12The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside to lodge and get provisions, for we are here in a deserted place.”
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “village” or “town” in English is translated in Noongar as karlamaya or “fire (used for “home“) + houses” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
In Elhomwe it is typically translated as “place.” “Here in Malawi, villages very small, so changed to ‘places,’ since not sure whether biblical reference just to small villages or also to bigger towns. (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
1936 painting by Wang Suda 王肅達 (1910-1963),
Housed in the Société des Auxiliaires des Missions Collection – Whitworth University
(click image to enlarge)
Image taken from Chinese Christian Posters . For more information on the “Ars Sacra Pekinensis” school of art, see this article , for other artworks of that school in TIPs, see here.
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the inclusive form (including Jesus).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 9:12:
Noongar: “When the sun was setting, Jesus’ twelve disciples came and said, ‘Send the people away so they can go to villages and houses in the country and look for meat and bread and look for houses to sleep in because this is remote country.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “Near sunset, his twelve disciples came to say to him: ‘Teacher, we should order [lit., it-is-better we order] those people there to go search for food and beds in the towns and gardens/fields that are close. Because it is empty here.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “When it was late afternoon, his twelve disciples went to him and said to him, ‘Tell these people to go to the surrounding villages and to the places inland to look for food and places to sleep for this is a place where not many people come to.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “When afternoon came, the twelve disciples came to Jesus and they said, ‘Send the people away so that they might go to the hamlets and to the towns, that they might find something to eat and some place to sleep, because there’s nothing they can get here in this place where no people live.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When it was getting-to-be-night(i.e. late afternoon), his disciples went to him and said, ‘Tell the people to go look-for what they will eat and a place-to-overnight in the nearby towns, because it’s emphatically isolated here.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When it was late afternoon, those twelve disciples of his approached Jesus. They said, ‘Probably it would be good if you have these people go now to the nearby barios and houses, so that they can buy something to eat and find where to sleep. For look here, we are here in a wilderness place.'” (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-moto (みもと) referring to the location (of God) in the referenced verses.
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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, -sete (せて) or “let/allow (for me)” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”
hē de hēmera ērxato klinein ‘then the day began to decline.’ A co-ordinate clause is employed here instead of the more common sub-ordinate, temporal clause, because it is more vivid.
klinō here intransitive, ‘to decline,’ ‘to be far spent.’
apoluson ton ochlon ‘dismiss the crowd,’ cf. on 2.29. ton ochlon takes up hoi ochloi in v. 11. To this group refers also the subject of katalusōsin (plural).
hina poreuthentes eis tas kuklō kōmas kai agrous katalusōsin ‘that they, after going to the villages and farms around, find lodging.’ For agrous cf. on 8.34. kuklō.
episitismos ‘provisions,’ ‘food,’ a military term used also in the case of travellers.
hoti hōde en erēmō topō esmen ‘for here we are in a lonely place.’
Translation:
The day began to wear away may be variously expressed, cf. e.g. ‘the time-of-day (was) close-to evening’ (Bahasa Indonesia); and cf. on “the day is far spent” in 24.29.
Send the crowd away, to go into, or, ‘give the crowd leave that they may go into,’ ‘urge the crowd to go into’; renderings such as ‘dismiss the crowd, and let them go into,’ or simply, “send the crowd away to” (An American Translation), ‘order the crowd to go to’ (Balinese) are acceptable too, unless they would suggest a rejection or getting rid of.
Villages and country refers to local units of medium and smallest size; for the latter cf. on 8.34.
Round about (going with the two preceding nouns), or, ‘that are nearby’ (Tae,’ Sundanese), ‘in the neighbourhood’ (Nieuwe Vertaling), ‘to-the-left-and-right-from here’ (Javanese).
To lodge and get provisions, or, ‘to get a place to lodge and to get something-to-eat’ (Sundanese), ‘to seek/ask lodging (or, place-to-pass-the-night, Tae’) and food,’ “to find food and shelter” (An American Translation, changing the order in accordance with the receptor language idiom). A syntactic shift sometimes useful is found in Batak Toba, .’.. to go to lodge in the villages and country to get something-to-eat.’
Lonely place, see on 4.42.
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.
As the day neared its end: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as As the day neared its end refers to the time around sunset, when people would normally eat their evening meal. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
Toward the end of the day (God’s Word) -or-
When the sun was beginning to set (Good News Translation)
the Twelve: The phrase the Twelve refers to the twelve apostles whom Jesus had chosen. See the note on 9:1a.
came to Jesus: In this context, the words came to Jesus mean that the apostles approached Jesus to speak to him. The apostles were already with Jesus. They were probably sitting or standing close to Jesus as he taught. They did not come to him from a distance.
Some other ways to translate this are:
his apostles came ⌊near⌋ to him -or-
his apostles approached him
9:12b
Dismiss the crowd: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as Dismiss the crowd is in the form of a command. The disciples were suggesting what they thought was a reasonable thing to do. They were not speaking disrespectfully to Jesus. You should phrase this suggestion in a polite way in your culture. Some other ways to do this in English are:
Please send the many people away -or-
We suggest that you send the crowds away
Dismiss: The word Dismiss in this context refers to telling the crowd that it was time for them to go home. Be careful not to translate this in a way that sounds rude. Some other ways to translate this are:
release -or-
advise (them) to go
9:12c
to the surrounding villages and countryside: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as countryside can also be translated as “farms.” It refers to places where a small group of people lived and where there was food. Some other ways to translate the phrase the surrounding villages and countryside are:
the villages and farms around here (Contemporary English Version, Good News Translation) -or-
the nearby villages and farms (New Living Translation (2004))
9:12d
for lodging and provisions: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for lodging and provisions indicates that the disciples wanted the crowds to buy or be given some food and shelter for the night. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
so that they can find some food and a place to stay (God’s Word) -or-
They need to get something to eat and find a place to sleep overnight.
9:12e
For we are in a desolate place here: The clause For we are in a desolate place here gives the reason for the command in 9:12b–c. See the General Comment on 9:12b–e below for a way to reorder these clauses.
The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a desolate place refers to a place where few people lived. This place was some distance away from villages or farms where the people could obtain food and a place to sleep for the night. See also the note on 4:42a. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
No one lives around here (God’s Word) -or-
There is nothing to eat here in this remote place (New Living Translation (2004))
General Comment on 9:12b–e
In 9:12e the disciples gave the reason for their suggestion in 9:12b–d. In some languages it may be more natural to give the reason before the suggestion. For example:
12eNo one lives in this area. 12bSo it may be a good time to let the crowds leave. 12cThen they can go to the nearby villages and farms 12dso they can buy something to eat and find a place to stay for the night.
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