beat his breast

The Greek that is translated in English as “beat his breast” or similar is translated in Kasem as “clapped his hands.” To beat one’s breast is considered to be a sign of arrogance and pride. To express regret people clap their hands. (Source: Urs Niggli in Holzhausen / Riderer 2010, p. 16)

Similarly in Bafut (in Luke 23:48): “If we translated the image, ‘beating their breasts’ literally, it would give a wrong meaning. ‘Beating their breasts/chests’ translates in Bafut as ‘ŋ̀kwɛɛ nɨ̂ mɨnt ̀ɨɨ̀ myaa.’ This means they were proud of what they had done. Another consideration is that literally translating ‘beating their breasts’ will mean that it was the women beating their breasts, not men, since, in Bafut, men are perceived as not having breasts. In order to bring out the right meaning using a culturally relevant image, we rendered this as ‘ŋ̀wɛtə mbô myaa,’ and this means ‘crossed their arms’ (under the chin, so the palms rested on the shoulders), which is a sign of mourning in the culture. So in order to explain the symbolic action, the translation added the implicit information, ‘nloŋ mə mɨntɨɨ̀ myaa lɛ nluu nɨ̂ àjəŋnə̀‘ which means, ‘because their hearts were full with sorrow.'” (Source: Michael Suh Niba in Vila-Chã / Hu 2022, p. 233ff.)

In Yaweyuha it is expressed more explicitly as “feeling great sorrow, repeatedly beating their chests” (source: Larson 1998, p. 98) and likewise on Chokwe as “beat his breast for sorrow” (“beat one’s breast” is the equivalent of the English “pat oneself on the back”) (source: D. B. Long in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 87ff. ).

Scriptures Plain & Simple (Luke 23:26-43)

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 23:26-43:

As Jesus was being led away,
some soldiers grabbed a man named Simon Cyrene,
       who was on his way home from the fields —
they put the cross on his shoulders,
       and forced him to drag it behind Jesus.

A large crowd was following along,
among them some women,
       weeping and wailing for him.

Jesus turned toward the women and said:

       “Cry for yourselves, not for me, women of Jerusalem!
       Someday everyone will agree,
              ‘It’s better to be barren than blest with children.’
       If sparks ignite so quickly when someone is innocent,
              a volcano will surely erupt when the nation rebels,
       causing people to beg for mountains and hills
              to rush to their rescue.”

Two criminals were led out to be executed with Jesus,
and when they reached the place called “Skull,”
       each of them was nailed to a cross,
              with Jesus in between.

“Father,” prayed Jesus, “forgive these people —
       they don’t know what they’re doing.”

While the crowd was stunned and staring at the spectacle,
the soldiers gambled for his garments,
       as their leaders hurled spiteful insults,
“He saved others! If he’s God’s Favorite,
       then let him save himself.”

“So you’re king of this nation,” mocked the soldiers,
       offering Jesus a goblet of wine. “Ok, save yourself!”

On the cross above Jesus was posted a sign:
       “Here Hangs Your National Hero!”

One of the dying criminals also insulted Jesus,
       “Aren’t you God’s Favorite? Save yourself and us!”

The other criminal replied with a sharp rebuttal,
“Don’t you fear God? This man’s innocent,
       but we’re guilty as sin.”
Then turning to Jesus, he said,
       “Remember me when you come into power!”

“Today you’ll be with me in paradise,”
       Jesus assured the man.

complete verse (Luke 23:27)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 23:27:

  • Noongar: “Many people followed Jesus; some women were among them, weeping and wailing for him.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “When Yesus was taken outside the town, many people followed. There were also several women who followed. Those women cried and wept/wailed for him.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Very many people went along with Isa including women who were weeping and wailing about him/because of him.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And while they were taking Jesus, there were many people who went along, and there were some women who wailed because they were weeping over Jesus.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “There were also many people following Jesus along with women who were crying-for him and mourning.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “There were very many people following Jesus, including women who were crying as they walked for they were grieving for him.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 23:27

Exegesis:

ēkolouthei de autō polu plēthos tou laou ‘him followed a great crowd of the people.’ ēkolouthei is emphatic by position. The imperfect tense is descriptive and refers to a situation which forms the background of the subsequent events and words. For plēthos and laos cf. on 1.10, but both are used here without religious implications; laos refers to the people of Jerusalem in general.

kai gunaikōn ‘and of women,’ depending on plēthos and mentioned separately because of Jesus’ words to them.

hai ekoptonto kai ethrēnoun auton ‘who were beating (their breasts) and weeping for him.’ auton goes with both verbs, cf. on 8.52. For thrēneō cf. on 7.32. As a comparison with these two places shows the women acted as if attending a burial.

Translation:

For followed and the people cf. on 7.9 and 29 respectively.

And of women, or, ‘and also (or, amongst them also) several women.’

Who bewailed and lamented him, or, ‘who were mourning and weeping because of him.’ For the first verb, it. ‘to beat (the breast)’ cf. on 18.13. A cultural equivalent expressing sorrow or sorrowful commiseration can sometimes be used, e.g. ‘who put their hands on their head’ (Sranan Tongo), but many versions do as Revised Standard Version and employ a non-symbolic or non-figurative expression such as ‘to wail over,’ ‘to bewail.’ This verb and to lament may be treated as a hendiadys.

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 23:27

23:27a

A great number of people followed Him: This clause indicates that many people went along with Jesus. It does not imply that they were following him as disciples. Many of them may have come to watch the crucifixion because of curiosity or because they wanted to mock Jesus. Some other ways to translate the clause are:

A large crowd followed Jesus. (God’s Word)
-or-
And while they were taking Jesus, there were many people who went along.

23:27b

including women who kept mourning and wailing for Him: This part of the verse indicates that some women were also in the crowd walking with Jesus. These women were mourning and wailing because Jesus was going to be killed. Some other ways to translate it are:

among them were some women who were weeping and wailing for him (Good News Translation)
-or-
including many grief-stricken women (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Some women were also following him. Those women cried and wept/wailed because of ⌊his coming death/execution⌋.

kept mourning and wailing for Him: The word mourning sometimes refers to using a specific action to express sorrow for someone. Here it is used in a general way to mean “mourned for” Jesus. The word wailing refers to expressing sorrow through words, for example, in a song, exclamation, or other lament. Some other ways to translate mourning and wailing for Him are:

• Translate both words in a general way that includes different types of mourning. For example:

mourned and lamented for him (New Jerusalem Bible)

• Translate one or both of the words with a specific action that expresses mourning in your culture. For example:

weeping and wailing for him (Good News Translation)
-or-
cried and sang funeral songs for him (God’s Word)

• Translate the phrase mourning and wailing as one action. For example:

mourning loudly/deeply for him (Translator’s Reference Translation)

Translate the phrase in a natural way in your language.

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