Translation commentary on Luke 22:34

Exegesis:

legō soi, Petre ‘I tell you, Peter,’ cf. on 3.8. Note the change from ‘Simon’ (v. 31) to ‘Peter,’ which possibly serves to bring out the contrast between the solemn statement of v. 33 and the announced denial.

ou phōnēsei sēmeron alektōr ‘the cock will not crow today.’ Since the day goes from sunset to sunset, the clause means, ‘before dawn,’ ‘this night.’ ou … heōs ‘not … until,’ hence, ‘before,’ with change of the syntactic pattern.

phōneō ‘to produce a sound,’ here ‘to crow.’

alektōr (also v. 60) ‘cock,’ ‘rooster.’

heōs tris me aparnēsē eidenai ‘until you have three times denied that you know me.’ aparneomai (cf. on 8.45) is used here with following infinitive.

Translation:

Crow, often a specific, basically onomatopoeic term, cf. e.g. konghorongok (Sundanese), makakrujuk (Balinese), martatahuak (Batak Toba), but elsewhere a more generic one, cf. ‘sing’ (Bible de Jérusalem), ‘sound’ (Greek, Toraja-Sa’dan), ‘shout’ (Sranan Tongo).

This day, according to Jewish reckoning, refers to the period of 24 hours that has just begun at sunset; the words must be rendered by the expression commonly used in the culture to refer in the evening to (a part of) the night that is beginning, e.g. ‘(in) this night’ (Kituba, Batak Toba), “tonight” (New English Bible); in some cases ‘tomorrow’ may be the closest equivalent.

Not … until refers to sequence in time; it does not have conditional function (as suggested by some literal renderings). To make this clear one may have to shift the conjunction, e.g. ‘before the cock crows (or, ‘the cock will not yet have crowed,’ Tzeltal) … you will deny…,’ and/or to change the clause order, ‘you will deny … before the cock crows…,’ a construction that will coincide with that of v. 61 and Mk. 14.30, 72.

Deny that you know me, or, ‘say, “I do not know him” .’ Tzeltal uses an idiomatic phrase, ‘you will cover-me-up-in-your-heart.’

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 22:34

22:34a

I tell you, Peter: Jesus used the phrase I tell you here as a solemn introduction to what he was about to say to Peter. Jesus often used the words I tell you to introduce a statement that he wanted to emphasize. Here it indicates that the statement was important and that Peter should listen carefully to it. Some other ways to show this emphasis are:

Peter, let me tell you this
-or-
Listen carefully to this, Peter:
-or-
I assure you, Peter

If you have another way in your language to emphasize a statement or to alert people to listen with special attention, consider using it here.

22:34b

the rooster will not crow today until: The clause the rooster will not crow today until refers to a time later that same night. The Jewish day begins at sundown. Jesus said this sometime during the evening. Roosters crow early in the morning before sunrise. So Jesus indicated that Peter would deny him that night before sunrise. Refer to this time in a natural way in your language. Other ways to translate the clause are:

before a rooster crows tomorrow morning (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
the rooster will not crow today until (NET Bible)
-or-
tonight before the rooster crows at dawn

the rooster: The phrase the rooster refers to a male cock. The phrase does not indicate that Jesus was thinking of any particular rooster. Some ways to translate this are:

a rooster crows (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
a cock crows

crow: The word crow refers to the loud sound a rooster makes before dawn each day. Languages have different ways to describe this sound. For example:

sings
-or-
cries

Use the natural way in your language to describe this sound that a rooster makes.

22:34c

you have denied three times that you know Me: This clause indicates that Peter would say three times that he did not know Jesus. In some languages it may be more natural to translate this clause as direct speech. For example:

three times you will say, “I do not know him/Jesus”

General Comment on 22:34b–c

In some languages it may be more natural to reverse the order of 22:34b and 22:34c. For example:

34cyou will deny three times that you know me 34bbefore the rooster crows tonight.

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