SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 9:44

9:44a

In Greek this verse contains the pronoun “you,” even though the verb is already marked for the second person. This emphatic pronoun focuses on the disciples, in contrast to the people in general. Some ways to express this emphasis are:

For your part,… (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
As for you,…

Let these words sink into your ears: The Greek command that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Let these words sink into your ears is literally “Put these words into your ears.” This idiom means two things:

(a) a person should listen carefully;

(b) he should not forget what he has heard.

You may translate either or both aspects of meaning. Both imply that Jesus is going to say something that is very important. For example:

Pay close attention (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
Don’t forget (New Century Version)
-or-
Listen to me and remember (New Living Translation (2004))

these words: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as these words refers to what Jesus was about to say. Another way to translate this is:

what I am about to tell you (New International Version)

9:44b

The Son of Man: Jesus often referred to himself as the Son of Man. In some languages it may be necessary to make it clear that Jesus was referring to himself:

I,⌋ the Son of Man

The phrase Son of Man also occurs in 9:22a. See how you translated this title there.

is about to be delivered: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as is about to be delivered refers to something that would definitely happen in the near future. Some other ways to translate this are:

will soon be betrayed
-or-
is about to be handed over

be delivered: In this context, the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as delivered means “handed over to the power of someone else.” It often refers to a person being delivered to his enemies.

This is a passive verb. The text does not specify who would betray Jesus. From later in Luke, it is clear that Judas would betray Jesus. This would fulfill God’s plan. However, you should not make either God or Judas explicit here. If you need to use an active verb, translate in a general way. For example:

someone⌋ is going to betray

into the hands of men: The phrase into the hands of men is a figure of speech. It refers to people gaining power or control over someone. In this context, this expression refers to Jesus being under the power of people who will harm him. People who want to harm him will gain the power to do that. In some languages, this expression may already be implied in the verb “delivered.” If so, it does not need to be explicitly translated. For example:

over to people (New Century Version)

Do not translate this in a way that means people will protect him. In some languages it may be necessary to make it clear that these people wish to do him harm. For example:

into the power of his/my enemies

© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.

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