complete verse (Luke 23:9)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 23:9:

  • Noongar: “So Herod asked Jesus many things, but Jesus did not reply.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “That is why there were many of his questions to Yesus, but Yesus did not answer.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Therefore he asked Isa questions for a long time but Isa did not answer.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then Herod asked Jesus many questions, but Jesus would not answer.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “So he asked many-things, but he absolutely didn’t answer.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “That’s why he kept-on-and-on questioning Jesus. But there wasn’t even one syllable of reply from Jesus.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

answer (Japanese honorifics)

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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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.

In these verses, the Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “answer” in English is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as o-kotae (お答え), combining “come” (kotae) with the respectful prefix o-. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Scriptures Plain & Simple (Luke 23:6-12)

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 23:6-12:

Galilee was the magic word,
       and since Herod was governor of Galilee,
Pilate decided to send Jesus to Herod,
       who was in Jerusalem at the time.

For some while, Herod had wanted to meet Jesus,
       and he was really pleased to have this chance.
Maybe Jesus would even work a miracle for him!

Herod questioned Jesus intensely,
       but received no answers.
So the priests and professors of religion arose,
       accusing Jesus of all kinds of crimes.

Herod and his soldiers made insulting remarks against Jesus,
then placed an expensive robe on him
       and sent him back to Pilate.
Although Herod and Pilate
had formerly been fierce enemies,
       they now became very good friends.

Translation commentary on Luke 23:9

Exegesis:

epērōta de auton en logois hikanois ‘he questioned him with many words,’ durative imperfect, en has instrumental meaning.

autos de ouden apekrinato auto ‘but he gave him no answer.’ The aorist tense apekrinato implies that he did not answer one single word. autos indicates change of subject.

Translation:

One or more of the three pronouns, referring first to Herod, then twice to Jesus, may have to be specified.

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.