Translation commentary on Luke 24:21

Exegesis:

hēmeis de ‘but we,’ emphatic and contrasting with the people mentioned in v. 20.

ēlpizomen ‘(we) were hoping,’ durative imperfect, referring to the time preceding the events related in v. 20.

hoti autos estin ho mellōn lutrousthai ton Israēl ‘that he was the one who was to redeem Israel.’ autos ‘he’ is emphatic. For ho mellōn ‘he who is (destined) to’ with infinitive. For lutrōsis in 1.68; 2.38.

alla ge kai sun pasin toutois ‘but even in addition to all this.’ alla ge kai is best taken as reinforcing sun pasin toutois sun may mean ‘in addition to,’ or ‘apart from.’ The former is preferable. pasin toutois refers to the whole of what is related in vv. 19-21a.

tritēn tautēn hēmeran agei aph’ hou tauta egeneto lit. ‘he is spending this day as the third since these things happened,’ with ho Iēsous as subject of agei understood. For translation purposes, however, it may be necessary or advisable to shift to an impersonal rendering like ‘this is the third day.’

Translation:

But we had hoped, or, ‘as for us, we had hoped.’ The pronoun is exclusive, of course.

That he was the one to redeem, or, ‘that he was the man destined/sent (or, whom God had destined/sent) to redeem’; or again, ‘that God had destined/sent him (emphatic) to redeem.’ For the latter verb see references on 1.68.

It is now the third day since this happened, i.e. this happened the day before yesterday. For the third day in this connexion see on 9.22, and cf., in this occurrence, voilà deux jours que ‘it is now two days ago that’ (Bible de Jérusalem). For since see on 16.16; the clause thus introduced is sometimes better transposed, e.g. ‘beginning from that these things happened, now it is already…’ (Balinese).

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 24:21

24:21a–b

But we: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But we refers to the two disciples in contrast to their leaders. This phrase is emphatic. Show this emphasis and contrast in a way that is natural in your language.

The pronoun we does not include the one to whom they were speaking (Jesus). The two disciples thought that he was a stranger who did not know anything about Jesus.

we were hoping He was the One who would redeem Israel: This statement indicates that before Jesus died the two disciples hoped that he would redeem Israel. In the Old Testament God promised through his prophets that he would send a Messiah to redeem his people Israel. In Jesus’ lifetime the people of Israel expected the Messiah to free them from being ruled by the Romans.

Other ways to translate this statement are:

We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
We had hoped that he would be the one to set Israel free! (Contemporary English Version)

In some languages it may be necessary to add implied information. For example:

the One ⌊whom God had promised to send⌋ to redeem/rescue ⌊his people⌋ Israel

would: In this context the Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as would means “was about to.” The disciples were expecting that Jesus would soon redeem Israel.

redeem Israel: The word redeem in this context means “to set free, deliver.” In this context it implies that the people of Israel expected a deliverer (redeemer), who would free them from their enemies. Some ways to translate the phrase redeem Israel here are:

rescue Israel (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
to set the descendants/people of Israel free

redeem: The word “redeemed” occurred in 1:68. See how you translated it there.

Israel: In this context the word Israel refers to the descendants of the Israel (who was also named Jacob). The two disciples themselves were descendants of Israel. Although they did not recognize Jesus, they assumed that he also was a Jew (a descendant of Israel). In some languages it may be necessary to indicate that the speakers and hearer were also Israelites. For example:

us the descendants of Israel

24:21c

And besides all this: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And besides all this is emphatic. It introduces another fact that disturbed the two disciples in addition to all the facts in 24:20–21b. It implies that the final fact is like a climax to the list. It also implies that all these disturbing facts contrasted with the hope that the disciples expressed in 24:21a–b. Introduce 24:21c in a natural way in your language. Some other ways to translate this phrase in English are:

and that is not all
-or-
And what is more (New International Version)
-or-
however
-or-
Not only this, but (NET Bible)

it is the third day since these things took place:
This clause indicates that Jesus was condemned and crucified three days before. The disciples implied that because this amount of time had passed, the situation was more hopeless. Some ways to translate the clause are:

this is now the third day since it happened (Good News Translation)
-or-
it has already been three days since this happened
-or-
this happened three days ago

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