rooftop

The Greek that is translated as “rooftop” or similar in English is translated in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with Dachgarten or “roof garden.”

he who, whoever

The Greek that is typically translated with a generic expressions such as “he who,” “whoever,” or “if anyone” in English is translated with the plural form (“they”) in Daga. “A literal translation of these conveys the idea that one specific unnamed individual is being discussed. Thus, for instance, in John 5:24 ‘he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life’ meant in Daga that there was one fortunate individual to whom it applied.”

See also love your neighbor as yourself.

complete verse (Matthew 24:17)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 24:17:

  • Uma: “The person who is sitting on his porch, don’t have him go into his house first to get his stuff.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “If a person is outside his house he shall/must not go inside to fetch his belongings.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “That person who happens to be outside of his house, he must not waste time to go in the house to get any of his possessions.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The one who is in the yard/area-outside of his house it is necessary that he not be delayed by entering to go get his possessions.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “As for the one on the flat roof of his house, he isn’t to busy himself going into the house to fetch belongings, but on the contrary having come down he is to run-away straight away.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “The person who will be on top of a house must not think that he will go into his house to get something to carry away, rather he should at once flee.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Matthew 24:17

This verse is very similar in form to the Marcan parallel (13.15), except that Matthew has smoothed out the grammar, as he frequently does. The situation reflected is that of the Palestinian house with its flat roof, which was generally accessible by a stairway from the outside of the house. One must not leave the impression that the man is up there repairing the roof of his house. Translators may say “A person who happens to be on the roof of his house should not take the time to go down and take his possessions from his house.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .