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The Greek that is usually translated as “scribe” in English “were more than mere writers of the law. They were the trained interpreters of the law and expounders of tradition.”

Here are a number of its (back-) translations:

  • Yaka: “clerk in God’s house”
  • Amganad Ifugao: “man who wrote and taught in the synagogue”
  • Navajo (Dinė): “teaching-writer” (“an attempt to emphasize their dual function”)
  • Shipibo-Conibo: “book-wise person”
  • San Blas Kuna: “one who knew the Jews’ ways”
  • Loma: “educated one”
  • San Mateo del Mar Huave: “one knowing holy paper”
  • Central Mazahua: “writer of holy words”
  • Indonesian: “expert in the Torah”
  • Pamona: “man skilled in the ordinances” (source for this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Sinhala: “bearer-of-the-law”
  • Marathi: “one-learned-in-the-Scriptures”
  • Shona (1966): “expert of the law”
  • Balinese: “expert of the books of Torah”
  • Ekari: “one knowing paper/book”
  • Tboli: “one who taught the law God before caused Moses to write” (or “one who taught the law of Moses”) (source for this and 5 above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Noongar: Mammarapa-Warrinyang or “law man” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Mairasi: “one who writes and explains Great Above One’s (=God’s) prohibitions” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Chichewa: “teacher of Laws” (source: Ernst Wendland)
  • North Alaskan Inupiatun: “teachers of law”
  • Huehuetla Tepehua: “writer”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “person who teaches the law which Moses wrote”
  • Alekano: “man who knows wisdom” (source for this and four above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
  • Saint Lucian Creole French: titcha lwa sé Jwif-la (“teacher of the law of the Jews”) (source: David Frank in Lexical Challenges in the St. Lucian Creole Bible Translation Project, 1998)
  • Chichimeca-Jonaz: “one who teaches the holy writings”
  • Atatláhuca Mixtec: “teacher of the words of the law”
  • Coatlán Mixe: “teacher of the religious law”
  • Lalana Chinantec: “one who is a teacher of the law which God gave to Moses back then”
  • Tepeuxila Cuicatec: “one who know well the law” (Source for this and four above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Huixtán Tzotzil: “one who mistakenly thought he was teaching God’s commandments”(Huixtán Tzotzil frequently uses the verb -cuy to express “to mistakenly think something” from the point of view of the speaker; source: Marion M. Cowan in Notes on Translation 20/1966, pp. 6ff.)
  • Sumau: “law-knowing men” (source: this blog post by Todd Owen)
  • German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022): “theologian” and in the 1964 translation by Helmut Riethmüller: “theologian of scriptures” (Schrifttheologe)
  • English translation by Scot McKnight (in The Second Testament, publ. 2023): Covenant Code scholar

In British Sign Language it is translated with a sign that combines the signs for “expert” and “law.” (Source: Anna Smith)


“Scribe” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL , used with permission)

complete verse (Luke 23:10)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 23:10:

  • Noongar: “The Chief Priests and Law Men, they stepped forward and strongly accused Jesus.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “The leading priests and religion teachers were also there, their words were very harsh accusing Yesus to Herodes.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Then the leading priests and the teachers of the law went closer and made their accusations of Isa strong.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then, as for those chief priests and teachers of the Law, they came near and their breath was very hot in their accusing Jesus (they were very vehement in accusing Jesus).” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The leaders of the priests and the teachers of the law, they also even-more-strongly accused him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Those chiefs of the priests and explainers of law, they were there too. And they really were insistent now, continually bringing out things which they had against Jesus.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

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 23:10

Exegesis:

heistēkeisan de hoi archiereis kai hoi grammateis eutonōs katēgorountes autou ‘the chief priests and the experts in the law stood there, vigorously accusing him.’ heistēkeisan at the beginning of the clause is emphatic and stresses the action denoted by the subsequent participial phrase.

eutonōs ‘vigorously,’ ‘vehemently,’ referring either to the content of the accusation, or to the tones of their accusing, preferably the latter.

Translation:

Stood by … accusing him, cf. also, “stepped forward and pressed the case against him…” (Good News Translation).

Vehemently, or, ‘with violent words,’ ‘speaking/shouting violently.’

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.