The Aramaic, Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated as “fast” in English is translated in Isthmus Mixe as “going without food to worship God,” in Lacandon as “leaving eating in order to talk to God” (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.), in Vidunda as “resting to eat” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext), and in Kankanaey as “endure hunger” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation).
In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a sign referring to abstinence from food and drink. (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 5:35:
Noongar: “But the day will come when people will take away the husband, and then they will not eat food.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “But the time will come, the groom is taken from their midst. At that time, only then will they fast.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “But in the future when the bridegroom has been caused to leave, then they will fast.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “But at that time in the future when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast because they are sorrowful. It’s the same way also with my disciples, because as long as I am with them, they will not fast.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “But when the tine arrives that the bridegroom will be taken-away from them, that’s the time-when-they -will-fast.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well, these disciples of mine are like that too. But the day will come when I will be separated from them. And then is when they will fast.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
eleusaontai de hēmerai ‘but there will be days,’ introducing the announcement of some future significant event (cf. 17.22; 19.43; 23.29). Here the announcement itself follows in an independent sentence consisting of a temporal clause introduced by hotan, and a main clause in the future tense. hēmerai lit. ‘days’ means here ‘time,’ ‘period of time.’ The absence of the article is intentional.
hotan aparthē ap’ autōn ho numphios ‘when the bridegroom is taken away from them.’ The use of apairō may imply violence.
tote nēsteusousin en ekeinais tais hēmerais ‘then they will fast, in those days,’ double indication of time, the latter stressing tote. en ekeinais tais hēmerais intentionally recalls elusontai hēmerai of the first clause.
Translation:
The days will come when …, or, making explicit what is somehow suggested by the break in the sentence “but other days will come, and when…” (An American Translation, similarly Nieuwe Vertaling).
When…, and then … in those days, preferably, ‘(and) when…, then…, in those days.’ Often it is better to place the prepositional phrase closer to the word it is to stress, e.g. .’.. then, at that time, …’ (Willibrord); or indicating the stress otherwise, ‘at that time only…’ (Bahasa Indonesia). New English Bible shifts to co-ordination, cf. “but a time will come: the bridegroom will be taken…, and that will be the time for them to fast”.
The bridegroom is taken away. Where an active form is required the subject can best be ‘people,’ ‘enemies.’
From them, or, ‘from their side,’ ‘from their midst.’
In those days. Stylistically it is preferable when the rendering of “days” can echo that of the same word in the first clause.
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.
But: Verse 5:34 contrasts with 5:35. In 5:34 the bridegroom’s friends are rejoicing with the bridegroom. In 5:35 he is taken away from them. It is then that his friends will mourn and show their sorrow by fasting. Because of this contrast, the Berean Standard Bible and most English versions translate the conjunction at the beginning of this verse as “but.” However, some versions do not translate the conjunction. Express this contrast in a natural way in your language.
the time will come when: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the time will come when is literally “days will come when.” It is an emphatic way to refer to an indefinite time in the future.
In some languages, it may not be natural to speak of time “coming.” There may be another idiom or phrase to express this. Use an appropriate expression in your language. For example:
someday (New Living Translation (2004))
the bridegroom will be taken from them: The words the bridegroom will be taken from them refer to an event that was not usually part of a wedding celebration. Usually the guests would leave the celebration first.
Jesus said this to imply that he himself would be taken from his disciples. In some languages, it may be necessary to make this explicit in some way. For example:
But the time will come when ⌊I⌋, the bridegroom, will be taken from them
will be taken: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as will be taken is passive. It implies that someone would use force to make the bridegroom leave. Some ways to translate this verb are:
• As a passive clause. For example:
the bridegroom will be taken away from them (New Century Version) -or-
the bridegroom will be caused to leave
• As an active clause. For example:
⌊people⌋ will take the bridegroom away from them
5:35b
then they will fast: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as then they will fast is literally “then they will fast in those days” (as in the Revised Standard Version). It emphasizes the time period when Jesus’ disciples (the bridegroom’s friends) will fast. Jesus did not imply that they would fast only on the day that he left. Some other ways to translate this are:
At that time they will fast. (God’s Word) -or-
Then they will go without eating. (Contemporary English Version)
they: The pronoun they refers to the bridegroom’s friends and guests. In the metaphor they represent Jesus’ disciples.
General Comment on 5:34–35
It is important to make it clear that Jesus was talking about himself here. There are several ways to do this:
• Insert a footnote that says something like this:
Jesus compared the bridegroom in these verses to himself. The disciples did not fast at that time because they were so happy that Jesus was with them. Later people would kill Jesus, and the disciples would fast because they would be sad.
• Make the information explicit at the end of the verse. You could provide a new verse part, 5:35c, that says, for example:
⌊I am like that bridegroom.⌋
• Supply that information within the verses. For example:
⌊Just as⌋ the friends of the bridegroom cannot fast while he is with them, ⌊in the same way, my disciples cannot fast while I am with them⌋. But the days will come when I will be taken away. At that time, they will fast.
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