31On that day, anyone on the housetop who has belongings in the house must not come down to take them away, and likewise anyone in the field must not turn back.
The Greek that is typically translated with a generic expressions such as “he who,” “whoever,” or “if anyone” in English is translated with the plural form (“they”) in Daga. “A literal translation of these conveys the idea that one specific unnamed individual is being discussed. Thus, for instance, in John 5:24 ‘he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life’ meant in Daga that there was one fortunate individual to whom it applied.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 17:31:
Noongar: “That Day, a man sitting on the roof of his house, he must not go down inside his house to get his things. Also, a man standing outside his house, he must not go back inside the house.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “‘On that day, quickly run away! The person sitting on the porch, let him no longer take-time-to enter into the house to get his goods. So also the person in the garden/fields, let him no longer take-time-to go home to get anything in the town.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “‘When that day arrives, if there is someone outside his house and all his belongings inside the house, he shall not go inside to fetch them but he shall flee. Likewise also the person who is on his field he shall not go back to his house.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And on that day,’ said Jesus, ‘a person who is found outside of his house and still inside are his possessions, he should not go back into the house to get anything, because on that day there will be no value in possessions. It’s the same way also with a person who’s found in the field. It’s not necessary that he return home to his house.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “‘On that day, the one who is in the yard of his house, he must not enter to go get his possessions. The one also who is in the rice-field, he should not go-home.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “On that day, that one there on the flat roof of his house isn’t to enter his house again to get his belongings. And that one in the field, he isn’t to go home to get anything. Because on that day, belongings will have no more usefulness.” (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®).
en ekeinē tē hēmera ‘on that day,’ referring back to hē hēmera in v. 30, and emphatic because of its position at the beginning of the clause, even before the relative pronoun hos.
hos estai epi tou dōmatos kai ta skeuē autou en tē oikia ‘(he) who will be on the house-top/roof and his belongings in the house,’ or, removing the syntactic incongruity between the two parts, ‘whose belongings are in the house.’ For dōma cf. on 5.19.
skeuos (cf. on 8.16) here in the plural in the general meaning ‘property,’ ‘belongings,’ ‘things.’
mē katabatō arai auta ‘he must not go down (scil. into the house) to pick them up.’ arai is final infinitive and has the general meaning ‘to take,’ ‘to pick up,’ ‘to get.’
ho en agrō homoiōs mē epistrepsatō eis ta opisō ‘he who is in the field must, in the same way, not turn around to what is behind.’ The common thought of both parts of v. 31 appears to be that on the day of the Son of man there is no point in turning to, or caring about, things which might otherwise be important. eis ta opisō lit. ‘to what is behind,’ may refer either to what is behind him on the field (cf. 9.62), or to his house and what is in it. The former is preferable.
Translation:
Here again a shift to an ‘if’-clause may be preferable, cf. 9.24.
On the housetop, see “roof” in 5.19; if renderings as discussed there would suggest a decidedly abnormal place to stay, one would have to seek functional equivalent, e.g. ‘outside,’ suggesting ‘in the yard’ (Guerrero Amuzgo), with ensuing shift from ‘go down’ to ‘go in.’
With his goods in the house, or, ‘but has his belongings in the house,’ ‘but his possessions in the house.’
To be in the field, cf. 15.25.
Turn back, preferably, ‘turn around to what is behind’ (see Exegesis). ‘turn to look at/for the things he left behind’ (Sranan Tongo).
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.
In this paragraph Jesus told his disciples that they must not delay to take any of their possessions when he returns. There are two ways to interpret this instruction:
(1) Jesus was speaking in a figurative way. He warned that a person must not be concerned about possessions when he (Jesus) returns.
(2) Jesus was speaking literally. Jesus warned that they must not delay to take their possessions, but instead, they must flee from danger that is coming.
English versions are ambiguous. It is recommended that you also translate in an ambiguous way so that either interpretation may be understood. If that is not possible, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This context in Luke is different from the one in Mark, where Jesus’ disciples should flee from the destruction of Jerusalem. Here in Luke, Jesus is returning, and no one can run from him.
17:31a–b
On that day: The phrase On that day refers to the day when God reveals the Son of Man, mentioned in the previous verse. Another way to translate it is:
When that happens
let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve his possessions: Here Jesus warned his disciples that no one who is on his roof should go back into his house to get any of his possessions. Someone who was on a roof would in fact have to come down, but he should not go back into his house to get anything. Be sure to make this clear in your translation. For example:
a person who is on the roof should not go down into his house to get any of his things from there
on the housetop: The Jews built houses with flat roofs and stairs on the outside. They liked to sit and talk or rest on the roof, especially in the late afternoon when it was cool. These flat roofs were also mentioned in 5:19 and 12:3. Refer to your translation of those verses.
to retrieve his possessions: The phrase to retrieve his possessions is literally “and his possessions in the house.” It refers to someone whose belongings are not with him on the roof but are inside the house. The Berean Standard Bible translates this phrase in a way that describes why a person would “come down” from the roof and go inside the house. Another way to translate this is:
go down into the house to pack (New Living Translation (2004))
possessions: The word possessions includes anything in the house, for example, household furnishings, clothing, food, and other possessions.
17:31c
Likewise: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Likewise means “in the same way.” The person on his roof should not get his things out of his house (17:31a–b). In the same way, the person in the field should not go back to get his things.
let no one in the field return for anything he has left behind: This clause indicates that a person should not take the time to go back to his house. He should not delay at all. The Berean Standard Bible has supplied the words for anything, which are not in the Greek text. Other ways to translate the clause are:
anyone who is out in the field must not go back to the house (Good News Translation) -or-
A person who is in the field should not go back home. (New Century Version)
no one in the field: The phrase no one in the field refers to anyone working out in the fields or farms. These fields would be some distance from the cities or towns.
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