46“Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes and who love respectful greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets.
The Greek that is usually translated as “scribe” in English “were more than mere writers of the law. They were the trained interpreters of the law and expounders of tradition.”
Tboli: “one who taught the law God before caused Moses to write” (or “one who taught the law of Moses”) (source for this and 5 above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Noongar: Mammarapa-Warrinyang or “law man” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Mairasi: “one who writes and explains Great Above One’s (=God’s) prohibitions” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
Chichewa: “teacher of Laws” (source: Ernst Wendland)
Lalana Chinantec: “one who is a teacher of the law which God gave to Moses back then”
Tepeuxila Cuicatec: “one who know well the law” (Source for this and four above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Huixtán Tzotzil: “one who mistakenly thought he was teaching God’s commandments”(Huixtán Tzotzil frequently uses the verb -cuy to express “to mistakenly think something” from the point of view of the speaker; source: Marion M. Cowan in Notes on Translation 20/1966, pp. 6ff.)
Germandas Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022): “theologian” and the 1998 translation by Walter Jens: “interpreter of scriptures” (Schriftausleger)
English translation by Scot McKnight (The Second Testament, publ. 2023): Covenant Code scholar
In British Sign Language it is translated with a sign that combines the signs for “expert” and “law.” (Source: Anna Smith)
“Scribe” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL , used with permission)
In many English translations the Greek terms “hieron” (the whole “temple” in Jerusalem or specifically the outer courts open to worshippers) and “naos” (the inner “shrine” or “sanctuary”) are translated with only one word: “temple” (see also for instance “Tempel” in German [for exception see below] and “tempel” in Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans).
Other languages make a distinction: (Click or tap here to see more)
Navajo (Dinė): “house in which worship is carried out” (for naos)
Balinese: “inner part of the Great Temple” (“the term ‘inner part’ denoting the hindmost and holiest of the two or three courts that temples on Bali usually possess”) vs. “Great Temple”
Telugu: “womb (i.e. interior)-of-the-abode” vs. “abode”
Thai: a term denoting the main audience hall of a Buddhist temple compound vs. “environs-of-the-main-audience-hall”
Kituba: “place of holiness of house-God Lord” vs. “house-God Lord”
Shipibo-Conibo: “deep in God’s house” vs. “God’s house” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Germandas Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022): “inner court of the temple” (Tempelinnenhof) vs. “temple”
Languages that, like English, German, Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans, don’t make that distinction include:
Toraja-Sa’dan: “house that is looked upon as holy, that is sacred, that is taboo and where one may not set foot” (lit. “house where-the-belly-gets-swollen” — because taboo is violated — using a term that is also applied to a Muslim mosque) (source for this and the three above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Aguaruna: “the house for talking to God” (source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
Guhu-Samane: “festival longhouse of God” (“The biiri, ‘festival longhouse’, being the religious and social center of the community, is a possible term for ‘temple’. It is not the ‘poro house’ as such. That would be too closely identified with the cult of poro. The physical features of the building, huge and sub-divided, lend it further favor for this consideration. By qualifying it as ‘God’s biiri’ the term has become meaningful and appropriate in the context of the Scriptures.”) (Source: Ernest Richert in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. )
Enga: “God’s restricted access house” (source: Adam Boyd on his blog )
Another distinction that tends to be overlooked in translations is that between hieron (“temple” in English) and sunagógé (“synagogue” in English). Euan Fry (in The Bible Translator 1987, p. 213ff. ) reports on this:
“Many older translations have simply used transliterations of ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ rather than trying to find equivalent terms or meaningful expressions in their own languages. This approach does keep the two terms separate; but it makes the readers depend on explanations given by pastors or teachers for their understanding of the text.
“Translators who have tried to find meaningful equivalents, for the two terms ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ have usually made a distinction between them in one of two ways (which focus on the contrasting components of meaning). One way takes the size and importance of the Temple to make a contrast, so that expressions such as ‘sacred meeting/ worship house of the Jews’ and ‘big sacred meeting/worship house of the Jews’ are used. The other way focuses on the different nature of the religious activity at each of the places, so that expressions such as ‘meeting/worship house of the Jews’ and ‘sacrifice/ceremony place of the Jews’ are used.
