Translation commentary on Luke 9:51 – 9:52

Exegesis:

egeneto de lit. ‘and it happened,’ cf. on 1.8.

en tō sumplērousthai tas hēmeras tēs analēmpseōs autou ‘when the days of his ascension were fulfilled.’ For this phrase cf. on 1.57 (where a related verb is used). tas hēmeras refers to a period which must elapse before the event to which tes analēmpseōs refers, can take place. sumplēroō, cf. on 8.23.

analēmpsis lit. ‘taking up,’ here in a passive sense ‘being taken up,’ with a shift to another word picture, ‘ascension’ (cf. the related verb analambanomai in Acts 1.2, 11, 22).

kai autos to prosōpon estērisen tou poreuesthai eis Ierousalēm lit. ‘he set his face in order to travel to Jerusalem.’ The meaning of the Hebraistic phrase to prosōpon estērisen is ‘he resolved firmly,’ ‘he decided definitely.’ tou poreuesthai eis Ierousalēm is an independent genitive of the articular infinitive, loosely attached to the main clause in order to indicate its purpose.

stērizō ‘to fix,’ ‘to set,’ ‘to strengthen.’

(v. 52a) aggelous ‘messengers.’

pro prosōpou autou lit. ‘before his face,’ hence ‘before him,’ ‘ahead (of him).’

Translation:

Solemn wording and contents of v. 51 serve to make the fact that a new major part of the narrative (9.50–19.27) begins here.

When the days drew near for him to be received up, or, ‘that he/Jesus was to be received up, or, was to go up’; or focussing rather on the preceding period, ‘as the days before he should be received up were running out’ (cf. Phillips), ‘when the time that had to elapse before his ascension was almost at its end’ (Leyden). An interesting idiom for time that has elapsed is ‘knot that is cut’ (Ekari, cf. the Tboli rendering of “at the end of eight days” in 2.21). The idea that all this was preordained can usually be expressed in the phrase referring to the coming event (see above), but is sometimes better expressed (also) in the reference to the period, e.g. ‘when the time-agreed-upon was at hand’ (Balinese), ‘when the time was due to come that…’ (Sranan Tongo). To be received up. A locative qualification is often desirable, e.g. ‘that Jesus would be taken-up/made-to-go-up (or, would go up) to heaven’ (Tzeltal, Balinese, Sranan Tongo), ‘that he should be taken away from this world’ (Bible de Jérusalem). — Some translators have chosen a euphemism for ‘to die,’ e.g. ‘to go home,’ ‘to pass away,’ or a term for ‘elevation (to a higher rank)’; this is not to be recommended.

He set his face to go to, or, “he resolved to go to” (Phillips), ‘Jesus decided to take-hold-of road to go to’ (Kituba), ‘he took resolutely the road to’ (Bible de Jérusalem). Idioms used to express firm resolve are, ‘to put into the head’ (Sranan Tongo), ‘to cause-to-be-fixed the heart’ (Bahasa Indonesia RC), ‘straight before the nose’ (Ekari), ‘to hold-down the will’ (Pohnpeian, Trukese).

(V. 52a) He sent messengers ahead of him, or, to avoid tautology, ‘he sent some persons ahead of him,’ see on 7.27.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 9:51

Division 9:51–19:27

Jesus ministered on the way to Jerusalem

Another major division of the Gospel of Luke begins here at 9:51 and continues through 19:27. Jesus, with his disciples, started on a trip from Galilee to Jerusalem. They went through the districts of Samaria and Perea and entered the district of Judea on the way to Jerusalem.

Section 9:51–56

The people of a Samaritan village refused to receive Jesus

Even though the Samaritan people were partly Jewish (2 Kings 17:24–41), they worshiped God differently than the Jews did. Their main place of worship was on Mount Gerazim, while the Jews’ main place of worship was in Jerusalem (John 4:20). The Samaritans did not want Jews to travel through their district on the way to worship in Jerusalem. That is why they rejected Jesus and his disciples.

Some other examples of headings for this section are:

People From a Samaritan Village Reject Jesus (God’s Word)
-or-
Samaritan Opposition (New International Version)

Paragraph 9:51–56

9:51a

In Greek, this verse starts with the phrase “And it happened that.” Some English versions translate this clause. For example:

Now it happened that (New Jerusalem Bible)

However, most English versions omit this clause. Luke used this clause to introduce a new event. You should introduce this event in a way that is natural in your language.

As the day…approached: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the day…approached is more literally “the days were approaching” or “the days were being completed/fulfilled.” In this context the clause indicates that it was nearly time for Jesus to go back up to heaven. This clause also implies that God had already planned the number of days before that would happen. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

When the days were approaching (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
Not long before it was time (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
The time was coming closer (God’s Word)

of His ascension: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as of His ascension is literally “of his receiving up.” This probably refers to the time when God would take Jesus back to heaven. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

for his ascension (New American Standard Bible)
-or-
for ⌊God⌋ to take him back to heaven
-or-
for him to ascend to heaven (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
for him to be taken up to heaven (New International Version)

See heaven in the Glossary.

9:51b

Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem is literally “he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” Several English versions translate the clause that way. It means that Jesus firmly decided to go to Jerusalem. It also implies here that he started out on the journey. Other ways to translate this clause are:

he was determined to go to Jerusalem (God’s Word)
-or-
he firmly decided to start out for Jerusalem

The context shows that his disciples also went with Jesus on the journey. In some languages it may be necessary to make that explicit. If this is true in your language, try to keep the focus on Jesus. For example:

Jesus firmly/purposefully set out for Jerusalem, ⌊along with his disciples⌋.

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