Translation commentary on Luke 22:33

Exegesis:

kurie ‘lord,’ cf. on 1.6 sub (2b).

meta sou ‘with you,’ emphatic by its position at the beginning of the clause but going with poreuesthai.

hetoimos eimi kai eis phulakēn kai eis thanaton poreuesthai ‘I am ready to go even to prison and to death.’ The phrase ‘to go to death’ is formed by analogy to the more common ‘to go to prison,’ and is equivalent to ‘to die.’ For phulakē cf. on 2.8.

Translation:

I am ready to go with you. To bring out that the emphasis is on the prepositional phrase it may be preferable to move it towards the beginning of the sentence, ‘if only it is accompanying you, I am…’ (Balinese), ‘if it is a matter of going with you, I would go’ (Shona 1966), ‘with one heart I will accompany you’ (Tzeltal); or to render it twice, cf. e.g. ‘I am ready to go to prison with you and even to die with you’ (Sranan Tongo). I am ready indicates here that Peter is willing to suffer what Jesus has to suffer, not that he has completed his preparations to meet all emergencies (as the terms used in some versions seem to suggest); the concept is expressed by such idioms as, ‘my-heart is-willing’ (Bahasa Indonesia), ‘it will be my-inner-being’ (Tae’), ‘I-cause-to-be-willing my soul’ (Toraja-Sa’dan), ‘with one heart’ (Tzeltal).

To go … to prison and to death, or, ‘to be imprisoned and put to death,’ ‘to let people lock me up and kill me.’ Grammatically the reference is to Peter’s going, but Jesus’ going is implied. In Medumba, therefore, one has to use a dual ‘we,’ including the speaker and the hearer, and the Tzeltal rendering quoted above continues in the second person, ‘even though you are taken prisoner, even though you are taken to be killed.’

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 22:33

22:33

In the Greek, 22:33a begins with a conjunction that several versions, such as the New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, and New International Version, translate as “but.” It is a common conjunction that can also be translated as “and.” The same conjunction was used in 22:32, and the Berean Standard Bible and many other English versions do not translate it here. Introduce Peter’s reply in a natural way in your language.

22:33a–b

“Lord,” said Peter: The clause “Lord,” said Peter is literally “and he said to him, ‘Lord.’” The Berean Standard Bible places the words said Peter in the middle of what Peter said to Jesus. In some languages, it may be necessary to place these words at the beginning of 22:33a, as they are in Greek. For example:

But he replied, “Lord…” (New International Version)

In some languages you may need to use names to indicate who replied to whom. Notice that in 22:34 Jesus addressed Simon Peter as “Peter,” instead of “Simon,” as in 22:31–32. In some languages it may be helpful to use both of his names in the introductory clause. For example:

Simon Peter said to Jesus
-or-
Simon Peter replied

Lord: Peter addressed Jesus as Lord to show great respect for him. See the notes on 17:5 and 17:37a for more information. See also how you translated Lord in 17:37.

I am ready to go with You even to prison and to death: In the Greek, this clause is more literally, “With you I am prepared even to prison and to death to go.” Peter emphasized that he would stay faithful to Jesus, even if he had to go to prison with him or die with him. If Jesus’ enemies put him in jail with Jesus or even killed him, Peter would continue to trust him.

Some other ways to translate this clause are:

I am prepared to be imprisoned with you and also to be killed with you.
-or-

⌊I will be faithful to you, whatever happens.⌋ I will go with you even to prison and be killed with you.

and to death: Peter indicated here that he was so faithful to Jesus that he was ready to allow people to kill him rather than to stop following him. In some languages it may be more natural to translate this as a separate clause. For example:

I am ready/willing to die with you.

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