complete verse (Luke 17:33)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 17:33:

  • Noongar: “A person wanting to keep his life, he will lose it. A person losing his life, he will keep it.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “Whoever clings to his own desires, he will not get good life. But whoever lets-go of his desires because of his following of Me, even if it kills him, he is the one who will get eternal life [lit, good life until forever].” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Whoever cherishes/loves his life will not have everlasting life. But whoever does not cherish/love his life because of me, even though he dies he has life forever.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “That person who sets his heart on his life rather than his being my disciple, he will just not be able to possess the life which has no end. And that person who does not set his heart on his life, because he wants to follow me, he will be given life without end.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The one who esteems/values himself will die just the same, but the one who dies because of his faith in me, he will have life that has no end.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “For that one who really values very much this life of his now, it will be lost-permanently to him. But that one who holds-fast to me, even if it will cause his life/breath to be severed, life which is far from ordinary really will be his.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 17:33

Exegesis:

hos ean zētēsē tēn psuchēn autou peripoiēsasthai ‘whoever tries to preserve his life.’ For zēteō in this meaning cf. on 5.18.

peripoieō ‘to preserve,’ ‘to save,’ here in the middle voice, implying that the preserving is to the benefit of the subject of the clause.

hos d’ an apolesē zōogenēsei autēn ‘but whoever loses (it) will preserve it.’ hos d’ an apolesē may mean either, ‘he who is prepared to lose,’ or, ‘he who actually loses,’ preferably the latter.

zōogoneō ‘to preserve alive.’

Translation:

The verse closely parallels 9.24, which see.

Seeks (cf. 5.18) differs from the verb used in 9.24 in that it implies some effort.

Gain his life (or, ‘cling to his life,’ Navajo) and preserve it are closely synonymous, and they parallel ‘save his life’ in 9.24; the renderings of the three verbs coincide in several versions, e.g. Good News Translation, Sranan Tongo, 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 17:33

17:33

This verse is very similar to 9:24. See the notes there (9:24a and 9:24b). It is also similar to Mark 8:35. Jesus talked about two types of “life” in this verse: physical, earthly life without God and eternal life with God. It is important to understand this difference in order to understand the verse.

Jesus was talking about two kinds of people:

(a) Some people continue to control what they do here on earth and do not submit to God. Those people will lose the opportunity to live eternally with him.

(b) Some people submit to God and follow his will here on earth. They will live eternally with God.

17:33a

Whoever tries to save his life: The clause Whoever tries to save his life refers to any person who is determined to continue living. Such a person is not willing to suffer and die for Jesus. Instead, he wants to save or preserve his own way of life. Some ways to translate this clause are:

whoever seeks to protect his own life
-or-
If you cling to your life (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
a person who wants to guard his life on this earth
-or-
People who try to save their lives (Contemporary English Version)

See save, Meaning 1, in the Glossary.

In some languages it may be necessary to translate life as a verb. For example:

whoever tries/seeks to continue living

will lose it: The phrase will lose it refers to losing true life, which is life with God that lasts forever. A person who loses his life in this sense will fail to experience it either here on earth or in heaven after he dies. He will eventually lose his physical life because no one can live forever. He will also forfeit the opportunity to gain true life with God.

In some languages, a literal translation of lose may imply that a person misplaces something and is unable to find it. It may also imply that a person who already has eternal life will lose it. Be careful to avoid both these implications. Some ways to express the correct meaning are:

will forfeit true life
-or-
will lose the opportunity to gain eternal life
-or-
will not gain life with God
-or-
will not be able to live forever with God

17:33b

but whoever loses his life will preserve it: This clause indicates that a person who willingly gives up his life on earth will gain eternal life with God in heaven. Other ways to translate this clause are:

…those who lose their lives will save them. (God’s Word)
-or-
…and if you let your life go, you will save it. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
And that person who does not set his heart on his life…he will be given life without end.

The parallel passage in Mark 8:35 says “whoever loses his life for My sake and for the gospel.” The context here in Luke also implies that Jesus referred to his disciples who lose their lives for him. In some languages it may be necessary to make that explicit. For example:

who loses his life ⌊for me⌋ will save it
-or-
whoever is willing to die ⌊for me⌋ will gain eternal life

In some languages it may be necessary to translate life as a verb. For example:

whoever is willing to die will live forever

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