Honorary "are" construct denoting God ("say")

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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 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. )

3rd person pronoun with high 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 third person singular and plural pronoun (“he,” “she,” “it” and their various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. While it’s not uncommon to avoid pronouns altogether in Japanese, there are is a range of third person pronouns that can be used. In these verses a number of them are used that pay particularly much respect to the referred person (or, in fact, God, as in Exodus 15:2), including kono kata (この方), sono kata (その方), and ano kata (あの方), meaning “this person,” “that person,” and “that person over there.”

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also third person pronoun with exalted register.

Sung version of Luke 24

Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).

For more information, see here .

Translation commentary on Luke 24:19 – 24:20

Exegesis:

poia (with genomena ‘the things that happened’ understood) ‘what kind of thing?’ or simply ‘what?’ The latter is preferable.

ta peri Iēsou tou Nazarēnou ‘the things about Jesus of Nazareth.’ This general phrase is elaborated by (1) the relative clause hos egeneto ‘who was…,’ and (2) the indirect question hopōs te paredōkan, etc., ‘and how handed him over….’ It is also possible to understand both ta peri Iēsou tou Nazarēnou and hopōs te paredōkan, etc., as object of egnōs in v. 18, but this is less probable.

hos egeneto anēr prophētēs ‘who was a man, a prophet,’ i.e. ‘who was a prophet.’

dunatos en ergō kai logō ‘powerful in deed and word,’ in apposition to prophētēs. en ergō refers to miracles and healings, logō to teaching and preaching. For ergon cf. on 11.48.

enantion tou theou kai pantos tou laou ‘in the judgment of God and of all the people,’ cf. on 1.6. The phrase means that God confirmed Jesus’ power in word and deed by its outcome and that all the people recognized it as such.

(V. 20) hopōs te paredōkan auton … eis krima thanatou ‘how (they) handed him over to a sentence of death,’ i.e. ‘to be sentenced to death.’ hopōs refer to the facts related in the clause rather than to their mode.

hoi archiereis kai hoi archontes hēmōn ‘our chief priests and rulers,’ cf. on 9.22 (hoi archiereis) and on 23.13 (archōn).

kai estaurōsan auton ‘and (how) they had him crucified,’ still dependent on hopōs.

Translation:

Concerning Jesus, or, ‘the things concerning (or, about, or, that happened to) Jesus’; if the preceding question has been rendered ‘what?’ (see Exegesis) another antecedent may be preferable, e.g. ‘what happened to Jesus,’ “all this about Jesus” (New English Bible). The two subsequent subordinate clauses may better become co-ordinate sentences, e.g. ‘he (or, this man/this Jesus) was a prophet, …, but our chief priests … crucified him’ (cf. Kilega).

Mighty in deed and word, or, ‘mighty in what he did and said’; or changing the phrase structure, ‘Whose (or as a new sentence, his) deeds and words were mighty/strong’ (cf. Balinese, Ekari), ‘who/he acted and spoke powerfully,’ ‘who/he performed mighty deeds and spoke powerful words.’

(V. 20) Our chief priests and rulers. The pronoun has exclusive force, presumably. For chief priests see on “high-priesthood” in 3.2, for rulers see on 23.13.

Delivered him up, see on 20.20. If idiom requires a reference to the other participant(s), one may add ‘to Pilate,’ or, ‘to the Roman authorities.’

To be condemned to death, or, ‘to receive the death sentence,’ ‘in order that Pilate/the Roman authorities (or, a pronominal reference, if these persons have been mentioned already in the preceding clause) would sentence him to death, or, to be killed.’

And crucified him, or, ‘and had him (or, caused him to be) crucified’ (see Exegesis). If an active construction is obligatory a difficulty may arise in that Pilate or the authorities in their turn are also initiators. This may result in ‘and caused him/them to order the soldiers to crucify him.’ As a rule a rendering that is less explicit as to participants will be possible, e.g. ‘and (so) caused him to die on the cross.’

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 24:19

Paragraph 24:19–24

24:19a

What things?: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as What things? is a plural form of the question word “What?” Jesus used the question to ask Cleopas which events he was referring to in 24:18. In some languages it is necessary to make this question more explicit. For example:

What things ⌊have happened⌋?
-or-
Which events ⌊are you(plur) talking about⌋?

