generation

The Greek that is translated into English as “(this) generation” is translated as

  • “the people now” in Chol
  • “those who are in space now” in Tzeltal (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • “you people” in Tlahuitoltepec Mixe (source: Robert Bascom)
  • “(people of one) layer” in Ekari, Toraja-Sa’dan, Batak Toba
  • “one storey of growing” (using a term also denoting a storey or floor of a building) in Highland Totonac (source for this and one above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)

See also generations and all generations.

complete verse (Luke 7:31)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 7:31:

  • Noongar: “Jesus spoke again, ‘Now what can I say about people today? They are like what people?” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “Yesus also said: ‘No kidding the people who live at this time! This is the parable that I compare them to:” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Then Isa said, ‘What shall I use as a parable for the people living now? Like what are they?” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Jesus spoke again, ‘You people today, I see that you are just like children playing,” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Jesus also said, ‘What perhaps will I use-as-an-illustration/comparison-for the people today? What are they like?” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Jesus continued what-he -was-saying, saying, ‘Well, to what shall I compare people today? What are they really like?” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 7:31

Exegesis:

tini oun homoiōsō … kai tini eisin homoioi ‘to what then can I compare … and what are they like?’ Rhetoric question, not in the sense that the answer is obvious, but introducing and preparing the way for the subsequent comparison. The repetition of the question in a slightly different form serves to strengthen this function. tini is neuter, and refers to the situation described in v. 32.

homoioō (1) ‘to make like,’ hence in the passive ‘to become like’; (2) ‘to compare.’

tous anthrōpous tēs geneas tautēs ‘the men of this (i.e. the present) generation.’

Translation:

To what … shall I compare the men … may have to be given a somewhat expanded rendering, ‘whose likeness/ illustration have I to give the people’ (Marathi). The shift from what to ‘whom’ is found also in Bible de Jérusalem, Batak Toba.

The men of this generation, or, ‘the men of this time/ age’ (Bahasa Indonesia, Ekari), ‘people living now’ (Amganad Ifugao), ‘people of the present ways’ (Balinese), ‘those who are in space now’ (Tzeltal); and cf. on 1.48.

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 7:31

Paragraph 7:31–35

7:31

To what, then, can I compare the men of this generation? What are they like?: In the Greek text these two questions are connected as one rhetorical question. For example:

To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? (English Standard Version)

Notice that Jesus answered the questions himself in 7:32a. He used the rhetorical questions to introduce the statement about “the people of this generation” in 7:32–34. There are two ways to translate these rhetorical questions:

• As one or more questions. For example:

How can I describe the people of this generation? What are they like? (Revised English Bible)
-or-
To what then should I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? (NET Bible)

• As one or more statements. For example:

This is how I will compare the men of this generation. This is what they are like.

• As a combination of questions and statements. For example:

So what comparison can I use to describe this generation? I will tell you what they are like.

The two questions have almost the same meaning. Jewish people often used this kind of repetition, and it may add some emphasis to what Jesus asks. If it is not easy or natural in your language to ask two different yet similar questions here, you could combine them:

What illustration/comparison can I use to show what the people of today are like?

7:31a

then: The Greek conjunction oun that the Berean Standard Bible translates as then means “therefore.” It introduces a conclusion of the statements in 29–30. The Jewish religious leaders had rejected John (7:30), so in 7:31–35, Jesus could compare them to children who cannot be satisfied. Connect 7:31a to what comes before it in a way that is natural in your language.

compare: To compare means to say that one thing is like another. Jesus answered his question in 7:32 by giving a simile or short parable (“they are like…”). So another way to express this question is:

What illustration/parable can I use to show what the people of this generation are like

the men of this generation: The phrase the men of this generation refers to Jewish people who lived in the same period of time as John and Jesus. It does not refer to a specific age group. In this context, the word generation refers specifically to people who rejected John and Jesus and their message. Some of these people were the Pharisees and experts in the law who were mentioned in 7:30. The term also implies that Jesus disapproved of the attitudes and actions of those people.

Some ways to translate this are:

• Translate the word in a neutral way and let the context express disapproval. For example:

people of this day/time
-or-
people who are living now (God’s Word)
-or-

⌊many of⌋ these people ⌊who heard John and me⌋

• Translate it in a way that expresses Jesus’ disapproval of those people who rejected him and John. For example:

these people ⌊who reject God’s messengers⌋
-or-
the people ⌊who reject John and me⌋

Some of the people that Jesus was speaking to were part of the generation that he referred to. In some languages it may be more natural to indicate that explicitly (as Jesus did in 7:33–34). For example:

What are you people like? (Contemporary English Version)

men: In this context, the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as men refers to people in general, including both men and women. For that reason, most English versions, even literal ones such as the English Standard Version and New American Standard Bible, translate it as “people.”

7:31b

What are they like?: As in 7:31a, Jesus was referring to some of the people who were listening to him. If you indicated that explicitly in 7:31a, it will probably be natural to continue to do that here. For example:

What kind of people are you (Contemporary English Version)

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