Translation commentary on Luke 4:17

Exegesis:

kai epedothē autō biblion tou prophētou Ēsaiou ‘and to him was given the book of the prophet Isaiah,’ i.e. at his own request. This clause is in the Greek the beginning of a new sentence.

epididōmi ‘to give,’ ‘to hand over.’

biblion (also v. 20) ‘book,’ ‘scroll,’ here in the latter meaning as shown by anaptuxas, see below.

kai anaptuxas to biblion ‘and having unrolled the scroll.’

heuren ton topon hou ēn gegrammenon ‘he found the place where it was written.’ heuren means here that he found what he was looking for. topos ‘place’ means here ‘passage.’

hou ēn gegrammenon ‘where it was written.’ The pluperfect tense of the Greek represents an adjustment to the historic (aorist) tense of the main verb heuren. The purpose of the clause is to connect topon with the following quotation.

Translation:

There was given to him, or, ‘the attendant (see v. 20) handed him,’ ‘he received.’

The book of the prophet Isaiah, or, ‘the writing(s) of the prophet I.,’ ‘what (or, the book that) the prophet I. wrote,’ ‘the book containing what the prophet I. had spoken’; cf. also on 3.4. — Book, or, ‘writing,’ or the closer historical equivalent ‘scroll,’ ‘sacred roll’ (Marathi). The specific term in the receptor language may refer to a different object, e.g. a long strip of bark folded plait-wise (Batak Toba 1885) or a bundle of loose palm leaves held together by strings between two wooden covers (Balinese).

He opened, or a more specific term that fits the distinctive features of the term rendering “book”, e.g. ‘unrolled,’ ‘unfolded,’ ‘loosened (the strings of).’

He found, or indicating the implied search (cf. on 2.16), ‘he selected’ (Marathi), ‘he sought and found,’ ‘he found what he sought’ (cf. below). The context clearly implies that Jesus read aloud the passage he had found. Usually this is sufficiently clear from the reference to reading aloud in v. 16; if not, one may have to say here, ‘he found and read the place…,’ ‘he found the passage he sought/wanted and read what was written there’; or one may have to add a reference to reading at the beginning of v. 20 (which see).

The place where it was written, or using one specific term, “this text” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation), ‘these verse’ (Bahasa Indonesia RC, using a term that specifically refers to Koranic verses, and by extension to verses in the holy books of other religions). For the rendering of the relative clause see on 2.23. Balinese employs here one of its other formulas to introduce a quotation, i.e. ‘which its-wording (lit. its-being-pronounced) thus,’ thereby trying to suggest that the words quoted were read aloud.

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 4:17

4:17a

the scroll of the prophet Isaiah: The phrase the scroll of the prophet Isaiah means “the scroll containing the words of the prophet Isaiah.” Isaiah himself had not personally written this particular scroll. This was a copy of the prophecies that he received from God. Isaiah had prophesied about six hundred years earlier.

scroll: In Jesus’ time people used scrolls, not books like the ones people use today. A scroll was a roll of specially prepared animal skins (called parchment) or papyrus paper with writing on it. People wrapped the two ends of the scroll around wooden handles. In order to read from it, a person used these handles to unroll the scroll. People rolled up the scroll and kept it that way when no one was using it. Another way to translate scroll is:

book (Good News Translation)

the prophet Isaiah: The phrase the prophet Isaiah means the same thing as “Isaiah the prophet” in 3:4a. You should translate it the same way in both places.

prophet: A prophet was a person who spoke on behalf of God. He told people what God revealed to him. God gave some prophets power to work miracles. These miracles helped people realize that God sent the prophet. Some ways to translate prophet are:

a spokesman for God
-or-
a person who speaks God’s words
-or-
God’s message-speaker

It is good to use a general term that does not focus only on foretelling the future. Although prophets did foretell the future, they also gave people other messages from God. They especially told them to stop sinning and to obey God.

Be sure that your term for prophet is different from other words which are similar in meaning such as “angel,” “apostle,” and “preacher.”

This word also occurs in 3:4a. See also prophet in the Glossary.

was handed to Him: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as was handed is literally “was given” (as in the Revised Standard Version). This verb is passive. Some ways to translate this verb are:

• As a passive verb. For example:

was given to him (NET Bible)
-or-
was delivered unto him (King James Version)

• As an active verb. In some languages it may be more natural to say who gave the scroll to Jesus. It was probably the same attendant who is mentioned in 4:20b. You may also be able to use a general subject. For example:

⌊Someone⌋ gave him
-or-
The attendant gave him (God’s Word)

4:17b

Unrolling it: The word Unrolling refers to what is done to open a scroll. Jesus opened the scroll in order to read what was written on it. Another way to translate this is:

He opened the book (New Century Version)

4:17c

He found the place: The phrase He found the place indicates that Jesus located a specific Scripture passage that he intended to read. He unrolled the scroll until he came to the correct place. Another way to translate this is:

to the place (New Living Translation (1996))

This place is the Scripture passage that is now known as Isaiah 61:1–2. In Jesus’ time, the books of the Bible were not divided into chapters and verses as they are today.

Luke did not explicitly say that Jesus read that passage aloud. However, that is implied, and it may be necessary to make that explicit. For example:

Jesus found ⌊and read aloud⌋ the passage

where it was written: The phrase where it was written is similar to the phrase “it is written” in 4:4a and 4:8a. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

where it says (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
where this is written (New Century Version)
-or-
where these words are written (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

In some languages it may be more natural to leave the passive verb “was written” implied. For example:

and found the passage which says (Revised English Bible)
-or-
Jesus found ⌊and read aloud⌋ this writing/prophecy

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