complete verse (Luke 12:43)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 12:43:

  • Noongar: “This servant will be very happy if his master sees him doing good things when he comes home!” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “No kidding his good-fortune/blessedness if his nobleman returns home from his journey and finds him while he is working his work.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When his master returns, that servant will be happy when his master sees that he obeyed all that was commanded to him.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “When his master returns, this servant will be very happy if his master finds that he has obeyed everything he was told to do.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Fortunate is that slave if his master comes-home and comes-upon him doing the work that was entrusted to him.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “That slave can be really happy if on the arrival of his master, like that truly is what he is doing.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 12:43

Exegesis:

makarios ho doulos ekeinos ‘blessed (is) that servant,’ referring to oikonomos in v. 42; cf. on v. 37.

poiounta houtōs ‘doing so,’ i.e. as described in v. 42.

Translation:

Whom his master … will find so doing, or, as a temporal clause (cf. 12.9) and adjusting the verb (see 7.10), ‘when his master … will see that he is doing so (or, those things, or, as told).’

When he comes (home), or, ‘at his return,’ interrupts the connexion between subject and verb, and may, therefore, better be transposed to final position (cf. Good News Translation, Sranan Tongo, Bahasa Indonesia), or to the head of the sentence, e.g. ‘if his master comes (home) and finds him doing so.’

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.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 12:43

12:43

Blessed is that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns: Some time passes between 12:42 and 12:43. In 12:42 the text implies that the master left his servants. This part of the verse describes what happens when he returns home. In some languages it may be helpful to make this more explicit:

⌊After some time,⌋ the master returns home. It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing his job properly!

There are other ways to structure this verse part. For example:

If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed. (New Century Version)

Blessed is that servant: As in 12:37a and 38a, the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as Blessed indicates that this servant will be truly happy or fortunate. In this context it implies that his master will be pleased with him and will show him special favor.

finds him doing so: In this context the phrase finds him doing so means sees/discovers that the servant has been doing his job, that is, he has been giving the other servants their food rations.

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