touch

The Greek that is translated as “touch” in English is translated in the German translation by Fridolin Stier (1989) as “(touch and) hold on to” (festhalten).

trembling / afraid

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “trembling,” or “afraid” in English is translated in the Protestant Mandarin Chinese Union Version with a historical Chinese idiom: zhànzhàn jīngjīng (戰戰兢兢 / 战战兢兢) or “trembling (lit. “trembling and fearful”).” (Source: Toshikazu S. Foley in Hong Kong Journal of Catholic Studies, 2011, p. 45ff.)

See also trembling / in awe and trembling / shaking / dancing.

complete verse (Luke 8:47)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 8:47:

  • Noongar: “The woman saw that Jesus knew she had touched him, so she came trembling and she fell down at the feet of Jesus. In front of all the people she told Jesus why she had touched him and how she had been healed at that moment.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “That woman knew that her doing/what she had done was not hidden. So she came shaking/shivering to kneel in front of Yesus. She confessed to the people that she was the one who touched the shirt/clothes of Yesus and that she was healed from her disease.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When the woman knew that she could not hide what she had done, she came close shaking and prostrated at Isa’s feet. And she told Isa in the hearing of the people as to why she had touched him and she also told that she was healed.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then when the woman understood that Jesus knew what she had done, she came up to Jesus, shaking because she was very much afraid. She knelt down to Jesus, there in front of all the people, and she told the reason why she had taken hold of the shirt of Jesus, and she told also that immediately at that time, her disease was healed.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “That woman realized that she was found-out, so she approached Jesus trembling and knelt face-down in front of him. Then she told Jesus in the sight of the many-people the reason that she had touched his clothes and the instantaneous removal of her sickness.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When that woman realized that apparently what she had done wasn’t hidden from Jesus, she approached trembling and kneeled down in front of Jesus. She related in the hearing of the crowd why she had touched Jesus and how suddenly/unexpectedly the blood which was abnormal had stopped.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

before / in the sight of / presence of (God) (Japanese honorifics)

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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-mae (御前) or “before (God)” in the referenced verses. In some cases in can also be used in reference to being before a king, such as in 1 Samuel 16:16.

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

See also presence (Japanese honorifics) and before you / to you.

Translation commentary on Luke 8:47

Exegesis:

idousa … tremousa ēlthen kai prospesousa … apēggeilen ‘seeing…, she came trembling and after falling down … she told….’ The first participle idousa denotes an event which precedes and determines all subsequent events; tremousa refers to an experience which occurs together with the event denoted by ēlthen; prospesousa describes an event which precedes that of the main verb apēggeilen.

hoti ouk elathen ‘that she had not escaped notice,’ i.e. Jesus’ notice.

lanthanō ‘to be hidden,’ ‘to escape notice.’

tremousa ēlthen ‘trembling she came (forward),’ i.e. to Jesus; hence “she approached” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation). tremō.

prospesousa autō ‘after falling down before him,’ or using a finite verbal form ‘she fell down before him.’ For the idiom cf. on 5.8 and 8.41.

di’ hēn aitian hēpsato autou ‘why she had touched him.’ The aorist tense has here the force of a pluperfect. di’ hēn aitian (aitia †) lit. ‘for which reason,’ hence ‘why.’ The clause is dependent upon apēggeilen.

apēggeilen enōpion pantos tou laou ‘she told before all the people,’ i.e. so that all people could hear. For apaggellō cf. on 7.18; for enōpion on 1.15; for pas ho laos on 3.21.

kai hōs iathē parachrēma ‘and how she had been cured at once.’ hōs is rendered ‘that’ by some translations (cf. Translator’s New Testament, Nieuwe Vertaling). This is possible though less probable. This clause is also dependent upon apēggeilen. This order of one dependent clause of indirect speech before, and one after the modifying verb is a characteristic of literary Greek.

Translation:

For the “when”-clause see on v. 34.

Saw, or, ‘realized,’ ‘became aware,’ ‘perceived.’

She was not hidden, or, ‘she could not keep herself concealed,’ ‘she could not keep concealed her deed (or, what she had done)’ (cf. Balinese, Tae,’ Batak Toba); or with a further shift, “she had been found out” (Good News Translation).

Trembling, or, ‘with trembling body,’ ‘her body trembling’ (Balinese); where ‘trembling’ does not indicate fear one may add a qualifying term, e.g. ‘trembling with fear/terror,’ or shift to, ‘very much afraid.’

