complete verse (Luke 3:9)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 3:9:

  • Noongar: “The axe is ready to cut the roots of the tree. All trees not bearing good fruit, they will be cut and thrown into the fire.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “The punishment of God has almost arrived. His punishment is like an ax that is prepared ahead of time at the foot of a tree. Each tree that does not have good fruit, will definitely be chopped down and thrown into the fire.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “You are figuratively like a tree which is soon going to be cut at the roots. All trees that do not have good fruit are cut down and thrown away into the fire and burned.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The one who chops down trees has raised his ax, because he will chop down any tree and burn it, whose fruit is not good. Which is to say, the person whose custom is not good, God will punish him.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “God’s judging of you, it can be compared to an axe that is poised to cut-down the tree, and all trees that don’t bear-good -fruit will be cut-down at their base in order to then be burned-as-firewood.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “For now/today, the ax is raised-for-striking at the root of the standing tree, for every tree which doesn’t fruit well will be axed and then thrown on the fire. Well, punishment like that is now coming close to you.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 3:9

Exegesis:

ēdē de kai. de kai is best understood as giving special emphasis to ēdē ‘already,’ in order to make clear that John’s call is urgent.

hē axinē ‘axe.’

pros tēn rizan tōn dendrōn keitai ‘is lying at, or, directed towards, the root of the trees,’ cf. Plummer. pros with accusative suggests movement or direction, which, in the present context, because of keitai ‘is lying,’ means a movement which has come to rest, or a direction in which the axe points. Weiss thinks that the clause refers, to the moment immediately before the first blow, when the woodman puts his axe at the very place where it has to come down later. This interpretation is preferable.

riza (also 8.13) ‘root.’

dendron ‘tree.’ Here and in 6.43f used in connexion with the picture of the tree and its fruits.

oun ‘then,’ indicating that what follows in and inference from the preceding.

mē poioun karpon kalon ‘that does not bear good fruit.’ The use of mē with the participial phrase indicates that is has conditional force: every tree will be cut out, if it does not bear good fruit. The expression is the same as in v. 8 but here it is used in a literal sense.

kalos “beautiful”, as indication of quality, ‘good.’ The good fruit to which John refers, is the fruits that befit repentance of v. 8.

ekkoptetai ‘is cut down,’ but the present tense may well have futuristic meaning, since the context is prophetic.

eis pur balletai ‘is thrown into the fire.’ For the present tense cf. preceding note. The fire is the fire of judgment, as often in the Old Testament, cf. Jer. 11.16; 21.14; 22.7; Ezek 15.6f, and “the unquenchable fire” in v. 17.

Translation:

The verse takes up the expression ‘bear fruits’ from v. 8a, but now in a living and rather elaborate metaphor. If the underlying comparison of fruit trees with human beings has been made explicit in v. 8a (which see), the metaphor will be easily understood here: if not, it may be advisable to add such an explicit reference here, cf. ‘You are like trees. The axe…’ (Manobo).

The axe is laid to, or, “the axe lies ready at” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation, similarly Bahasa Indonesia), ‘the axe is ready to cut’ (Kekchi, where a literal rendering would suggest that the axe had accidentally been left at the foot of the tree), ‘the axe is-used-to-menace’ (Balinese). If idiom requires a personal agent, one may say, ‘some one is taking the axe towards (or, swings the axe against) the tree’; where an axe or comparable instrument is unknown the rendering of the sentence will have to become something like, ‘the moment is near that the trees will be cut down, or that some one will cause the trees to come down.’ In Zarma one does not say ‘to cut down a tree’ but ‘to kill a tree.’

Root. If a literal rendering would suggest something low down in the soil, the word can better be rendered, ‘base’ (Malay; similarly Ekari, which uses a word that also can refer to the back end of a boat), ‘foot’ (Manobo); Batak Toba can use here a specific term for roots that have grown so big and thick as to be visible.

Thrown into the fire, or, ‘lost/consumed in fire’ (Pohnpeian), or ‘burnt with/in the fire.’ One version simply had ‘is-burnt,’ but a reference to ‘the fire’ should preferably be preserved because of the specific meaning the term has in this context.

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 3:9

3:9a

In Greek, 3:9a begins with a phrase that emphasizes what John was about to say. The Berean Standard Bible does not translate this phrase. Consider whether it is natural in your language to use such an expression here. Some ways to translate it in English are:

Yes, even now (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
Indeed (New American Standard Bible)

The axe lies ready at the root of the trees: This clause is a metaphor. Its literal meaning is that ⌊someone⌋ has already placed his ax on the ground next to the trees because he is ready to cut them down. This metaphor indicates that God is ready to punish people, just as a man brings his ax over to a tree is ready to cut it down.

In some languages the meaning of this metaphor may not be clear. If this is true in your language, it may be necessary to indicate the meaning more explicitly. For example:

Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-

⌊God⌋ is about to ⌊punish people who do not repent⌋. He is like a man who is aiming his ax at the root of a tree, ready to cut it down.

ready: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as ready emphasizes that the danger is immediate/imminent. The ax is right there, ready to strike. The tree is about to be cut down.

the root: Here the phrase the root refers to the part of the tree that is just above the ground. In this context, it does not mean the part that is below the ground. A person could cut the tree there and make the whole tree fall. In some languages this may be translated as something like:

the base of the tree/trunk

the trees: John did not name a specific type of tree. The context indicates that he was referring to fruit trees, such as fig trees.

3:9b–c

and In Greek, this part of the verse is connected to 3:9a with a conjunction that is sometimes translated as “therefore,” as in the English Standard Version. Many English versions, including the Berean Standard Bible, translate it as and. Other versions start a new sentence here. For example:

Any tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire. (God’s Word)

Connect 3:9b–c to 3:9a in a way that is natural in your language.

every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire: The Greek verbs that the Berean Standard Bible translates as will be cut down and thrown are passive. In some languages it may be more natural to use an active clause here and supply a general subject such as “man” or “woodcutter.” For example:

the man/woodcutter will cut down every tree that does not produce good fruit and throw it into the fire

In this part of the verse John continued to use the metaphor about the fruit trees from 3:9a. The trees represent people. Fruit trees that do not produce good fruit represent people who do not do and say what is good. The man/woodcutter represents God ready to punish those people. In some languages it may be necessary to make the meaning of the metaphor more explicit here, as in 3:9a. For example:

If anyone is like a tree that does not produce good fruit, ⌊God will punish that person. That person will be like a tree⌋ that is cut down and burned up.
-or-

⌊If you do not repent and do what is good, you will be punished/destroyed⌋ like a useless/fruitless tree is cut down and thrown it into a fire.

In some translations, it may be helpful to explain the meaning of the metaphor more fully in a footnote. For example:

God is ready to condemn and severely punish all people who do not repent and do good things that show that they have repented. If the descendants of Abraham do not repent, God will punish them also.

Paragraph Group 3:10–14

In 3:10–14, three groups of people asked John the same question. They asked him what they should do. The three groups are:

(a) the crowd (3:10);

(b) tax collectors (3:12);

(c) soldiers (3:14).

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