In other languages, a short question is natural, but a different word or phrase may be used. For example:

Which?
-or-
What happened? (God’s Word)

Translate the question in a natural way in your language.

He asked: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as He asked is literally “and he said to them.” It begins this verse. Translate it in a natural way and place it where it is natural in your language.

24:19b

The events involving Jesus of Nazareth: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as The events involving Jesus of Nazareth is more literally “the things about Jesus of Nazareth.” In some languages it may be natural to translate this answer as a complete sentence. For example:

⌊We
(dual/excl) are talking⌋ about the things/events ⌊that happened to⌋ Jesus from Nazareth.

Jesus of Nazareth: The phrase Jesus of Nazareth means “Jesus who is from the town of Nazareth.” The phrase of Nazareth (literally “the Nazarene”) distinguished him from other men who were also named Jesus. He was the man named Jesus who was from Nazareth. The phrase Jesus of Nazareth also occurred in 18:37. You should translate it in a similar way here.

they answered: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as they answered is literally, “and they said to him.” It occurs at the beginning of 24:19b. Place it where it is natural in your language.

This phrase introduces what the two disciples said in 24:19c–24. It does not imply that both disciples spoke at the same time in unison. It probably implies that each disciple said some of the statements. It also implies that the two disciples agreed in what they told Jesus. Use a phrase that implies this in your language.

24:19c

This man was a prophet, powerful in speech and action: This statement implies that Jesus was powerful in speech and action because he was a prophet from God. God gave him authority to speak for him and to do things by his power. The things that Jesus said and did affected people powerfully. For example, he healed sick people, made blind people see, calmed a storm, and raised a child from death. He commanded demons to leave people and the demons obeyed. He spoke with such wisdom that none of his enemies was able to prove him wrong.

Some ways to translate this statement are:

By what he did and said he showed that he was a powerful prophet (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
He was a prophet of God…He had great power to teach and he had great power also to do miracles.
-or-

⌊God sent⌋ him as a prophet. He used the authority God gave him to do powerful ⌊good⌋ works and speak ⌊God’s⌋ message/words

a prophet: A prophet is a man who speaks on behalf of God. He tells people what God reveals to him. The disciples implied that Jesus was a prophet like the prophets in the Old Testament. Some other ways to translate prophet in this context are:

a spokesman for God
-or-
God’s message-speaker
-or-
a person who spoke with God’s authority

The word prophet also occurred in 20:6, where it referred to John the Baptist. See how you translated it there. For more information, see prophet in the Glossary.

speech and action: In Greek this phrase is literally “deed and word.” Use the order that is natural in your language.

24:19d

before God and all the people: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as before God and all the people means “in the opinion of God and all the people.” In this verse it indicates that God and all the people believed that Jesus was a prophet who was powerful in his deeds and words. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

in the estimation/opinion of God and all the people
-or-
from God’s viewpoint and the viewpoint of the people

In some languages it may be more natural to translate this meaning with a clause or verb phrase. This clause may be either active or passive. For example:

who pleased God and all the people (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
who was approved/respected by God and all the people

In some languages it may necessary to use one phrase to describe God’s viewpoint and a different phrase to describe the viewpoint of the people. For example:

God approved him, and the people respected/accepted him.

In some languages it may be necessary to change the order of 24:19c and 24:19d. See the General Comment on 24:19c–d for an example.

before…all the people: The phrase all the people refers here to the Jewish people. The disciples used it to indicate that many Jewish people thought that Jesus was a mighty prophet. The disciples did not mean that literally all the Jewish people thought that. The statement refers to the people in general. It indicates that many of the Jewish people admitted that Jesus had great authority. Another way to translate this is:

in the judgment/minds of the people

General Comment on 24:19c–d

In some languages it may be necessary to reverse the order of 24:19c and 24:19d. For example:

19dBoth God and people esteemed him 19cas a prophet powerful in both deed and word.
-or-

19dconsidered by God and by all the people 19cto be powerful in everything he said and did. (Good News Translation)

Notice that the first example uses an active verb, and the second example uses a passive verb.

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