2:35. Indicate this in a natural way in your language.
This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Some English versions, such as the English Standard Version, translate it that way. The Berean Standard Bible has not translated this conjunction, and some other versions, such as the New International Version and NET Bible, also do not translate it. In some languages, it will not be necessary to translate this conjunction either. Connect 2:38a to 2:37cin a way that is natural in your language.
2:38a
Coming forward: Anna approached Joseph and Mary and Jesus.
at that moment: The phrase at that moment is literally “at the same hour/time.” It refers to the time when Simeon was speaking in 2:35b or just after he finished speaking. Other ways to say this are:
That very same hour she arrived (Good News Translation) -or-
just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph (New Living Translation (2004))
As mentioned in the note at Paragraph 2:36–38, you may want to put 2:38a at the beginning of 2:36a to show this connection.
2:38b
she gave thanks to God:
In this part of the verse, Anna thanked and praised God for sending the promised Savior. The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as gave thanks also means “was praising.” The Greek verb that is used here indicates that Anna did not just give thanks once, but repeatedly. This idea can also be expressed by saying that Anna began to give thanks to God, implying that she continued to thank him. For example:
and began to give thanks to God (NET Bible) -or-
and she began praising God (New Living Translation (2004))
2:38c
and spoke about the Child: The form of the Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as spoke may indicate that Anna was talking about Jesus continuously or repeatedly. For example:
and continued to speak of Him (New American Standard Bible)
Anna probably did not speak of Jesus only on that day. She probably continued to spread the news that Jesus was the Savior whom God had promised to send.
2:38d
to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem: This part of the verse tells whom Anna spoke to about Jesus. They were people who were hoping for the redemption of Jerusalem.
waiting for: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as waiting for also means “anticipating” “looking forward to,” or “expecting.” Many Jews were waiting for God to send the Christ to redeem them. This same Greek word also occurs in 2:25c.
the redemption of Jerusalem: The expression the redemption of Jerusalem is similar to “the consolation of Israel” in 2:25c. Many Jews were expecting that God would send the Messiah to deliver them and give them freedom. Some ways to translate the redemption of Jerusalem are:
for ⌊the one who would⌋ redeem ⌊the people of⌋ Jerusalem -or-
for God to rescue Jerusalem (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
for ⌊the Christ⌋ to deliver Jerusalem
redemption: The word redemption means “freeing,” “deliverance” or “liberation.” Many Jews were waiting for God to redeem/rescue them in different ways. Some believed that God would rescue their country from the rule of the Romans. Others believed that God would rescue them from physical suffering. Others believed that God would rescue them from their sin (1:77). It is good to translate this in a general way without specifying the type of redemption.
Jerusalem: In this context the word Jerusalem means “the entire nation of Israel” or “all the people in Israel, the Jews.” If you need to make this explicit, you may be able to say:
⌊the people of⌋ Jerusalem ⌊and all Israel⌋
If you add this implied information, you may want to include the literal Greek in a footnote. For example:
The Greek text says “Jerusalem.” Here “Jerusalem” represents all the people of Israel.
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