complete verse (Luke 20:29)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 20:29:

  • Noongar: “One day, seven brothers were alive. The first brother married, but he died childless.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “So, there were seven siblings/relatives, all men. The oldest got married, he died without children.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then, there were seven brothers. The oldest one took a wife, then he died and they didn’t have any children.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Long ago there were seven brothers; the older one got married but he died and he had no children.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “All-right then, there were reportedly seven male siblings. The oldest got-married but died while they had no children.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Well, we say that because recently there were here with us (excl.) seven siblings who were all male. Well, the firstborn married. He died without any children.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 20:29 – 20:32

Exegesis:

hepta oun adelphoi ēsan ‘now there were seven brothers.’ oun marks the transition to the exposition of the case.

ho prōtos labōn gunaika apethanen ateknos ‘the first took a wife and died childless.’

(V. 30) kai ho deuteros (V. 31) kai ho tritos elaben autēn ‘and the second and the third took her.’ elaben is in the singular because the marriage with the second and with the third brother are two distinct events. The clause implies that the second brother also died childless, and the same is to be inferred with regard to the third brother.

hōsautōs de kai hoi hepta ou katelipon tekna kai apethanon ‘in the same way also the seven left no children and died,’ short for, ‘in the same way also the rest of the brothers took her and left no children and died,’ i.e. died without leaving children.

(V. 32) husteron ‘afterward,’ or ‘last of all,’ preferably the latter.

Translation:

Now, or ‘now, once there was,’ ‘it-happened’ (Javanese), introducing the statement of the (fictional) case.

Seven brothers may have to become, ‘seven men related-as-siblings’ (Balinese), ‘seven men related-as-older-sibling-younger-sibling’ (Batak Toba), ‘seven men with the same father and mother’ (Tzeltal).

(V. 30ff) And the second and the third took her may have to be adjusted and/or expanded in order to be comprehensible, e.g. ‘then the second married her and died, and then (or, after him) the third (married her and died).’

Likewise all seven …, or, ‘up to the seventh, all…’ (Tae’ 1933), ‘the same happened with the rest of them, they…,’ ‘thus one by one all seven complete’ (Tzeltal).

Left no children and died is usually better rendered in inverted order, e.g. ‘died and left no children,’ ‘died without leaving line of descent’ (Shona 1966), ‘died childless, or, having had no children with her,’ and may have to be expanded, see Exegesis.

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 20:29

20:29a

Now there were seven brothers: In this verse the Sadducees began to tell Jesus a story that described a situation that might have happened. It was not a true story about actual people. The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Now introduces this story. It is not a time word here. It indicates that the Sadducees had finished giving background information, and they were now beginning to tell the actual story. Some ways to introduce this story in English are:

Once there were seven brothers…. (Good News Translation)
-or-
Well, suppose there were seven brothers. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
There were seven brothers. (God’s Word)

20:29b

The first one married a wife: The first one in this context refers to the oldest brother, who would normally be the first one to marry. The phrase married a wife may be redundant in some languages. Describe the action in a natural way in your language. Other ways to say it are:

the oldest got married (Good News Translation)
-or-
The first brother married (New Century Version)

but died childless: The phrase but died childless indicates that the husband died and his wife had no children by him. He died without fathering a child. There is nothing in the story that suggests why the man died. Your translation should not imply that the woman caused the husband to die. Some other ways to translate this are:

Then he died and did not leave any children.
-or-
and he died without having fathered a child

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