The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “messenger” in English is translated in Noongar as moort yana-waangki or “person walk-talk” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
complete verse (Luke 7:27)
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 7:27:
- Noongar: “Because the Scriptures say of this man, John, ‘God says, ‘I will send my messenger before, clearing your path.”” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
- Uma: “Because he is the one who prepares the hearts of the people to receive me, like is written in the Holy Book long ago. God said: ‘He is my messenger, I send him ahead of You (sing.), to prepare your (sing.) way/road.”” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “Yahiya is hep the person written about in the holy-book, it says there, ‘God says, I tell my messenger to go before you and prepare your way.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Because John is the fulfillment of the prophesied, written word of God, because God said there, ‘There is a person I will send. I will send him in front of you that he might make clean your way.’ ‘ Then Jesus spoke again,” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “Because Juan is whom the written word of God is talking about which says, ‘I am sending someone to go-ahead of you (sing.) to prepare the path-you-(sing.)-will-take.’ ‘” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “Because this Juan is the one referred to in the word of God which is written, which says, ‘It’s true there is someone whom I will send to go ahead of you (sing.), for he will make ready where you will walk.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
1st person pronoun referring to God (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 first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
See also pronoun for “God”.
Translation commentary on Luke 7:27
Exegesis:
houtos estin peri hou gegraptai ‘this is he concerning whom it is written.’ gegraptai does not imply a literal quotation.
kataskeuazō, cf. on 1.17.
emprosthen sou ‘before you,’ either temporal (‘before your arrival’) or local (‘in front of you’), preferably the latter.
Translation:
This is he of whom it is written. The substitution of a noun or of the name ‘John’ is sometimes preferable; for the relative clause cf. on 4.4; hence, e.g. ‘John is the one of whom it is written,’ ‘about this man Scripture has said, or, a prophet has written,’ etc.
If I send my messenger, or, ‘my sent-one,’ would become tautological, one may say, ‘I send (or, order to go) my servant.’ The source of the statement may have to be indicated, e.g. ‘God says, “I send…” .’
Before thy face, or, ‘(to go/walk) in front of you,’ ‘to be herald before you’ (Javanese), ‘your forerunner’ (Batak Toba)
Who shall prepare thy way, cf. on 3.4.
Before thee (not found in 3.4 and Mk. 1.2) is semantically less important than the synonymous phrase ‘before thy face’ is in its clause, since it only expresses what is already implied in the preceding part of the sentence. It is best taken as attributive to ‘way,’ e.g. “the road ahead of you” (An American Translation), ‘the way that runs on in front of you.’ Simply to say, ‘prepare your way, or the way for you’ may be necessary in some cases, but does not do full justice to a feature that is characteristic of Luke’s wording here.
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 7:27
7:27a
This is the one about whom it is written: This clause introduces something that the prophet Malachi wrote about in the Old Testament. In 7:27b Luke gave the meaning, but not the exact words, of Malachi 3:1. He implied that John the Baptizer was the man about whom Malachi wrote hundreds of years before. You may need to make this clear in your translation. For example:
⌊John⌋ is the one about whom ⌊a prophet⌋ wrote ⌊long ago⌋
The phrase it is written often introduces a quotation from the Hebrew Scriptures, which are now called the Old Testament. In many languages the translation of this phrase mentions the Scriptures explicitly. Consider how to adapt your translation of that phrase for this context. For example:
⌊John⌋ is the one about whom it is written ⌊in the Scriptures⌋
-or-
This is the one concerning whom the Scriptures say
In some languages it may be helpful to introduce the words more explicitly. For example:
⌊John⌋ is the ⌊messenger⌋ that ⌊God speaks⌋ about in his Word/Scriptures
7:27b–c
Behold: In the Greek text, this quotation begins with the word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Behold. Some versions say “Look” (NET Bible, New Living Translation (2004)). Other versions (New International Version, Contemporary English Version, Good News Translation, God’s Word) do not explicitly translate this word. It calls the attention of the listeners to what God was about to say (“I will send my messenger ahead of you”). See the note on “Behold” at 1:31a, where the same word occurs.
I will send My messenger ahead of You: In many cultures at that time, a king would choose a person to go as his messenger to tell people that he was coming. The messenger would tell the people to prepare for his coming. In this context, the word I refers to God, and the word You refers to the Christ/Messiah. God indicated that he would send a messenger to tell people to prepare for the Christ/Messiah who was coming. Jesus implied that John was that messenger.
send: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as send means to order someone to go somewhere for a particular purpose.
ahead of You: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as ahead of You is literally “before your face.” In this context the phrase may indicate either or both of the following options:
(a) I will send my messenger before ⌊I send⌋ you;
(b) I will send my messenger to go in front of you.
In some languages there may be a natural way to translate the clause so that both meanings are possible. If you must choose one of these meanings, choose option (a).
who will prepare Your way before You: In this context the phrase prepare Your way is a metaphor. It is based on the custom of preparing roads before a king came. People repaired the roads so that the king could travel easily on them. Here the metaphor indicates that God was sending someone to prepare people for the Christ by telling them to repent of their sins. (This metaphor is also used in Isaiah 40:3–5, Matthew 11:10, Mark 1:2–3, and Luke 3:4–6.)
In some languages people may not understand the meaning of the metaphor. They may wrongly think that it refers to repairing roads. If that is true in your language, consider one of these options:
• Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
I will send my messenger ahead of you. He will prepare ⌊people⌋ for your coming ⌊like a person who prepares the roads before a king comes⌋.
-or-
I will send my messenger ahead of you. He will ⌊call people to⌋ prepare ⌊their hearts⌋ for your coming ⌊like a person who calls people to prepare the roads for the coming of a king⌋.
• Translate the meaning of the metaphor. For example:
I will send my messenger ahead of you to tell people to prepare themselves for your coming ⌊by turning from their sins⌋.
See how you translated the similar phrase in 1:76.
Your way: The word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as way literally means “road,” “path,” or “highway.” Use a word that is appropriate for your area.
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