Sabbath

The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “Sabbath” in English is rendered as “day we rest” in Tzotzil, in Mairasi as “Jew’s Rest Day,” in Quiotepec Chinantec as “day when people of Israel rested,” in Shilluk as “day of God,” in Obolo as Usen Mbuban or “Holy Day,” and in Mandarin Chinese as ānxírì (安息日) or “rest day” (literally: “peace – rest – day”). (Sources: Tzotzil: Marion Cowan in Notes on Translation with Drill, p. 169ff; Mairasi: Enggavoter 2004; Quiotepec Chinantec: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.; Shilluk: Nida 1964, p. 237; Obolo: Enene Enene; Chinese: Jost Zetzsche)

In Matumbi it is translated as Sabato ya Ayahudi or “Sabbath of the Jews,” to distinguish it from the Islamic Sabbath (which is Friday) or the Christian Sabbath (which is Sunday). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

In the old Khmer version as well as in the first new translation this term was rendered as “day of rest” (Thngai Chhup Somrak / ​ថ្ងៃ​ឈប់​សំរាក). Considered inadequate to convey its religious meaning (not only about cessation of work, but also in honor of Yahweh as the Creator), the committee for the Today’s Khmer Version (publ. 2005) decided to keep the Hebrew word and use its transliterated form Thgnai Sabath (​ថ្ងៃ​សប្ប័ទ). “The Buddhist word Thngai Seil ‘day of merits’ used by some Catholics was once under consideration but was rejected because it did not receive unanimous support.” (Source: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 233ff. )

In Spanish, the translation is either día de reposo (“day of rest”) or sábado (usually: “Saturday,” derived from the Greek and Hebrew original). Nida (1947, p. 239f.) explains that problem for Spanish and other languages in its sphere of influence: “In translation ‘Sabbath’ into various aboriginal languages of Latin America, a considerable number of translators have used the Spanish sábado, ‘Saturday,’ because it is derived from the Hebrew sabbath and seems to correspond to English usage as well. The difficulty is that sábado means only ‘Saturday’ for most people. There is no religious significance about this word as the is with ‘Sabbath’ in English. Accordingly the [readers] cannot understand the significance of the persecution of Jesus because he worked on ‘Saturday.’ It has been found quite advantageous to use the translation ‘day of rest,’ for this accurately translated the Hebrew meaning of the term and resolves the problem in connection with the prohibitions placed upon some types of activities.”

In French Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts closing of the blinds of a store:


“Sabbath” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Sabbath .

complete verse (Luke 6:2)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 6:2:

  • Noongar: “The Pharisees asked, ‘Why are you doing something our Law says you must not do on the Sabbath Day?'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “The Parisi people there admonished them, they said: ‘Why are you breaking/transgressing the laws of our religion? You are working [uses enclitic expressing displeasure] on the worship day!'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “There were Pariseo there and they said, ‘Why do you do (things) that are against the law for the day of-no-work?'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And there were there some Pharisees who said, ‘Why is it that you transgress what was commanded to us (inc.) that we should not work on the day of rest?'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “However there were Pharisees who saw what they did and they said to Jesus, ‘Why are you (pl.) breaking the law of us Jews which forbids harvesting on the day for-resting?'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When some Pariseo saw, they commented-on-it saying, ‘Why are you doing that which is taboo/avoided on the Day of Rest?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Pharisee

The Greek that is a transliteration of the Hebrew Pərūšīm and is typically transliterated into English as “Pharisee” is transliterated in Mandarin Chinese as Fǎlìsài (法利賽 / 法利赛) (Protestant) or Fǎlìsāi (法利塞) (Catholic). In Chinese, transliterations can typically be done with a great number of different and identical-sounding characters. Often the meaning of the characters are not relevant, unless they are chosen carefully as in these cases. The Protestant Fǎlìsài can mean something like “Competition for the profit of the law” and the Catholic Fǎlìsāi “Stuffed by/with the profit of the law.” (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 51)

In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying “prayer shawl”. (Source: Tarja Sandholm)


“Pharisee” in Finnish Sign Language (source )

In British Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts “pointing out the law.” (Source: Anna Smith)


“Pharisee” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)

In French Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts the box of the phylacteries attached to the forehead:


“Pharisees” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

Scot McKnight (in The Second Testament, publ. 2023) translates it into English as Observant. He explains (p. 302): “Pharisee has become a public, universal pejorative term for a hypocrite. Pharisees were observant of the interpretation of the Covenant Code called the ‘tradition of the elders.’ They conformed their behaviors to the interpretation. Among the various groups of Jews at the time of Jesus, they were perhaps closest to Jesus in their overall concern to make a radical commitment to the will of God (as they understood it).”

