Translation commentary on Luke 2:8

Exegesis:

kai poimenes ēsan en tē chōra tē autē ‘and there were shepherds in the same region.’

poimēn ‘shepherd’; according to rabbinic sources shepherds in Israel were despised and considered unreliable, cf. Strack-Billerbeck II, 113f.

chōra ‘district’ (as here), ‘country,’ ‘(cultivated) land’; the phrase en tē chōra tē autē is sometimes translated less emphatically, “in that region” (Revised Standard Version, cf. Williams, An American Translation) instead of ‘in the same region.’

agraulountes kai phulassontes phulakas tēs nuktos ‘staying out in the fields and keeping the night watches,’ appositive to poimenes and describing the activity of the shepherds. The accusative phulakas is the cognate accusative or accusative of content, etymologically related to the preceding main verb phulassontes ‘watching’ and thus specifying its meaning: the shepherds keep watch over their flock by means of phulakai. tēs nuktos is either genitive of time (but then usually without article), going with phulassontes phulakas ‘keeping watches at night,’ or, preferably, qualifying genitive with phulakas: ‘night watches.’

phulassō active: ‘to watch,’ ‘to protect,’ middle: ‘to guard against,’ ‘to look out for.’

phulakē ‘guarding,’ ‘watch of the night,’ ‘prison.’

Translation:

Shepherds usually can be described as ‘men who tend (or, feed/lead/care-for/watch) the sheep.’ In some cases such a rendering would lead to tautology, because the rest of the sentence comes near to a description of a shepherd’s job; then it is preferable simply to render ‘men.’ For ‘sheep’ see references on 15.4.

Out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. In a context like this some languages (e.g. Javanese, Ekari) render ‘to (keep) watch’ by ‘to stay with’; in others the rendering requires a second verb to express the connexion with the object, e.g. ‘to (keep) watch, staying-with/taking-care-of’ (cf. Balinese). In some cases the language renders the phrase ‘to keep watch at night’ by one verb (Tae’); elsewhere the language possesses one verb to render ‘to be/stay at night,’ ‘to pass the night.’ In the latter case the structure of the sentence may better be slightly changed, cf. ‘they were-passing-the-night in the fields, staying-with their flock’ (Javanese, Batak Toba). — Out in the field, or, ‘in the grass (i.e. open uncultivated areas)’ (Tboli), ‘in (the-)country (i.e. brushland, suitable for grazing), but in (the-)open’ (Kituba, which has to use two expressions in order to make it clear that they were not inside a house). For flock, i.e. a number of domesticated animals tended by a herdsman, some languages have a specific term, e.g. a word related to ‘gathered group’ (Kele), or ‘enclosure,’ by extension also used to indicate the animals normally kept there (Zarma). In other languages “their flock” has to be rendered by, ‘those-they-tend/feed’ (Balinese, Batak Toba), ‘the sheep they had to care for,’ ‘their sheep.’

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 2:8

Section 2:8–20

Angels announced to shepherds that the Savior was born

In this section some shepherds were taking care of their sheep in fields near Bethlehem. An angel came to them and told them that Christ the Savior had been born that night in Bethlehem. He told them that they would find the baby lying in a feeding box for animals. Then other angels came and praised God. After the angels left, the shepherds went to Bethlehem and found the baby, just as the angel had said they would.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some other possible headings for this section are:

Angels tell shepherds about Jesus’ birth and the shepherds visit him
-or-
The Shepherds and the Angels (Good News Translation)

Paragraph 2:8–12

2:8a

And there were shepherds residing in the fields nearby: This part of the verse is background information. It tells about something that was happening at a different place at the time when Jesus was born. Some other ways to translate this background information are:

That night…near Bethlehem some shepherds were (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Now in this same district there were shepherds (Revised English Bible)
-or-
When Mary bore Jesus, some shepherds were…near Bethlehem
-or-
That night, some shepherds were…nearby (New Century Version)

Express this background information in a way that is natural in your language.

shepherds: The term shepherds describes people who takes care of animals called “sheep.” If there is no word for shepherds in your language, you may use a descriptive phrase. For example:

people who tend sheep

Sheep are domestic animals that are raised for meat and for wool. If there is no word for “sheep” in your language, you may need to borrow the word. Then you can indicate the meaning with a general word in your translation of shepherds. For example:

people who care for ⌊animals called⌋ sheep

If people are not familiar with sheep in your area, you may want to include a picture in your translation.

residing in the fields: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as residing in the fields is literally “living outdoors” or “living in open country.” While the shepherds were watching their sheep near the town of Bethlehem, they were living in the fields there.

fields: These fields were open, grassy areas where the sheep could eat. They were not cultivated fields.

nearby: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as nearby is literally “in the same region.” This means in the area around the town of Bethlehem.

2:8b

keeping watch over their flocks by night: The phrase keeping watch over indicates that the shepherds were protecting their sheep. The sheep were not kept in pens at night, so the shepherds took turns guarding them. They guarded their sheep so that no wild animals would hurt them and no thieves would steal them. They also watched them so that no sheep would wander away and become lost. Another way to translate this is:

They were taking turns watching their flock during the night. (God’s Word)

their flocks: The term flock describes a group of sheep. The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as flocks is singular here, not plural. You may translate this as “flock of sheep” or simply “sheep,” whatever is most natural in your language.

by night: The phrase by night indicates that the shepherds watched the sheep “during the night.”

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