The Greek in Luke 22:24 that is translated as “dispute” in English had to be translated in Central Yupik with a term that “emphasizes wanting to get credit rather than avoiding blame” since Yupik had several terms for “dispute” with different emphases.
complete verse (Luke 22:24)
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 22:24:
- Noongar: “All the disciples began arguing, which one of them was greatest among all of them.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
- Uma: “From there, the disciples of Yesus argued with one another, which of them had highest rank.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “Na, the disciples of Isa discussed as to who of them should be the greatest.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then those disciples argued as to which one of them would be the greatest in the future.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “A little-later, the disciples of Jesus were quarrelling as to which of them was/would-be-considered the greatest.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “Something else which those disciples did was, they were arguing as to which of them would be acknowledged as the most important.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The Last Supper
Click here to see the image in higher resolution.
Willy Wiedmann, the artist, commented on this picture: “In spite of some difficulty, and unlike Leonardo da Vinci [see here ] I did not set my last supper in a theatrical scene with Jesus in the center behind an elongated table with all the disciples, with two at each end so that that there are 11 seated behind the table. And not like the panel by Juan de Juanes (1623-79) [see here ] in which the six disciples left and right are very dynamic figures. And also not like Martin Schongauer’s Last Supper [see here ] with a slightly shorter table (also incidentally very similar to Juanes in the attitudes of the figures) and two figures seen from the back in the foreground of the panel. Instead I have given the Master the middle place to the foreground, with his back to us to finally leave the controversial Jesus-existential questions unanswered. Slightly symbolically it means that he is leaving his world. The iris color is meant to transfer the rainbow to Jesus, that God once linked to Noah (my kingdom is not of this world). I attempted to present answers that correspond to the characters of each individual.”
Image and text taken from the Wiedmann Bible. For more information about the images and ways to adopt them, see here .
For other images of Willy Wiedmann paintings in TIPs, see here.
Following is a painting by Wang Suda 王肅達 (1910-1963):
Copyright by the Catholic University Peking, China.
Text under painting translated from Literary Chinese into English:
Beginning of the Holy Communion
You have this as food and this is my body.
Image taken from Chinese Christian Posters . For more information on the “Ars Sacra Pekinensis” school of art, see this article , for other artworks of that school in TIPs, see here.
Following is an acrylic on canvas painting by Hanna-Cheriyan Varghese:
Used with permission by the Overseas Ministries Study Center (OMSC) at Princeton Theological Seminary. You can purchase this and many other artworks by artists in residence at the OSMC in high resolution and without a watermark via the OSMC website .
“Hanna-Cheriyan Varghese (1938 – 2009) of Selangor, Malaysia, was the artist in residence at OMSC for the 2006–2007 academic year. She was born to Christian parents, and she remembered her mother taking her to a different worship service every week: ‘My parents encouraged me to attend different churches so that my siblings and I would appreciate the liturgy and traditions of the Christian believers of different denominations. Christians are a minority in Malaysia so we continue to struggle for our identity in a Muslim society. There is no open conflict as such.’
“She always had a passion for painting and drawing. She worked in the mediums of acrylic paint and Batik dye.
“‘All creative work, be it the spoken word, the written word or the sung word, are essentials in praise and worship, meditation, education, inculturation and evangelism. This also includes art and pictures, which is universal seeing.’ Hanna Varghese.” (Source )
See also the last supper (icon) and We All are One in Christ.
the last supper (icon)
Following is a contemporary Ukrainian Orthodox icon of the last supper by Ulyana Tomkevych.
Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
Scriptures Plain & Simple (Luke 22:24-30)
Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Luke 22:24-30:
A heated debate broke out among the followers of Jesus —
each of them saying, “I’m the greatest!”
But Jesus interrupted and said:
“Foreign kings order their subjects around,
while claiming to be everyone’s friend.
Don’t be like that! I’ve come as your servant,
and if you want to be truly great, then become a servant yourself.
You may think a king is superior to a servant,
but I’ve been a servant to you.