“It is not my purpose in this article to discuss how to arrive at the most precise equivalent to cover all the components of meaning of ‘temple’. That is something that each translator really has to work through for himself in the light of the present usage and possibilities in his own language. My chief concern here is that the basic term or terms chosen for ‘temple’ should give the reader of a translation a clear and correct picture of the location referred to in each passage. And I am afraid that in many cases where an equivalent like ‘house of God’ or ‘worship house’ has been chosen, the readers have quite the wrong picture of what going to the Temple or being in the Temple means. (This may be the case for the word ‘temple’ in English too, for many readers.)”
Here are some examples:
Bambara: “house of God” (or: “big house of worship”) vs. “worship house” (or: “small houses of worship”)
Toraja-Sa’dan: “house where-the-belly-gets-swollen” (see above) vs. “meeting house for discussing matters concerning religious customs” (and “church” is “house where one meets on Sunday”)
Navajo (Dinė): “house in which worship is carried out” vs. “house of gathering” (source for all above: Bratcher / Nida)
Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Herod’s temple (source: Bible Lands 2012)Click or tap here to see a short video clip showing synagogues in New Testament times (source: Bible Lands 2012)
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 20:46:
Noongar: “‘Watch out for the Law Men. They always go about wearing their long clothes and want people in the market saying they are great. They want to take the best place in the Meeting House and the best place at feast days.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “‘Be careful, do not imitate the behavior of the religion teachers. Because they are happy going walking around wearing long clothes, they are happy in people on the side of the road bow-down to greet them. They are happy to be seated in the seats of honor in the prayer houses, they are happy if they are seated in the good seats at a feast.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “‘Stay away from/be careful of the teachers of the religious law, they are happy to walk about in long garments/clothes and they are happy to be greeted in the market. In the prayer-houses they want to sit in the places for the most honored people. Likewise when they are at a feast they want to sit in the seat that is the most honored.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “‘You must be on your guard so that you do not become like the teachers of the Law, because the only thing they like is to walk around in their long robes with the people showing them respect when they’re in the marketplace. And when they’re in the churches, they like that they are the ones that are allowed to sit in the seats of the high ranking people, and they want also that they be respected very much when they attend the feasts.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “‘Beware of the teachers of the law, because they like to dress in fine/beautiful robes so that they have a means-of-being-distinguished and they also like those who see them to honor them saying, ‘Where are you (sing.) going, sir?’ when they go visiting in the marketplace. They also choose the best seats in the synagogue, and when they go to join-in-eating-a-meal, it has to be the important people that they go and sit-with.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “‘Now you be careful of the explainers of law, who are fond of walking about in long clothes which are the clothes of the important. And their pleasure is to be greeted-appropriately in places where there are many people. And their favorite seats in the worship-place are the seats where the important are seated. It’s the same at feasts.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
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®).
prosechete apo tōn grammateōn ‘beware of the experts in the law.’ For prosechō with apo cf. on 12.1; for grammateus cf. on 5.21.
It should be noted, however, that Luke inserts philountōn before aspasmous, thus avoiding Mark’s incongruous construction of thelontōn (with following infinitive, and with substantives as object). prōtokathedria, cf. 11.43.
phileō (also 22.47, but in a different meaning) ‘to love,’ ‘to like.’
(v. 47) hoi katesthiousin … kai … proseuchontai ‘who eat up/devour … and … pray.’ Note that Luke restores the syntactical concordance which is lacking in Mk. 12.40 by changing the participles into relative clauses.
Translation:
Beware of, or, “be on your guard against” (Phillips), see on 12.1.
Long robes, or to make clear the function, ‘long coats/clothes to show their importance.’
For salutations in the market places and the best seats in the synagogues and places of honour at feasts see also on 11.43 and 14.7ff respectively.
