Translation commentary on Luke 23:36 – 22:37

Exegesis:

enepaixan de autō kai hoi stratiōtai ‘the soldiers also made fun of him.’ For empaizō cf. on 14.29. The aorist tense is best understood as being for the sake of variety. stratiōtēs also 7.8.

proserchomenoi, oxos prospherontes autō kai legontes ‘coming up, offering sour wine and saying.’ The mocking by the soldiers consists of (1) the offering of the sour wine, and (2) their words related in v. 37. The act denoted by proserchomenoi leads up to (1) and (2).

oxos ‘wine vinegar,’ ‘sour wine.’ As this is a cheap and common beverage, to offer it to someone who pretended to be king was, in the eyes of the soldiers, an act of mockery.

(V. 37) ei su ei ho basileus tōn Ioudaiōn ‘if you are the king of the Jews,’ same construction and meaning as in 4.3, which see.

Translation:

Mocked, see on 14.29.

Coming up and offering … and saying, often better as a co-ordinated sentence, ‘they came up, offering … and saying,’ ‘they came up and offered … and said.’ To come up, or, ‘near,’ ‘to come closer to Jesus.’

Vinegar, or, ‘sour wine’; for ‘wine’ cf. on 1.15.

(V. 37) If you are, or, ‘if you really are,’ ‘you say that you are,’ cf. 4.3.

Jews, see on 7.3.

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 22:37

22:37a

For I tell you that: The conjunction For introduces an explanation. In this verse Jesus explained why he told the apostles to take the items in 22:36a–d with them. The phrase I tell you that indicates that his explanation is important, and the apostles should listen carefully to it.

Some ways to translate it in this context are:

For I tell/warn you solemnly that
-or-
Do this because (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
This is important because

Jesus used this exact expression (For I tell you that) in 22:16 and 22:18. See the notes on 22:16a. You may also want to refer to the note on “I tell you” in 17:34a. You may be able to translate For I tell you in the same way here, or you may need to translate it differently in this context, as in the examples above. Translate it in a natural way in your language.

22:37b

this Scripture must be fulfilled in Me: This clause indicates that Jesus was about to quote a scripture to his apostles. The clause implies that this scripture was a prophecy about Jesus. It also implies that what that scripture predicted must happen. God himself would cause it to happen to Jesus, just as the prophet wrote long ago in the scripture. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

It is necessary for this scripture to come true concerning me:
-or-
What the prophet wrote in the holy book must happen to me. He wrote that….

this Scripture: The phrase this Scripture refers to the scripture that Jesus was about to tell his apostles. This scripture was a specific sentence that Isaiah had written (Isaiah 53:12). It was a prophecy that is now part of the Old Testament.

Some ways to translate this Scripture here are:

this ⌊statement/prophecy⌋ that God caused someone to write
-or-
this word from God’s book/writing
-or-
this writing/word from the Holy/Sacred Book

See the note on “It is written” in 19:46a for more information. Refer also to how you translated that phrase in 19:46. You may also want to include a cross reference to Isaiah 53:12 here.

22:37c

And he was numbered with the transgressors: In this context Jesus quoted the clause And he was numbered with the transgressors as a prophecy about himself. He is the one who would soon be reckoned with transgressors.

This clause is passive. Some ways to translate it are:

• Translate it as a passive clause. For example:

He was considered a criminal. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
He was counted among the rebels. (New Living Translation (2004))

• Translate it as an active clause and supply a general subject. For example:

⌊People⌋ treated him as a transgressor.
-or-

⌊They⌋ regarded him as a criminal.

• Use a different active verb and keep he as the subject. For example:

He shared the fate of criminals (Good News Translation)
-or-
He received the same treatment as evildoers.

Translate this clause in a natural way in your language.

In Isaiah 53:12 he refers back to the servant of the Lord in Isaiah 52:13. Jesus identified this servant as a prophecy about himself.

was numbered with the transgressors: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as numbered has several meanings. In this context it means “to evaluate,” “to consider.” The phrase numbered with the transgressors indicates that people will consider Jesus to be a transgressor. It also implies that they will then treat him like a transgressor and punish him. See the examples in the preceding note. Berean Standard Bible translates as transgressors is more literally “lawless.” It refers to people who disobey God’s law or the laws of men and governments. Other ways to translate transgressors are:

criminals (Good News Translation)
-or-
rebels (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
lawless (New Revised Standard Version)

In the Greek text the word transgressors is plural. However, in some languages it may be more natural to use a singular form in this context. Use a form that is natural in your language.

22:37d

For: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For here introduces a statement that supports or explains 22:37a–c. It is very similar to the statement in 22:37b, but it is more general. (See the next note.) Some ways to translate this phrase are:

and indeed (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Yes (New International Version)
-or-
In fact

what is written about Me is reaching its fulfillment: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as what is written about Me is reaching its fulfillment indicates that what was written about Jesus would soon happen. Long before Jesus was born, prophets had written about the events that would happen to the Messiah. Those events would soon happen to Jesus, just as the prophets had predicted.

Some other ways to translate the clause are:

what was written about me is now happening as predicted
-or-
the things that were written about me will now be fulfilled

Some languages have special terms to describe events that happen exactly as a person or prophet predicted. The English phrase “come true” has that meaning. For example:

what was written about me is coming true (Good News Translation)

Use a natural way in your language to describe this.

what is written about Me: There are two ways to interpret the phrase what is written:

(1) Jesus referred to the prophecy in Isaiah 53:12 and also to the other things that the prophets had written about him. Here is another way to translate this:

whatever is written about me (God’s Word)

(Berean Standard Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004), Revised English Bible; probably New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New International Version, King James Version, English Standard Version)

(2) Jesus referred only to the prophecy in Isaiah 53:12. Here is another way to translate this:

This was written about me (Contemporary English Version)

(Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, New Jerusalem Bible)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). In 22:37b–c, Jesus quoted a certain scripture about himself. Here in 22:37d Jesus made a more general statement that included other scriptures:

what is written: The phrase what is written is passive. Some other ways to translate it are:

the written word of God
-or-
what ⌊the prophets⌋ wrote
-or-
what is written in the holy book

General Comment on 22:37a–d

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of clauses in this verse. One way to do this is to begin with the specific scripture in 22:37c and then talk about its fulfillment. It may also be helpful to place the two clauses about fulfillment together. For example:

37bIt is written: 37c“And he was numbered with the transgressors”; 37aand I tell you that 37bthis must be fulfilled in me. 37dYes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment. (New International Version)

Use a natural order in your language.

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