“You’ve been faithful friends in all my troubles,
so I’ll let each of you rule as a king,
just as my Father has promised.
Not only will you eat and drink with me in the Ultimate Kingdom —
you’ll each have authority of your own.”
Sung version of Luke 22
Translation commentary on Luke 22:24
Exegesis:
egeneto de kai philoneikia en autois ‘an argument also arose among them.’ de kai marks the transition to a new event in the same situation.
philoneikia in a concrete sense, ‘dispute,’ ‘argument,’ ‘quarrel.’
to tis autōn dokei einai meizōn ‘as to who of them was accounted the greatest.’ The interrogative clause is substantivized by prefixing the article to in order to connect it with philoneikia. dokei is used here in the specific sense of being recognized, having the reputation. meizōn means here, ‘greater than the rest,’ cf. Plummer.
Translation:
A dispute … arose among them, or, ‘a quarrel/dissension broke out among them’ (cf. Nieuwe Vertaling; also Tae,’ using a reciprocal form of ‘to be-at-fault’); and cf. on “an argument arose” in 9.46.
Which … was to be regarded as the greatest, or to avoid a passive construction, ‘which … people would consider the greatest,’ ‘who … would have the highest position’; cf. also, “who … should rank highest” (New English Bible). For the greatest see again on 9.46.
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 22:24
Section 22:24–30
Jesus taught his apostles about greatness
In this section Jesus’ apostles began to argue about which of them was the greatest. Because of this argument, Jesus taught them that leaders among his disciples should be different from other leaders who are not his disciples. His disciples should be servants and not harsh, arrogant leaders. This instruction applies not only to Jesus’ twelve apostles but to everyone who becomes a leader among Jesus’ other followers.
The apostles had a similar argument in 9:46 and Mark 9:34. In 9:46 this argument occurred just after Jesus had predicted in 9:44 that he would be betrayed. The similar argument here in Section 22:24–30 is also mentioned immediately after Jesus said that he would be betrayed.
Some examples of heading for this section are:
Jesus again teaches humility (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
The Argument about Greatness (Good News Translation)
-or-
Jesus taught that the one who serves others is the greatest among them
Some English versions, such as the New International Version, do not have a section heading here. You may divide the sections in the way that is most helpful for the people in your area.
Paragraph 22:24–27
22:24a
A dispute also arose among the disciples: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as A dispute also arose is more literally “And a dispute also happened.” In this context it introduces a topic that the apostles argued about. The phrase does not necessarily indicate that this argument happened immediately after their discussion in 22:23. Other ways to introduce this argument are:
The apostles also began to argue (New Century Version)
-or-
And there was also a strife among them (King James Version)
-or-
A dispute also started among them (NET Bible)
Some English versions do not translate the word also. For example:
An argument broke out among the disciples (Good News Translation)
Introduce the argument in a natural way in your language.
22:24b
as to which of them would be considered the greatest: In Greek, this phrase is more literally “[about] who of them seems to be greatest.” It indicates that the apostles argued about which of them seemed to be greater than all the rest of the apostles. Another way to translate this is:
concerning which of them seemed to be greater than the others
In some languages it may be necessary to make this argument into a direct quotation. For example:
about the question, “Who among us should be considered the greatest?”
would be considered the greatest: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as would be considered is active. It means “seems” or “thinks,” and it refers to opinions or thoughts about the apostles. The text does not specify who have those opinions, so many versions translate the verb as passive, as in the Berean Standard Bible. Some ways to translate would be considered the greatest are:
should be thought of as the greatest (Good News Translation)
-or-
was to be regarded as the greatest (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
should have the most honorable position
greatest: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as greatest refers here to being superior to other people in importance, rank, or quality.
Some other ways to translate the word greatest are:
the most important (New Century Version)
-or-
highest in rank
General Comment on 22:24a–b
In some languages it may be helpful to translate this verse as two sentences. For example:
Then a quarrel broke out among the disciples. They argued about who should be considered the greatest. (God’s Word)
-or-
And they began to argue with each other. They asked each other, “Which of us seems to be the greatest?”
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All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
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