They will receive the greater condemnation is elliptical in that it does not mention the point of comparison, a reference to which may have to be added, e.g. ‘they will be condemned/punished more heavily than others (who have not done so).’
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.
Beware of the scribes: In this context the word Beware is a warning. It implies that the disciples should be careful not to imitate the attitudes and actions of the scribes. Jesus did not want the disciples to follow their example and displease God.
In some languages it is necessary to make the warning more explicit for this context. For example:
Be careful not to act like the scribes. -or-
Do not follow the example of the scribes. -or-
Do not let the scribes deceive you.
the scribes: The word scribes also occurred in 20:1c and 20:19a. See how you translated it there. For more information, see scribes in the Glossary.
In this context Jesus was not referring to any specific teachers among the scribes. He referred in general to all of them.
20:46b
They like to walk around in long robes:
The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as like to means “want” or “desire.” It indicates here that the scribes wanted to be noticed by the people. They were delighted when people admired them.
to walk around in long robes: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as long robes refers to long, elegant expensive robes. The scribes liked to wear these robes and walk around in public places to show people how important they were. They wore these robes in order to look pious, religious, or more important than others.
Some other ways to translate this are:
wearing fancy/costly clothes when they walk in public places -or-
to wear their expensive religious clothes and walk around among the people
20:46c
they love the greetings in the marketplaces: The scribes liked for people in the marketplaces to notice them. They loved for people to bow to them and greet them with special respect. They enjoyed this because they were proud. They wanted honor and attention in public. It was not because they were very friendly people.
In some languages a literal translation of 20:46c may imply that the scribes were simply being friendly to people. It may seem strange that Jesus criticized them for that. If that is true in your language, you may need to make the meaning clearer. For example:
when they go to the marketplaces, they enjoy receiving ⌊flattering/respectful⌋ greetings
marketplaces: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as marketplaces refers to large, open areas where many people came to buy and sell things. This word also occurred in 11:43. See how you translated it there.
General Comment on 20:46b–c
In this context there is no difference in the meaning of “like” in 20:46b and “love” in 20:46c. In some languages it may be natural to combine the clauses in 20:46b–c. For example:
For they love to parade in flowing robes and to have everyone bow to them as they walk in the marketplaces. (New Living Translation (1996))
20:46d
the chief seats in the synagogues: This clause tells another way that the scribes loved to be honored. They loved to sit in the places where the most important men sat in the Jewish houses of worship. They were happy when others treated them as important people.
the chief seats: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the chief seats is literally “the-first-seat.” This word refers to a bench in the front of the synagogue that faced the congregation. The places on this bench were reserved for important people. They were the seats of honor.
Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
the seats of honor -or-
the front seats (God’s Word) -or-
the reserved seats (Good News Translation) -or-
the best seats (NET Bible)
This word also occurred in 11:43. See how you translated it there.
synagogues:Synagogues were buildings where Jews gathered to pray, read Scripture, teach their beliefs, and worship. The Jews also gathered there for cultural activities. There was only one temple (in Jerusalem), but each Jewish community had a synagogue. Some ways to translate synagogues are:
prayer-houses ⌊of the Jews⌋ -or-
meeting-places ⌊of the Jews⌋ -or-
worship buildings -or-
houses for gathering together
If you make explicit a phrase such as “of the Jews,” be sure that it does not imply that Jesus was not a Jew.
If the word synagogues is already known in your area, you may write it according to the sounds of your language. You may want to include a word or phrase to explain the meaning. For example:
sinagog houses/buildings
Consider using a footnote that contains some of the information above. This word also occurred in 11:43. See how you translated it there. For more information, see synagogue in the Glossary.
20:46e
and the places of honor at banquets: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the places of honor refers to the places at the feast where the most important or honored guests sat. Use a natural expression in your language to describe places where important guests sit at a feast. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
the best seats at banquets (Contemporary English Version) -or-
the places of honor at banquets (NET Bible) -or-
the places where important people sit at feasts
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