The Greek that is transliterated as “paradise” in English is often transliterated in other languages as well. Translations include “Place of well-being” (Toraja-Sa’dan, Tzeltal), “abode of happiness (or: of happy people)” (Marathi), “garden of eternal life” (Uab Meto), or the name of a place where you don’t have to work and fruits drop ripe in your hand (Ekari).
truly truly - I tell you
complete verse (Luke 23:43)
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 23:43:
- Noongar: “Jesus said to him, ‘Truly, I tell you this day, you will be with me in Heaven.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
- Uma: “Yesus said to him: ‘Truly I say to you (sing.): today you (sing.) will be with me in Firdaus.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “Isa said to him, ‘Truly I tell you, this day we (dual) will be there together in heaven.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Jesus said to him, ‘What I say to you is really true, that today you and I will be together in the land of those made immortal.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “And Jesus said to him, ‘This that I tell you (sing.) is true. This day (lit. today day) you (sing.) will join me in heaven.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “Replying, Jesus said, ‘What I will say to you really is true, that this very day you will be my companion later-today in heaven.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)
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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 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. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
See also pronoun for “God”.
Honorary "are" construct denoting God (“say”)
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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Translation commentary on Luke 23:43
Exegesis:
kai eipen autō ‘and he said to him,’ change of subject.
amēn soi legō ‘truly I say to you,’ cf. on 4.24.
sēmeron met’ emou esē en tō paradeisō ‘today you shall be with me in paradise.’ sēmeron contrasts with the future of Jesus coming as king. The predicate with esē may be met’ emou, or, en tō paradeisō, preferably the latter. Then met’ emou refers to the situation in which he will find himself in paradise, i.e. ‘in the company of Jesus.’ For the theological implications cf. commentaries.
paradeisos ‘paradise,’ here of the place where the redeemed are after death and before the coming of the kingdom, best envisaged as being in heaven.
Translation:
Truly, I say to you, see references on 4.24.
Paradise is often transliterated on the basis of the Greek, or of the language of prestige in the region: in Muslim countries, for instance, the base is usually the Arabic form, Firdaus. Translating the word one may say e.g. ‘Place of well-being’ (Toraja-Sa’dan, Tzeltal), ‘abode of happiness, or, of happy people’ (Marathi), ‘beautiful garden’ (cf. Fulah aljanna, borrowing another Arabic name, lit. ‘garden’), ‘garden of eternal life’ (Uab Meto), or, the name of a place where you don’t have to work and fruits drop ripe in your hand (Ekari).
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 23:43
23:43a
Truly I tell you: The clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Truly I tell you occurs five times previously in Luke. Jesus used it to introduce a statement that he wanted to emphasize. It indicates that the statement is important and reliable. Jesus wanted the man on the cross to listen carefully and trust what he was about to say. Some ways to translate it here are:
I promise you that (Good News Translation)
-or-
I assure you (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
You can be sure of this:
For more information and translation examples, see the note on 18:17a. You may also want to refer to how you translated this clause in 4:24, 12:37, 18:17, and 18:29.
23:43b
today you will be with Me in Paradise: Here Jesus promised that he and the criminal would be together in paradise that same day. Both of them would die that day, and then they would enter paradise. In the Greek clause the words today and with Me are emphasized. Some other ways to translate the clause are:
this very day you will be with me in paradise (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
-or-
today you and I will be together in the land of those made immortal
today: A Jewish day ended at sunset, and a new day began. Jesus and the criminal did die before sunset and went to paradise.
Paradise: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Paradise refers to a place of happiness where people who love God go when they die. In this context its meaning is similar to the meaning of the Greek word that is used for “heaven,” the place where God lives. The English and Greek words for Paradise came from the Hebrew word that can refer to a beautiful garden with many fruit trees.
Some other ways to translate it are:
the beautiful place where people stay with God
-or-
the wonderful/glorious home of God
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