complete verse (Luke 20:31)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 20:31:

  • Noongar: “After, the next brother also married the widow, and he died. The same thing happened to all seven brothers. They all died childless,” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “The same thing happened to the third one on down to the seventh. They all died without children.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “And then the third one took the widow for his wife until all seven brothers had taken the widow as a wife and they died and did not leave a child.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And the same thing happened to the third, and it was just like that also, because all of the seven married the woman and had no children.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “So also with the third. Then so-on-and-so-forth. All those seven brothers, they took-each-other’s places in marrying that widow, and they all died with no children.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “The third was like that too, until they had all taken-over that wife by marrying her, and they all died without having 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 20:31

20:31a

and the third married the widow: Then the third oldest brother married the woman. It is again implied that he died childless. Your translation should not imply that the woman caused the men to die.

20:31b–c

and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children: It is clearly implied here that before they died, all seven brothers married the same woman, one after the other. None of the seven brothers produced any children by the woman whom they all had married. Another way to translate this is:

In the same way all seven brothers married the widow, died, and left no children. (God’s Word)

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