he who, whoever

The Greek that is typically translated with a generic expressions such as “he who,” “whoever,” or “if anyone” in English is translated with the plural form (“they”) in Daga. “A literal translation of these conveys the idea that one specific unnamed individual is being discussed. Thus, for instance, in John 5:24 ‘he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life’ meant in Daga that there was one fortunate individual to whom it applied.”

See also love your neighbor as yourself.

complete verse (Luke 3:11)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 3:11:

  • Noongar: “He said, ‘If a person has two coats, he must give one to the person without a coat, and the person with bread and meat must share.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “Yohanes answered: ‘Whoever of you has two shirts, give one to those who do not have any. And people who have food, share it with those who do not have food.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “He answered them, he said, ‘The one that has two shirts/blouses should give to the one who doesn’t have one. Likewise the one who has food should also share with the one who doesn’t have any.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And John answered them, he said, ‘The person who has two shirts, he should give one of them away to a person who has no shirt. And the same way with a person who has food, he should give to him who has none.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Juan answered and said, ‘The one who has two shirts, he must give one to the one who has no shirts, and the one who has something to eat, he should also share some with the one who has nothing to eat.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Juan replied, saying, ‘Well, like these are good for you to do. Supposing you have two shirts, you must give one to someone who really doesn’t have any. It’s the same for the one who has food, that he mustn’t leave-in-need the one who hasn’t been able to get any.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 3:11

Exegesis:

ho echōn duo chitōnas ‘he has two shirts.’

chitōn ‘tunic,’ ‘shirt,’ a garment worn next to the skin and under the himation as 6.29 shows. Travellers used to wear two shirts but the reference here seems to be possessing, not to the wearing of two shirts at the same time.

metadotō tō mē echonti ‘must share with him who has none.’ As object of both metadotō and echonti is to be understood chitōna ‘(one) shirt.’

brōmata (also 9.13) ‘food.’ There is no reference to an abundance of food. The mere having of food brings with it the duty of sharing with somebody who has none and is starving.

homoiōs ‘likewise.’

Translation:

He (or, the man) who has … (twice), ‘whoever has…’ (Marathi); or, ‘if somebody has….’ If the use of the third person would obscure the fact that John’s advice is addressed to his questioners, it is better to say ‘if somebody amongst you has…,’ ‘if you have….’

Coats. The term to be chosen should refer to a commonly used inner garment, e.g. ‘shirt,’ ‘loincloth’ (Uab Meto); a more generic term, e.g. ‘garment,’ ‘(piece of) clothing’ is acceptable also.

Let him share with, or ‘he (or, you, see above) must share with,’ ‘he must give one (of them) to’ (Kituba, similarly Manobo, Marathi, Nyakyusa).

Him who has none. Some languages can be as concise as is the Greek, or even more so, cf. ‘(the) not-have one’ (Chinese), ‘(the) not-man’ (Ekari); others must expand the expression, e.g. ‘person that lacks shirt’ (Kituba, similarly Manobo).

Food, or, ‘something-to-eat.’

Let him do likewise, or ‘like that also,’ with marker of future (Toraja-Sa’dan); or expanding the phrase again, ‘he must give away part of that too,’ ‘he also must-share food of him with person that lacks food’ (Kituba), ‘should give to him who has none’ (Manobo).

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 3:11

3:11a

John replied: John answered the crowd.

Whoever has two tunics should share with him who has none: John meant that a person who had two tunics should give one of them to someone who does not have any tunic. John did not imply that the two people should share the tunics and wear them at different times. Another way to translate this is:

The man who has two tunics should give one of them to a man who has none.

Whoever has two tunics: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Whoever has two tunics is more literally “the (one/person) having two tunics.” It can refer to any person, either male or female. Some other ways to translate this are:

Whoever has two shirts (God’s Word)
-or-
If you have two shirts (New Living Translation (2004))

tunics: The word tunics describes an item of clothing that both men and women wore next to the skin. The closest modern English word may be “shirt.” Use a word in your language that refers to a basic item of clothing that everyone needs.

him who has none: The phrase him who has none refers to anyone who does not have a tunic. Another way to say this is:

a person who does not have ⌊even⌋ one tunic

3:11b

In some languages, it may be more natural to start a new sentence here. For example:

If you have food
-or-
Whoever has food (God’s Word)

and whoever has food: The phrase whoever has food means “anyone who has food.” The phrase is parallel to “whoever has two tunics” in the previous verse. This suggests that John was talking about anyone who had more food than one person needed.

Other ways to translate this are:

If you have extra food (Living Bible)
-or-
and the person who has food
-or-
and anyone with something to eat (New Jerusalem Bible)

should do the same: The phrase should do the same refers to giving something to someone in need, as the person with two tunics did. That is, the person who has more food than he needs should give food to the person who does not have enough food.

Other ways to say this are:

should share his food with a person who has none
-or-
should give some of it away to a hungry person

General Comment on 3:11a–b

The people had asked John what they should do. Therefore it may be natural for John to answer them using a plural form such as “you.” For example:

11aIf you(plur) have two tunics, you(plur) should give one of them to someone who does not have one. 11bIf you(plur) have more than enough food, you should give some of that away too.

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