The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “widow” in English is translated in West Kewa as ona wasa or “woman shadow.” (Source: Karl J. Franklin in Notes on Translation 70/1978, pp. 13ff.)
The etymological meaning of the Hebrewalmanah (אַלְמָנָה) is likely “pain, ache,” the Greekchéra (χήρα) is likely “to leave behind,” “abandon,” and the Englishwidow (as well as related terms in languages such as Dutch, German, Sanskrit, Welsh, or Persian) is “to separate,” “divide” (source: Wiktionary).
“to beg” or “to ask,” (full expression: “to ask with one’s heart coming out,” which leaves out selfish praying, for asking with the heart out leaves no place for self to hide) (Tzotzil)
“to raise up one’s words to God” (implying an element of worship, as well as communication) (Miskito, Lacandon) (source of this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
Shilluk: “speak to God” (source: Nida 1964, p. 237)
Mairasi: “talk together with Great Above One (=God)” (source: Enggavoter, 2004)
Ik: waan: “beg.” Terrill Schrock (in Wycliffe Bible Translators 2016, p. 93) explains (click or tap here to read more):
What do begging and praying have to do with each other? Do you beg when you pray? Do I?
“The Ik word for ‘visitor’ is waanam, which means ‘begging person.’ Do you beg when you go visiting? The Ik do. Maybe you don’t beg, but maybe when you visit someone, you are looking for something. Maybe it’s just a listening ear.
When the Ik hear that [my wife] Amber and I are planning trip to this or that place for a certain amount of time, the letters and lists start coming. As the days dwindle before our departure, the little stack of guests grows. ‘Please, sir, remember me for the allowing: shoes, jacket (rainproof), watch, box, trousers, pens, and money for the children. Thank you, sir, for your assistance.’
“A few people come by just to greet us or spend bit of time with us. Another precious few will occasionally confide in us about their problems without asking for anything more than a listening ear. I love that.
“The other day I was in our spare bedroom praying my list of requests to God — a nice list covering most areas of my life, certainly all the points of anxiety. Then it hit me: Does God want my list, or does he want my relationship?
“I decided to try something. Instead of reading off my list of requests to God, I just talk to him about my issues without any expectation of how he should respond. I make it more about our relationship than my list, because if our personhood is like God’s personhood, then maybe God prefers our confidence and time to our lists, letters, and enumerations.”
In Luang it is translated with different shades of meaning (click or tap here to read more):
For Acts 1:14, 20:36, 21:5: kola ttieru-yawur nehla — “hold the waist and hug the neck.” (“This is the more general term for prayer and often refers to worship in prayer as opposed to petition. The Luang people spend the majority of their prayers worshiping rather than petitioning, which explains why this term often is used generically for prayer.”)
For Acts 28:9: sumbiani — “pray.” (“This term is also used generically for ‘prayer’. When praying is referred to several times in close proximity, it serves as a variation for kola ttieru-yawur nehla, in keeping with Luang discourse style. It is also used when a prayer is made up of many requests.”)
For Acts 8:15, 12:5: polu-waka — “call-ask.” (“This is a term for petition that is used especially when the need is very intense.”)
Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 20:47:
Noongar: “They cheat widows and seize their houses, but afterwards, they want people to see them praying a long time! Their punishment will be worse!'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “They deceive widows and grab their houses. And they hide the evil of their behavior with long prayers. Their punishment will be very heavy.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “They cause difficulties for the widow women so that they will get their houses, and they worship for a long time, pretending that they are good people. Surely they will receive a great judgment in the afterworld.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as for these teachers of the Law, they cheat widow-women in order to come to own the houses of those women, and their prayers are very long but these are used to cover up their evil deeds. God has great punishment for them in the future.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “They moreover deceive widowed women to thus get their possessions and even their houses while at the same time they make-their prayers -very-long in the sight of the many-people. In-the-future indeed (prophetic formula) their punishment will be heavier.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And they also use up the livelihood of widow women by what they cause to be given by them. And because they want to cover their ways which are evil, they make their prayers last a long time. Their punishment really will be very heavy.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Ibaloi: “They wickedly take the possessions of widowed women, and when they go to their church they make long prayers, so that they will say that they are good people. Big is the punishment of God on them.” (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
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.
They defraud widows of their houses: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as They defraud widows of their houses is literally “who devour/eat the houses of widows.” This phrase an idiom. It indicates that the teachers of the religious law often tried to get as much money as they could from widows. The text does not specify how they did this. They may have persuaded the widows to give them generous gifts. Some other ways to translate this are:
But they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property (New Living Translation (1996)) -or-
They persuade/manipulate widows to give them everything they have -or-
They exploit widows and take their possessions and homes
If you have an idiom or phrase in your language that expresses this meaning, consider using it here. For example:
They fatten themselves by consuming the possessions/money of widows
houses: The word houses here is a figure of speech. It includes the widows’ money and other possessions, in addition to their homes.
20:47b
and for a show make lengthy prayers: This phrase implies that the scribes only pretended to be godly when they prayed. They prayed long prayers in public, wanting people to think that they were close to God. In reality, they were greedy and corrupt. See Matthew 6:5–8. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
and then say long prayers to make themselves look good (God’s Word) -or-
and then try to make themselves look good by saying long prayers (New Century Version)
for a show make lengthy prayers: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for a show means “for a pretense.” The scribes prayed long prayers because they wanted to impress people. They wanted people to think that they were righteous, so they prayed long prayers in public where other people could see and hear them. Some ways to translate this are:
say long prayers to make themselves look good (God’s Word) -or-
pray long prayers so ⌊people⌋ will think they are righteous -or-
and then make a show of saying long prayers (Good News Translation)
In some languages it may be helpful to use indirect speech here to express what the scribes wanted people to think. For example:
They pray long prayers so that people will say, “They are so righteous!”
make lengthy prayers: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as make…prayers is literally “praying.” It refers to speaking to God. In this context it refers to formal prayers that the teachers prayed aloud in public. The phrase make lengthy prayers indicates that when the teachers prayed in public, they prayed for a long time. Some ways to translate this are:
pray for a long time -or-
pray with many words
Some languages may use different words to refer to specific kinds of prayer, such as requests, thanks, or praise. Here you should use a word or phrase that has a general meaning.
20:47c
These men will receive greater condemnation: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as These men will receive greater condemnation is more literally “They will receive the greater condemnation.” The Revised Standard Version and several other English versions translate it that way. There is an implied comparison here. The clause implies that the scribes will be punished more than other people will be punished. In some languages it may be necessary to make the comparison explicit:
They will be punished more severely ⌊than other people⌋.
greater condemnation: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as greater means “very great, much greater.” For example:
They will receive much more severe punishment
In some languages it may be necessary to indicate who will punish the scribes. If that is true in your language, you should indicate that God will punish them. For example:
⌊God⌋ will punish them much more severely/greatly ⌊than he will punish anyone else⌋.
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