The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in English as “grain” (or: “corn”) is translated in Kui as “(unthreshed) rice.” Helen Evans (in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 40ff. ) explains: “Padddy [unthreshed rice] is the main crop of the country and rice the staple diet of the people, besides which [grain] is unknown and there is no word for it, and it seemed to us that paddy and rice in the mind of the Kui people stood for all that corn meant to the Jews.” “Paddy” is also the translation in Pa’o Karen (source: Gordon Luce in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 153f. ).
Other translations include: “wheat” (Teutila Cuicatec), “corn” (Lalana Chinantec), “things to eat” (Morelos Nahuatl), “grass corn” (wheat) (Chichimeca-Jonaz) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), “millet” (Lambya) (source: project-specific notes in Paratext), “food” (Nyamwezi) (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)or ntimumma lujia / “seeds for food” (Lokạạ — “since Lokạạ does not have specific terms for maize and rice that can be described as grains”) (source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
The Greek that is typically transliterated in English as “Satan” is transliterated in Kipsigis as “Setani.” This is interesting because it is not only a transliteration that approximates the Greek sound but it is also an existing Kipsigis word with the meaning of “ugly” and “sneaking.” (Source: Earl Anderson in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 85ff. )
In Morelos Nahuatl it is translated as “envious one” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.) and in Tibetan: bdud (བདུད།), lit. “chief devil” (except in Rev. 20:2, where it is transliterated) (source: gSungrab website ).
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 22:31:
Noongar: “‘Simon, Simon! Listen! God knows about Satan, he will test all of you, separating the good and bad, the same as farmers separating seed and waste.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “After that, the Lord Yesus spoke to Simon Petrus, he said: ‘Ee’, Simon! Hear: The King of Evil-ones has been given the opportunity to tempt you all. Like rice that is winnowed, like that also will be the severity of the temptation that strikes you.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Then Isa said to Petros, ‘Simon, listen. The leader of demons has asked permission to test you (pl.) if he can influence you (pl.) to the bad. His testing is as if rice is winnowed and the kernels and the chaff are separated.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Jesus said to Simon Peter, he said, ‘Hey Simon, I have something to say to you. God has allowed Satan to try to test all of you. His testing of you will be like separating the husk from the grain, because perhaps your faith is just like husks.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Then Jesus said to Pedro, ‘Simon, please listen to what I say. Satanas has requested opportunity to test you all so that he will see if any among you will be separated like the separation of hulled-rice and husks when it is winnowed.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And then Jesus said to Simon Pedro, ‘Simon, you (pl.) are being asked for by Satanas to be tested by him. Well, it is being permitted that all of you, your believing/obeying will be tested.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999): “Simon, Simon, Satan has stipulated that he can shake you up as if you were on a sieve.”
The name that is transliterated as “Simon (Peter)” in English is translated in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) with a sign that combines a reference to “Peter” (see here for the Libras translation of “Peter”) and “son” (of Jonah / John). (Source: Missão Kophós )
Two kinds of wild wheat have grown in the open deciduous oak woodland in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent for several thousand years: Einkorn Wheat Triticum monococcum and Emmer Wheat Triticum dicoccum. Both came into cultivation together with barley. Just before the time of the Romans, the Naked Bread Wheat or Hard Wheat Triticum durum started replacing the hulled varieties. This then became the favorite type of wheat for bread and macaroni. Spelt is a sub-member of the Triticum aestivum species.
In NRSVue and some other versions, the generic Hebrew word bar has been rendered “wheat” in Jeremiah 23:28 et al. This is legitimate, since the grain referred to by bar was probably wheat. However, it might be better to say “grain” in these passages.
The most important early wheat for the Israelites was emmer, probably the only wheat known in Egypt, and referred to in Hebrew as chittah. However, according to Hepper (Baker Encyclopedia of Bible Plants: Flowers and Trees, Fruits and Vegetables, Ecology. Baker Book House, 1992), the seven-headed wheat of the Egyptian king’s dream (Genesis 41:5ff.) suggests that there may also have been Triticum turgidum (rivet wheat) in the emmer group. The Hebrew word kusemeth probably refers to a type of emmer wheat that the Egyptians called swt.
Wheat is a type of grass like rice and barley, growing to around 75 centimeters (2.5 feet) in height and having a head with many small grains in rows.
Bread made from wheat was the staple food for the people of ancient Israel, so God punished them by breaking “the staff of bread” (see, for example, Ezekiel 4:16).
If wheat is unfamiliar, translators can transliterate from a major language in non-rhetorical contexts (for example, English witi, Portuguese trigo, French ble or froment, Swahili ngano, Arabic kama/alkama). The transliteration may add a generic tag such as “grain.” The New Testament passages are mostly rhetorical, opening the possibility for a metaphorical equivalent.
Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.
As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.
Here, Jesus is addressing his disciples, individuals and/or crowds with the formal pronoun, showing respect.
In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.
Simōn Simōn ‘Simon, Simon,’ emphatic repetition of Simon’s original name, as contrasted with Petre in v. 34, the name given to Simon by Jesus as a name of honour, cf. 6.14. The absence of a clause, or phase to indicate the transition is awkward.
idou ‘look’ (cf. on 1.20), strengthens the emphasis on what follows.
ho Satanas exētēsato humas ‘Satan has claimed you.’ humas (plural) refers to Simon and the other disciples (see also on v. 32).
tou siniasai hōs ton siton ‘in order to sift (you) like wheat,’ final articular infinitive in the genitive, with humas understood.
siniazō ‘to shake in a sieve,’ ‘to sift,’ here in the figurative meaning of putting to the test, or, on trial.
Translation:
Satan, see on 10.18.
Demanded to have you, preferably, “obtained permission” (An American Translation), “has been given leave” (New English Bible). The translator should not hesitate to mention God as the one who gives the permission, if the linguistic structure of the receptor language requires it.
Sift you like wheat, or, ‘sift you like people sift wheat,’ ‘shake you many times as people do to wheat’ (cf. Kekchi). To sift, i.e. ‘to shake in a sieve’ (Zürcher Bibel), or, ‘to winnow’ (cf. on 3.17), ‘to sort’ (Tzeltal). For wheat see on 3.17. The Four Gospels – a New Translation prefers a non-metaphorical rendering, “to put you all on trial”; Kituba has a rendering that combines non-metaphorical meaning with simile, ‘to put-to-the-test you, as a woman sifts kernels of corn’; cf. also Good News Translation.
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.
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way Japanese show different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English). (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
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