home

The Greek that is translated as “home” in English is translated in Noongar as karlap or “place of fire.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

See also at home and village.

complete verse (Luke 16:4)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 16:4:

  • Noongar: “Now I know what I will do! Now when my work ends, I will have friends. They will invite me into their homes.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “From there, he said: ‘Aa,, I have an idea/plan! Because I am nearly fired from my work, it is better that I hunt first/ahead for many, many friends, so that they will receive me into their houses.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “A, I know now,’ he said, ‘what I should do, so that when I have been sent away/driven out from my work there will be people whom I can go to.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Oh,’ he said, ‘this is what I’ll do so that I may have some companions that I may go to when I am removed from this work of mine.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Ah, now this (sudden realization particle) is what I will do so that when I am removed from my work there will nevertheless still be friends of mine who will invite me into their houses.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Oh yes, I know now what I will do so that it’s certain I will be welcomed/treated-well in the houses/town, even though the managership is removed from me.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 16:4

Exegesis:

egnōn ti poiēsō ‘I know what I am to do.’ The aorist tense of egnōn suggests that he suddenly gets an idea.

hotan metastathō ek tēs oikonomias ‘when I am removed from the stewardship.’

methistēmi ‘to remove,’ ‘to dismiss.’

hina … dexōntai me eis tous oikous heautōn ‘so that … people will welcome me in their homes.’ hina refers to the intended result. The subject of dexōntai are his master’s debtors, as vv. 5-7 show.

Translation:

I have decided …, or, better to bring out the suddenness, ‘ah, (or, now) I know…,’ ‘I know already….’

What to do, so that people receive me, or, “how to make them welcome me” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation). Receive me, cf. 9.5.

I am put out of the stewardship, a counterpart of the phrase used in v. 3, but in passive construction. The phrase, in the Greek inserted between “so that” and “receive…”, often is better transposed to initial or final position (e.g. Good News Translation, or Revised Standard Version, Sranan Tongo, Sundanese).

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 16:4

16:4a

I know what I will do: The clause I know what I will do indicates that the manager had a sudden idea to answer his own question in 16:3b–e. If your language has an expression or exclamation that people use when they have suddenly realized something, you may be able to use it here. For example:

Ah, I know… (New Living Translation (2004))

16:4b

so that…people will welcome me into their homes: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as so that introduces a purpose or intended result. It introduces what the manager wanted to happen as a result of what he had decided to do. He wanted some people to invite him to stay in their houses and provide for his needs. Other ways to translate this clause are:

so that people will welcome me to live with them
-or-
so that people will let me stay with them

after my removal from management: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as after my removal from management is a time clause. It is literally “when I am removed from the management.” He had already been told that he must leave his position as manager. This clause refers to the time when he would actually finish his work and have to leave. See the note at 16:3c.

General Comment on 16:4a–b

These two verse parts form a single, fairly complicated sentence. In some languages it may be more natural to divide this information into two or more sentences. For example:

Now I know what I will do! Then when my job is gone, I shall have friends who will welcome me in their homes. (Good News Translation)

General Comment on 16:4b

In some languages it may be helpful to put the purpose clause first and the time clause second. For example:

I know what I’ll do, so that people will welcome me into their homes after I’ve lost my job. (Contemporary English Version)

The God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004), and Revised Standard Version also put these clauses in this same order. Use a natural order in your language.

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