The Greek in Luke 11:40 that is translated as “(you) foolish people” or “(you) foolish ones” is (back-) translated in a number of ways:
San Blas Kuna: “people having a dark liver” (“incapable of intelligent, thoughtful behavior”) (See Seat of the Mind for traditional views of “ways of knowing, thinking, and feeling.”)
Batak Toba: “those short-of-mind” (“mostly referring to stupidity or ignorance in general”)
Zarma: a word indicating a person who refuses to use the intelligence he has
Chichewa, Yao: expressions implying intractability and willful opposition to common interests or commonly accepted ideas (source for this and above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 11:40:
Noongar: “You stupid people! God makes the outside part. God also makes the inside part, doesn’t he?” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “You are very foolish! Was it only our bodies that the Lord created? Did he not also create our hearts?” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “You are foolish. Don’t you know that God did not just create what is seen on the outside but he also created the inside which is not seen?” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “God who created the outside of your body created also your breath and your mind, and it’s necessary that your breath and your mind is clean, just like the outside of your body.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “You foolish-ones! God who made our bodies, he also of course made our minds, isn’t that so?” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “You must be simple/stupid, for isn’t it so that the one who made your body is the same as who made the mind/inner-being? Of course he wants all to be clean.” (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 Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, tsuku-rare-ru (造られる) or “create” is used.
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
aphrōn (also 12.2) ‘fool,’ ‘ignorant,’ here used as a substantive indicating culpable ignorance and carrying a strong note of reproach (cf. Translator’s New Testament, Glossary, p. 79).
ouch ho poiēsas to exōthen kai to esōthen epoiēsen ‘did not he who made the outside make the inside also?’ ouch at the beginning of an interrogative clause suggests that an affirmative answer is expected.
Translation:
You fools, or, ‘fools that you are!,’ ‘what fools you are!.’ Fools, or, ‘thought not (having) people’ (Ekari), ‘people without sense/understanding/intelligence’ (Kituba, Sinhala, Marathi, Javanese), ‘people having a dark liver’ (San Blas Kuna), ‘those short-of-mine’ (Batak Toba), mostly referring to stupidity or ignorance in general. Some versions use renderings more specifically expressing guilt and/or reproach, e.g. ‘who don’t know anything,’ a strong term of rebuke (Tzeltal), or a word indicating a person who refuses to use the intelligence he has (Zarma), or expressions implying intractability and wilful opposition to common interests or commonly accepted ideas (East Nyanja, Yao).
Made … make. Since the implied agent is God some versions use their rendering for ‘to create,’ e.g. Javanese, Batak Toba; cf. also “did not the Creator of the outside make the inside too?” (An American Translation, similarly Bahasa Indonesia RC).
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.
You fools!: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as fools describes people who do not think clearly or rightly. It implies that they deliberately refuse to understand what is right. Another way to translate this word is:
You people who have no minds/thoughts/sense!
11:40b
Did not the One who made the outside make the inside as well?: This is a rhetorical question. Its function is to emphasize that God, who made the outside of people, also certainly made the inside.
Some ways to translate this emphasis are:
• As a rhetorical question. For example:
Didn’t God make the inside as well as the outside? (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
The one who made the outside also made the inside. ⌊Isn’t that right?⌋
• As a statement. In this case, you should add a word or phrase to show the emphasis. For example:
You know that the one who made the outside made the inside also. -or-
The same one who made what is outside also made what is inside. (New Century Version)
Translate this emphasis in a way that is most natural in your language.
the One: The phrase the One refers to God. For example:
Didn’t God make both the outside and the inside? (Contemporary English Version)
who made the outside make the inside: Jesus was referring to the outside and the inside of a person. By the outside he meant the whole physical body. By the inside he meant the part of a person that cannot be seen: the mind, affections, and will. God was also concerned that the inside of a person should be clean.
Some other ways to translate this are:
he who made man’s body also made his heart/spirit/soul -or-
God who created ⌊what is seen on⌋ the outside also created ⌊what is not seen on⌋ the inside.
General Comment on 11:40b
Jesus implied here that it is important for a person’s inner being (soul/mind/heart) to be clean/holy. It is foolish to clean only the outside. So the Pharisees should have been concerned about holiness, not just physical cleanliness. In some languages, it may be necessary to make this explicit in the text or in a footnote. For example:
so it is necessary that your inside/heart be clean, just like the outside of your body -or-
It is important that your heart be clean, not only your hands
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