The Greek and Hebrew that are translated as “worry” or “anxious” in English are translated in Navajo (Dinė) as “my mind is killing me.” (Source: Nida 1952, p. 24)
Nida (1952, p. 124) also gives other examples:
“The Piro in Peru use almost the same idiom when they say that a worried man is ‘one who is hard chased.’ The worried person is like a pursued animal in the forest trying to elude the hunter. The impenetrable jungle of the future, the failing strength, and the exhaustion of doubt all press hard upon the soul. And one’s heart seems to fail and even disappear. This is the very phrase employed by the Tzeltal Indians in the rugged mountains of southern Mexico. They describe ‘worry’ by the words ‘their hearts are gone.'”
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 12:26:
Noongar: “If you can’t do this small thing, why worry about other things? ” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “So, if you are not able to do that small thing, why do you have so much thinking/worry?” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “If you can’t do even a little thing like this, why do you worry about the others?” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And if, by means of your troubling, you cannot do anything about even this very small thing to do, what’s the use of your being troubled with other things?” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Therefore if you aren’t capable of even one hour, you shouldn’t be worrying about other things you need.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well if you can’t do such a little thing as that, well why are you agitating your mind/thinking about other things?” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
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®).
ei oun oude elachiston dunasthe ‘if then you cannot (do) even a very small, or, insignificant thing.’ The reference to what precedes is brought out in “as small a thing as that” (Revised Standard Version). The rendering ‘the smallest thing’ appears to be too emphatic. The clause is conditional in form but inferential in meaning.
peri tōn loipōn ‘about the rest,’ i.e. about physical necessities.
Translation:
If then you …, preferably, ‘since you…,’ ‘thus it is certain that you…,’ cf. the remark on the “if”-clause in 11.20.
As small a thing as that, or, ‘such a small thing,’ ‘such a trifle’ (Javanese).
The rest, or, ‘the other things,’ “anything else” (Phillips).
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.
So: In Greek, this verse begins with a conjunction that many English versions translate as “then.” This conjunction introduces a conclusion to Jesus’ third reason. The Berean Standard Bible uses the word So. Other versions do not translate this word. Another way to introduce this conclusion is:
Therefore if you cannot do…
if you cannot do such a small thing, why do you worry about the rest?: This is another rhetorical question. It functions as a mild rebuke. It also emphasizes that worrying is useless. By worrying, a person cannot even do something small such as make his life one hour longer. So a person should not worry about other things either.
Some ways to translate this rebuke are:
• As a rhetorical question. For example:
If you cannot do a small thing like that, why worry about other things? -or-
And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things? (New Living Translation (2004))
• As a statement. For example:
Since you cannot do even a small thing like that by worrying, then you should not worry about other things either. -or-
Worrying cannot do a small thing like lengthen your life. So do not worry about bigger issues.
Translate this rebuke in a way that is natural in your language.
such a small thing: The phrase such a small thing refers to adding a short length of time to how long a person would live.
the rest: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the rest refers to other things or problems that people worry about. Some other ways to translate this are:
the other things (Good News Translation) -or-
everything else (Contemporary English Version)
It is implied that the rest contrasts with the “small thing.” It may be helpful to make this explicit. For example:
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