complete verse (Luke 5:39)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 5:39:

  • Noongar: “And people don’t want new liquor after they drink old liquor. They say, ‘The old liquor is better!”” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “‘No-one wants to drink new wine if he has finished drinking the old. Because he will say: ‘It is old wine that is delicious.’ ‘” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “A person who is used to drinking grape water which has been stored for a long time does not look for new grape water. He says the taste of long stored grape water is good.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And that person who drinks the old wine, he will not drink the wine which has just been made because he says, ‘The old wine is what is good.’ ‘” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Another-thing yet, the one who has become accustomed to drinking mature grape juice, he doesn’t-want to taste the not-yet-mature, because he says/thinks that the mature (wine) that he is accustomed to is tastier.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But well, no-one wants to drink this new drink if he has drunk that which was stored for a long time, because what he says is, ‘This matured one is better.”” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

drink

In Telugu different verbs for humans drinking (tāgu / తాగు) and animals drinking (cēḍu / చేడు) are required.

Translation commentary on Luke 5:39

Exegesis:

[kai] oudeis piōn palaion thelei neon ‘and nobody who has been drinking old (wine) wants new.’ With palaion and neon is understood oinon. The clause, together with, and explained by what follows, is explained variously. Since, however, the parable seems to hinge on the taste of the old wine, rather than on the comparative merits of both, the most likely interpretation is that of Plummer i.e. that it is only natural that those who have been brought up under the old are unwilling to abandon it for something untried.

ho palaios chrēstos estin ‘the old is good.’

chrēstos (also 6.35) of things ‘of good quality,’ ‘pleasant.’

Translation:

The structure of the first sentence may have to be changed, e.g. ‘no one desires new wine, after he has drunk old wine’ (Balinese), or, ‘no one drinks old wine, and then desires new (wine).’

For to desire (also in 8.20; 10.24, 29; 16.21; 17.22; 22.15; 23.8, 20). The rendering often coincides with that of ‘to wish’ or ‘to want,’ although ‘to desire’ basically refers to a stronger emotion.

Old wine … new. The connotation ‘old’ has here is considerably more favourable than in vv. 36f, the ‘old wine’ being ‘matured/mellow’; hence, ‘dry (i.e. strong)’: ‘weak’ (Bali). But in many languages the usual terms for ‘old (of age)’ and ‘new/young’ have proved satisfactory.

The old is good, or, ‘tastes good’ (cf. Ekari, Balinese), implies comparison, and, therefore, may be rendered more idiomatically by a comparative from or construction, as e.g. in Santili.

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 5:39

5:39

This is the third short parable or illustration. Like the previous parable, it is about wine and wineskins. However, this parable makes a different point. Jesus said that people who had drunk old wine did not want to drink new wine. He was really talking about people who were content with the old ways and teaching of Jewish religion. He said that they were unwilling to consider the new ways and teaching that he had brought.

5:39a

And: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And introduces a third illustration. In this illustration, Jesus criticized those who wanted to keep to the old traditions.

Introduce this illustration in a way that is natural in your language. You can use the same word that you did in 5:37. You should make it clear that this is a third illustration. It is different from the previous illustration about wine and wineskins. Another way to translate this is:

Also

no one after drinking old wine wants new: This is a general statement of something that is true of most people. Use a natural form in your language to make a general statement. For example:

People who have drunk old wine do not want to drink new wine.
-or-
…you don’t want new wine after drinking old wine. (Good News Translation)

new: This Greek word for new is the same word that was used in 5:37a and 5:37b. It refers to wine that has been pressed recently from grapes and is not yet fermented or strongly fermented.

5:39b

for he says, ‘The old is better.’: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as says here could also mean “thinks” or “believes.”

The old is better:
In this statement, people are comparing new wine with old wine. The statement is literally “the old is good,” meaning that it is good when compared with the new. Many English versions translate “good” as “better” (for example, the Berean Standard Bible and the New International Version). Express this comparison in a natural way in your language.

General Comment on 5:39

You may want to add a footnote to explain some of the meaning of Jesus’ illustration about the wine. Some sample footnotes are:

Jesus was using a parable to talk about people who were content with the old ways and teaching of Jewish religion. He implied that they were unwilling to consider the new ways and teaching that he had brought.
-or-
Here old wine represents the old ways and teaching of the Jewish religion. New wine represents the new ways and teaching of Jesus. Jesus implied that people were unwilling to consider the news ways because they thought that the old ways were better.

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