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 23:32)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 23:32:

  • Noongar: “They also took out two other men, both thieves, to crucify with Jesus.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “When Yesus was taken to be crucified, there were also two other people taken with him to be killed. Those two were both people with evil behavior.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “There were also two people other than Isa taken to be killed. Those two had broken the law.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And there were also there two robbers that they were taking because they will kill them along with Jesus.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “There were also two criminals whom they took-along-with Jesus to go kill them.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “The soldiers took along also two people who were criminals, for they would be killed together with Jesus.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 23:32

Exegesis:

ēgonto de kai heteroi kakourgoi duo ‘two other criminals were also led out.’ ēgonto is semantically equivalent to apēgagon in v. 26. As v. 33 shows the phrase heteroi kakourgoi duo does not suggest that the word kakourgos applies to Jesus also. But even without this clarification the phrase is not likely to be misunderstood.

kakourgos (also v. 39) ‘evil-doer,’ ‘criminal,’ of a person who commits serious crimes.

sun autō anairethēnai ‘to be put to death with him,’ final infinitive. anaireō (cf. on 22.2) is used here in the meaning, ‘to kill by execution.’

Translation:

Two others also, who were criminals, were led away, restricting the qualification “criminals” to the “two others”; similarly, ‘they (or, the soldiers) took away two others, both of them criminals’ (cf. Good News Translation), ‘there were two other men led away, i.e. two evildoers’ (Bahasa Indonesia 1968).

Put to death, or, ‘executed’ (Bible de Jérusalem), ‘punished by death’ (Javanese, Balinese), or, in this context, ‘crucified’ (Bahasa Indonesia RC).

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 23:32

Paragraph 23:32–34

23:32

In Greek, 23:32 begins with a conjunction that the New Jerusalem Bible translates as “Now.” Most English versions do not translate this conjunction. In this context the conjunction introduces background information about two other men who were led out with Jesus to be crucified. These men began to be led there before Jesus talked to the women in the preceding paragraph. Connect this information to the preceding paragraph in a way that is natural in your language.

Two others, who were criminals, were also led away to be executed with Jesus: The two men led out with Jesus were criminals, but Jesus was not a criminal. Be sure that this is clear in your translation. Some ways to make it clear in English are:

Two other men were also led away with Jesus to be executed. These men were both criminals.
-or-
Two criminals were also led out with him for execution… (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

criminals: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as criminals is a general word that refers to people who do evil things. In this context it refers to men who had broken the laws of the country in some way. Such crimes can include robbery or rebelling against the government. The parallel passages in Matthew 27:38 and Mark 15:27 use a more specific Greek word that is often translated as “robber.”

It is good to translate the word criminals here in a general way that can include crimes like robbery. For example:

evildoers
-or-
lawbreakers

were…led away to be executed with Jesus: The verbs were…led away and to be executed are passive verbs. Some ways to translate them are:

• Use one or more passive verbs. For example:

taken to be killed
-or-
led out…for execution (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

• Use one or more active verbs and supply a subject like “soldiers” or “Pilate’s men.” For example:

⌊soldiers⌋ led them away with ⌊Jesus⌋ in order to execute them

led away to be executed with Jesus: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as led away is more literally “led.” In this context it indicates that soldiers were forcing Jesus and the two other men to walk to the place of execution. The phrase with Jesus indicates that the soldiers were leading Jesus and the other two men to the place at the same time. Use a natural way in your language to describe this.

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