42Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.
The Greek and Hebrew terms that are translated as “hypocrite” in English typically have a counterpart in most languages. According to Bratcher / Nida (1961, p. 225), they can be categorized into the following categories:
those which employ some concept of “two” or “double”
those which make use of some expression of “mouth” or “speaking”
those which are based upon some special cultural feature
those which employ a non-metaphorical phrase
Following is a list of (back-) translations from some languages:
Mazahua: “have a swollen mouth” (from too much speaking)
Tai Dam: “have a straight mouth and a crooked heart”
Kongo: “the bitterness of white” (an idiom based on the fact that white-wash looks nice but tastes bitter)
Merina Malagasy: “spread a clean carpet” (an expression used in Madagascar to describe one who covers up the dirt of an unswept floor just before the arrival of guests)
Zanaki: “those who make themselves out to be good”
Tetelcingo Nahuatl: “those who deceive” (this and all examples above acc. to Bratcher / Nida 1961, p. 225)
Kafa: “one who makes as if his belly is clean” (source: Loren Bliese)
Bauzi: “good on top person” (source: David Briley in Kroneman (2004), p. 502)
Tibetan: kha chos pa (ཁ་ཆོས་པ།), lit. “mouth + religion + person” (used for instance in Matt. 7:5) or sgyu zog can (སྒྱུ་ཟོག་ཅན།), lit. “deception + fraud + person” (used for instance in Matt. 24:51) (source: gSungrab website )
Low German: “actor in a comedy” (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006)
Lélé: ne kub so or “make mouth two” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
The Latvian term liekulis was likely coined by the Bible translation of Ernst Glück (1654–1705) in the late 17th century and is still being used today (source ).
The English version of Sarah Ruden (2021) uses “play-actor.” She explains (p. li): “A hupokrites is fundamentally an actor. The word has deep negativity in the Gospels on two counts: professional actors were not respectable people in the ancient world, and traditional Judaism did not countenance any kind of playacting. I write ‘play-actor’ throughout.”
The Greek that is translated as “log” in English is translated in Gbaya with the ideophone kpíŋgíí, denoting something big or large.
Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)
The Greek that is translated in English as “brother” or “brother and sister” (in the sense of fellow believers), is translated with a specifically coined word in Kachin: “There are two terms for brother in Kachin. One is used to refer to a Christian brother. This term combines ‘older and younger brother.’ The other term is used specifically for addressing siblings. When one uses this term, one must specify if the older or younger person is involved. A parallel system exists for ‘sister’ as well. In [these verses], the term for ‘a Christian brother’ is used.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae)
In Matumbi is is translated as alongo aumini or “relative-believer.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
In Martu Wangka it is translated as “relative” (this is also the term that is used for “follower.”) (Source: Carl Gross)
In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is often translated as Mitchristen or “fellow Christians.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 6:42:
Noongar: “How can you say to your brother, ‘My brother, let me pick the speck from your eye’, but you don’t see the log in your own eye? You lie! Remove the log from your eye. Then you will see well and can pick the speck from your brother’s eye.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “How can we day to another: ‘Relative, come let me remove your sleep,’ when we do not even see the splinter in our own eye. Don’t pretend [your] behavior is good. We must first remove the splinter from our eye, so that our eyes are clear to remove the sleep of others.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “How can you say to your companion, ‘Friend, come here, I will take the speck out of your eye,’ if you don’t see the tree trunk in your own eye? You are just pretending. Take out the tree trunk from your own eye first then you can see clearly to remove the speck from the eye of your companion.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And you say to him that you will take out that speck in his eye, but there is a log in your eye which you pay no attention to. How false is your custom. You first take out the log which is in your eye, and then you’ll be able to see, and then you can remove also that speck in your companion’s eye.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Why do you (sing.) tell your (sing.) fellow, ‘Please allow me (lit. please have-mercy) to wipe-away that eye-discharge of yours (sing.),’ while you (sing.) are blind-to your (sing.) large eye-discharge? You (sing.) hypocrite (lit. pretend good), first wipe-away your (sing.) large eye-discharge so you (sing.) can-see properly, then you (sing.) will be able to remove the eye-discharge of your (sing.) fellow.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well, how can you say to your companion, ‘Come here, I will remove your foreign-body-in-the-eye which is dust,’ since there is something wedged across your eye? Therefore you who regard your lifestyle as having nothing to find fault with, first improve your own nature/ways and then it will be possible/acceptable for you to point out what your companion is doing which is not good. First remove that which is wedged across, so that you will be able to see well. You will be better able to remove your companion’s foreign-body-in-the-eye.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
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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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-kao (御顔) or “face (of God)” in the referenced verses.
