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.

save yourself and us

The Greek in Luke 23:39 that is translated as “save yourself and us” in English has to be translated in a more differentiated manner in languages that use honorific forms. In Balinese, for instance, the translation is “save your life (honorific) and the life (non-honorific) of the two of us.”

1st person pronoun with low register (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.

In just a few cases (such as Goliath and the criminals on the cross next to Jesus referring to themselves), the rude pronoun ore (おれ) instead of the commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is used. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also second person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.

save

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The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as a form of “save” in English is translated in Shipibo-Conibo with a phrase that means literally “make to live,” which combines the meaning of “to rescue” and “to deliver from danger,” but also the concept of “to heal” or “restore to health.”

Other translations include:

  • San Blas Kuna: “help the heart”
  • Laka: “take by the hand” in the meaning of “rescue” or “deliver”
  • Huautla Mazatec: “lift out on behalf of”
  • Anuak: “have life because of”
  • Central Mazahua: “be healed in the heart”
  • Baoulé: “save one’s head”
  • Guerrero Amuzgo: “come out well”
  • Northwestern Dinka: “be helped as to his breath” (or “life”) (source for all above: Bratcher / Nida),
  • Matumbi: “rescue (from danger)” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
  • Noongar: barrang-ngandabat or “hold life” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • South Bolivian Quechua: “make to escape”
  • Highland Puebla Nahuatl: “cause people to come out with the aid of the hand” (source for this and one above: Nida 1947, p. 222)
  • Bariai: “retrieve one back” (source: Bariai Back Translation)

See also salvation and save (Japanese honorifics).

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Luke 23:39)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, translators typically select the exclusive form (excluding Jesus).

Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.

complete verse (Luke 23:39)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 23:39:

  • Noongar: “One of the thieves hanging there, he insulted Jesus: ‘You’re the Messiah, are you? Save yourself and us!'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “One of the evil people crucified with Yesus sassed Yesus, he said: ‘You (sing.) say you (sing.) are the Redeemer King! If it is really like that, help yourself (sing.) and us (excl.) too please!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Isa was also insulted by one of those nailed who had broken the law. He said, ‘Are you not the Almasi? Save yourself and us also.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And one of those two robbers that were nailed along with Jesus, he also spoke in rejection against him. He said, ‘If it’s really true that you are the king chosen by God, well let’s just see about it. You save yourself and you also save us!'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Even one of those who was nailed-with, he disparaged Jesus saying, ‘Aren’t you (sing.) the Messiah? Save yourself (sing.) then and us (excl.) as well!'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Also, one of whose who was nailed insulted/belittled him, saying, ‘Isn’t it so that you are supposed to be the Cristo? Well, go ahead, free yourself and us too!'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

2nd person pronoun with low register (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.

In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also first person pronoun with low register and third person pronoun with low register.