Falling down before him may better become an independent clause, cf. Good News Translation; for to fall down before cf. on “fell down at Jesus’ knees” in 5.8.

Declared, or, ‘told him.’

In the presence of all the people, or, ‘before the ears of all the people,’ ‘so that all the people could hear it.’ For all the people see on 3.21.

Why she had touched him, or, “her reason for touching him” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation). ‘what had led/caused her to touch him.’

How she had been immediately healed, or (where necessary to avoid a rendering that would suggest an exact description), ‘that she had been … healed,’ cf. also, ‘her-being-healed at-once’ (Batak Toba), ‘about the-being-cured of her-illness at that very moment’ (Tae’). Where a shift to active form is necessary one should use ‘how/that she had … recovered (or, become well) immediately, or, as soon as she had touched Jesus,’ rather than ‘how/that Jesus had healed her….’

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 8:47

8:47a

Then the woman, seeing that she could not escape notice: The woman realized from the conversation in 8:45–46 that Jesus was determined to discover who had touched him. Connect this verse to the context in a natural way in your language.

seeing: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as seeing here means “realizing” or “understanding.” The woman realized that she could not avoid being noticed.

she could not escape notice: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as she could not escape notice indicates that the woman realized that Jesus knew what she had done. She also knew that he would not allow her to slip quietly away. Some other ways to translate this are:

she had not been able to hide
-or-
what she had done was known

In some languages it may be necessary to indicate who had noticed her. If that is true in your language, you may indicate that it was Jesus. For example:

Jesus knew what she had done (similar to the New Living Translation (1996))

8:47b

came: In some languages it may be necessary to say where the woman came:

came ⌊to Jesus⌋

trembling: The woman was trembling or “shaking” because she was afraid (see Mark 5:33). In some languages it may be necessary to make this explicit:

came trembling ⌊with fear⌋

The text does not specify the exact reason why the woman was afraid. One reason may have been that her illness had made her ritually unclean. As an unclean person, she had broken the Jewish law by touching Jesus and also by being in the crowd. She may have been afraid that Jesus and the people would be angry.

In some translations it may be helpful to include a footnote to explain the woman’s fear. For example:

According to Jewish law, the woman’s illness made her ritually unclean. If she touched anyone, that person also became unclean. She was probably afraid that when Jesus and other people discovered that she had touched him, they would be angry.

If you include a footnote here, you will probably not need one at 8:43.

fell down before Him: The phrase fell down before Him indicates that she knelt and bowed down with her face to the ground in front of Jesus. This showed her respect and submission to him. She did not fall accidentally. The same or similar expressions also occur at 5:8, 5:12, 8:27, and 8:41.

8:47c

In the presence of all the people, she explained: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as In the presence of all the people, she explained indicates that the woman spoke so that the crowd surrounding Jesus heard what she said to him. Other ways to translate this are:

While all the people listened, she told (New Century Version)
-or-
Before all the people she explained (Revised English Bible)
-or-
She ⌊spoke so that⌋ all the people could hear and told

why she had touched Him: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as why refers to the cause or reason for something. Here it means that the woman publicly told the reason why she touched Jesus.

8:47d

how she had immediately been healed: This is a passive clause. Some other ways to translate this are:

how the bleeding instantly stopped
-or-
how ⌊touching his cloak⌋ had immediately caused her to be well
-or-
how ⌊Jesus’ power⌋ had instantly healed her

how: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as how probably refers to the fact that the woman was healed as soon as she touched Jesus’ cloak. The healing was immediate. It does not indicate that she explained the manner or process in which she was healed. Another way to translate this is:

that she had been immediately healed (New Living Translation (2004))

General Comment on 8:47a–d

In some languages it may be necessary to use direct speech to report what the woman said to Jesus in 8:47d. It may also be helpful to make the connections between the clauses in 8:47 more explicit. For example:

47aThe woman realized then that she could not hide ⌊what had happened⌋. 47bSo, even though she was very afraid, she came ⌊forward⌋ and kneeled in front of Jesus. 47cWith everyone ⌊watching and listening⌋, she said ⌊to him⌋, “I touched you because ⌊I have been bleeding for twelve years, and I believed that if I could touch you, I would become well. I did touch the edge of your clothing⌋ 47cand I immediately became well.”

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