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®).
pōs dunasai legein tō adelphō sou ‘how can you say to your brother?,’ implying that it is impossible, or, at least, does not make sense.
aphes ekbalō lit. ‘permit, or, let that I remove,’ hence ‘let me remove.’
autos tēn en tō ophthalmō sou dokon ou blepōn ‘you yourself not seeing the beam in your own eye,’ syntactically a conjunctive participial clause with dunasai legein. Most versions treat it as a subordinate circumstantial clause.
hupokrita (in Luke always in the vocative) ‘pretender,’ ‘hypocrite.’ Here it is best understood as referring to pretending not to see the beam in one’s own eye, i.e. to forget one’s own failures and mistakes (cf. Grundmann).
prōton adverb of time ‘first,’ i.e. before something else can happen.
kai tote diablepseis to karphos … ekbalein ‘and then you will see clearly the speck … so as to/in order to remove (it).’ tote refers back to prōton. karphos is primarily object of diablepseis, and secondarily of ekbalein. This infinitive is either consecutive or final, probably the former (cf. The Four Gospels – a New Translation, “you will see clearly enough to pull … out”).
Translation:
To simplify the structure of the first sentence one may say something like, ‘You cannot say to your brother, “…”. You yourself can’t (or, You, who can’t) even see the log in your own eye.’
To your brother is sometimes better omitted, because the following form of address is sufficient. The latter must agree with the rendering of ‘brother’ in the rest of the two verses, cf. e.g. ‘my friend,’ the term normally used in Tae’ in addressing a ‘companion.’
When is implicitly adversative: ‘whereas,’ ‘but.’
You hypocrite, or, ‘hypocrite that you are,’ ‘what a hypocrite you are’ (the Balinese rendering mentioned there proved too literary an expression for use in the Bible translation). An interesting specialized idiom for ‘hypocrisy’ used in Kituba is ‘eye under leaf.’
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.
How can you say, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while you yourself fail to see the beam in your own eye?: Here Jesus restated the first rhetorical question. He restated it to rebuke and emphasize that your own sins blind you so that you cannot help others. His emphasis is on the importance of examining your own life and changing behavior that needs to be changed.
Some ways to translate this rebuke are:
• As a rhetorical question. For example:
How can you think of saying, “Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,” when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
Why do you say to your brother, “Brother, let me remove the speck from your eye,” when you yourself do not see the beam in your eye?
• As a statement or exclamation. For example:
It is wrong to say to your brother, “Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,” when you yourself fail to see the plank of wood in your own eye!
Translate this rebuke in a way that is natural in your language.
6:42a
How can you say: The phrase How can you say introduces the rebuke. In some languages, it may be more natural to begin the rebuke with the word “why.” For example:
Why do you say
The Greek says literally, “How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother.’” In some languages, it may be natural to let the first mention of “brother” remain implicit. That is what the Berean Standard Bible does. Another way to translate this phrase is:
How can you think of saying (New Living Translation (2004))
6:42b
Brother: See the note on “brother’s” at 6:41a.
let me take the speck out of your eye: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as speck is the same Greek word that it translates as “speck” in 6:41a.
6:42c
while you yourself: The phrase you yourself is emphatic. It draws attention to the person who fails to see his own wrong actions/behavior. If you have a way to make this emphatic in your language, use it here.
fail to see: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as fail to see is literally “do not see.” For example:
do not see (Revised Standard Version)
the beam in your own eye: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as beam is the same word as in 6:41b. It refers to a very large, heavy piece of wood, usually used as a beam in building a house. Translate this word the same way in both places.
General Comment on 6:42a–c
In some languages, it may be natural to change the order of the clauses in 6:42a–c. For example:
42cIf you do not see the beam in your own eye, 42ahow can you offer 42bto help your brother take the small piece of wood out of his eye?
6:42d
You hypocrite!: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as hypocrite means “pretender” or “actor.” An actor is someone who pretends to be another person. A hypocrite often:
(a) acted in a way that did not fit what he said he believed;
(b) believed that he honored God, but he did not truly love and honor him.
Some other ways to translate this are:
You show-offs! (Contemporary English Version) -or-
You fraud… (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)
In some languages, people use an idiom for this idea.
Jesus made the exclamation You hypocrite! to emphasize his warning. A person who does not examine his own life but criticizes others is not sincere.
The Greek text says literally just “hypocrite.” The Berean Standard Bible and other English versions add the word “you” to show that this is direct address. Here are some other ways to translate this:
Hypocrite! (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
You are a hypocrite.
First take the beam out of your own eye: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as beam is the same word as in 6:41b and 6:41c. Another way to translate this clause is:
First remove the beam from your own eye (NET Bible)
6:42e
and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye: The phrase and then means “after that.” In this case it is also a result. When a person takes the beam out of his own eye first, the result is that he will see clearly to remove the speck from his brother’s eye.
General Comment on 6:41–42
In some languages, it may be helpful to explain the metaphor of the speck and plank in a footnote. For example:
The speck represents small sins and faults. The plank represents large sins and faults.
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