complete verse (Luke 20:40)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 20:40:

  • Noongar: “They became afraid to ask Jesus another thing.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “From there, they no longer dared to ask Yesus anything.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “They did not dare to ask him more.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “They said this because they could no longer get up the courage to ask Jesus anything.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “And from then on, no one dared to question Jesus.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Well no one else dared to question Jesus any more.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 20:40

Exegesis:

ouketi … ouden ‘not … any more,’ the two negations reinforcing each other.

etolmōn ‘they dared,’ subject the Sadducees.

Translation:

No longer … any, or, ‘not … any more/further’; or an expression denying continuation, e.g. ‘they did not dare to go on asking….’

To dare, used with a negation the verb may be rendered by ‘to fear,’ e.g. ‘they feared to ask any more questions.’

To ask a question, cf. on v. 3.

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 20:40

20:40

And they did not dare to question Him any further: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And here often introduces a reason or explanation. In this clause it may explain why the scribes did not argue with Jesus in 20:39. They only told Jesus that he had answered well. They did not dare to ask him any more questions. Other ways to translate the connection are:

For they did not dare ask him any more questions. (Good News Translation)
-or-

From that time on, no one dared to ask him another question. (God’s Word)

In some languages a conjunction is not needed. For example:

No one was brave enough to ask him another question. (New Century Version)

Translate the connection with 20:39 in a natural way in your language.

they did not dare to question Him any further: People were afraid to test Jesus with any more hard or tricky questions, because he was very skillful at answering questions wisely.

they: The Berean Standard Bible literally represents the Greek text here. It probably refers here to people in general. It does not refer only to the scribes. Remember that the Sadducees and the scribes were different groups of people. The Sadducees had asked Jesus the question, and some scribes were there listening. Use a subject in your language that can refer to people in general, including the Sadducees and the scribes.

dare: The word dare indicates that no one felt bold enough to ask Jesus any more difficult questions. They felt unable to trick him because he had answered every question so wisely.

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