See also Nicodemus.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Pharisees .

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Luke 6:2

Exegesis:

tines de tōn Pharisaiōn eipan ‘some of the Pharisees said.’ Their presence in the grainfields is not explained; it is simply assumed that they are there.

ti poieite ho ouk exestin tois sabbasin ‘why do you what is not allowed on the sabbath?.’ The question is directed to the disciples.

exestin impersonal verb ‘it is permitted,’ in Luke always of what is permitted, or, with negation, what is forbidden by the law.

Translation:

But some of the Pharisees said. Since the Pharisees are new to what is narrated in this section, it may be necessary to introduce them as such, e.g. ‘then there-were-present some Pharisees who said’ (Malay), cf. also on 1.5.

Why are you (plur.) doing what is not lawful to do does not ask for information, hence, ‘Why! (or another exclamation expressing indignation or disapproval) You are doing…’ may be preferable. For similar reasons Toraja-Sa’dan restricts the question to the first clause, ‘What are you doing?—It is not to be done.’ For what is not lawful to do, or, with a further shift, ‘what we (inclus.) should not do.’ In countries with a Muslim background a technical term used in connexion with Muslim law may be an appropriate rendering, e.g. ‘what is not halal (i.e. permitted)’ (Bahasa Indonesia), or, ‘what is haram (i.e. forbidden).’

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 6:2

6:2a

But some of the Pharisees asked: This is the first time that the Pharisees are mentioned in this story. In some languages, it will be more natural to introduce the Pharisees in a separate sentence. The context implies that the Pharisees were close enough to see what the disciples were doing.

Some ways to translate this are:

Some Pharisees were there. They said/asked…
-or-
There were some Pharisees ⌊who saw what they did⌋. They asked…
-or-

⌊When⌋ some Pharisees ⌊saw what they did,⌋ ⌊they⌋asked…

the Pharisees: The Pharisees were a Jewish religious group or party. It was very important to them to obey all of the Jewish religious laws very carefully and in detail. Some ways to translate Pharisees are:

• Transliterate the word Pharisees according to the sounds of your language and indicate that it refers to a group of people. For example:

Farisi members
-or-
Parise adherents

• Transliterate the word Pharisees and indicate that it refers to a group of people with certain beliefs. For example:

people belonging to the Farise religious sect/group
-or-
members of the Jewish group called the Farasi

You should translate this word in the same way as you did in 5:30a and 5:33b.

6:2b

Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?: This is a rhetorical question. The Pharisees accused the disciples of breaking a law and rebuked them for it. In their opinion, the disciples were breaking the Sabbath rules.

Some ways to translate this rebuke and accusation are:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

Why are you doing what our Law says you cannot do on the Sabbath? (Good News Translation)
-or-
Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath? (New Living Translation (2004))

• As an exclamation. For example:

You shouldn’t be doing that! It’s against the law to work by harvesting grain on the Sabbath. (New Living Translation (1996))

• As a rhetorical question and an exclamation. For example:

Why are you picking grain on the Sabbath? You’re not supposed to do that! (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Why are you breaking our laws? You are working on the Sabbath day!

Translate this accusation and rebuke in a way that is natural in your language.

you: The word you here is plural. The disciples were the ones eating the grain. So the Pharisees asked them this question. However, Jesus was part of the group too. So the Pharisees were also asking Jesus this question as well. If your language allows it, use a plural form that can include both the disciples and Jesus.

doing what is unlawful: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as unlawful means “not permitted ⌊by the law⌋.” The Pharisees did not want the disciples to pick the grain and rub it. They considered these actions to be harvesting and threshing grain. That was work. Therefore, they believed that the disciples were breaking the law about not working on the Sabbath day.

Some other ways to translate this are:

breaking the law (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
doing something that is not right to do (God’s Word)
-or-
doing what the Law forbids men to do (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

The Pharisees were not accusing the disciples of taking grain that belonged to someone else. (The Law of Moses permitted this. See Deuteronomy 23:25.) This should be clear from the context. But you may want to explain this in a footnote. For example:

Jewish law allowed someone to pick small amounts of grain from another person’s field (Deuteronomy 23:25). So the disciples were not stealing. The Pharisees were accusing them of doing the work of harvesting. The Law of Moses required that no one should work on the Sabbath day.

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