complete verse (Luke 14:6)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 14:6:

  • Noongar: “But they could not answer him.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “But no-one dared to argue with him.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “They could not refute it.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then they did not answer.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “And they had no way to answer.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “As for that question of Jesus, it wasn’t answered by them.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 14:6

Exegesis:

kai ouk ischusan antapokrithēnai pros tauta ‘and they were not able to make a reply to this.’ For ischuō cf. on 6.48.

antapokrinomai ‘to make a reply,’ here of making a reply to a question in an argument.

Translation:

Could not reply to this, or, ‘could not answer (or, meet) this question,’ ‘had nothing to say against this, or, to refute this (i.e. the criticism implied in Jesus’ question)’; or again, emphasizing their inability, ‘could not answer, not a single word (lit. one-movement-of-the-lips not)’ (Tae’).

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 14:6

14:6

And: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And here introduces the fact that the leaders did not respond to Jesus’ question in 14:5a–b in the way Jesus wanted them to. Some English versions do not have a conjunction here. Other versions, such as the Good News Translation and NET Bible, introduce this verse with “But.” Connect 14:6 to 14:5 in a natural way in your language. See the examples in the next note.

they were unable to answer these questions: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as they were unable to answer these questions is literally “they could not reply to these things.” The English Standard Version translates it that way. This Greek clause is slightly different from the clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “they remained silent” in 14:4a.

The phrase “could not reply” implies that the leaders could not think of a way to answer Jesus’ question without supporting his viewpoint. They did not want to admit that they would rescue a person or animal from a well on the Sabbath. If they admitted that, they would also be admitting that Jesus was right to heal the man. Other ways to translate this clause are:

And to this they could find no answer (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
They couldn’t argue with him about this. (God’s Word)
-or-
But they were not able to answer him about this. (Good News Translation)

Your translation should not imply that they were literally unable to speak.

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