image

The Greek that is rendered as “image” in English translations is translated in Pökoot with körkeyïn, a word that is also used to translate words like parable and example.

See also parable.

complete verse (Luke 20:24)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 20:24:

  • Noongar: “‘Give me a coin. Whose face is on the coin and whose name?’ ‘The Emperor,’ they said.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “‘First show me a coin [lit., one piece of money]! Whose appearance/image and whose name is on that coin?’ They answered: ‘The image and name of Kaisar.”” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “‘Show me a coin (lit. hard money).’ When the money was there he said, ‘Whose picture and whose writing is it on this money?’ They said, ‘The picture of the King Leader and his writing.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “‘Show me the money that you pay the tax with.’ And when Jesus saw it, he said, ‘Whose image and whose name is written on this?’ And they said, ‘That’s the image and the name of a king there in the town of Rome.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘Please show me a money. Whose face and whose name is this?'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “‘Bring me that money.’ After he took it, he said, ‘Well, whose is this picture and name here on this money?’ ‘Well, the Impiradur’s,’ they said in reply.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Luke 20:23 – 20:25

Exegesis:

katanoēsas … autōn tēn panourgian ‘seeing through their trickery.’ For katanoeō cf. on 12.24; here it means ‘to see through,’ ‘to perceive what is hidden.’

panourgia ‘trickery,’ ‘cunning.’

(V. 24) deixate moi dēnarion ‘show me a denarius,’ cf. on 7.41.

tinos echei eikona kai epigraphēn ‘whose likeness and inscription does it have?’ tinos goes with both eikona and epigraphēn.

eikōn ‘image,’ ‘likeness,’ ‘head’ on coin.

epigraphē (also 23.38) ‘inscription,’ ‘legend’ on a coin.

(V. 25) hoi de eipan, Kaisaros ‘they said, Caesar’s.’ In Nestle these words belong to v. 24 (cf. Revised Standard Version and other versions).

toinun apodote ta Kaisaros Kaisari ‘then give Caesar what belongs to Caesar.’ toinun introduces a strong inference. apodidōmi ‘to give, or to pay what is due.’ ta Kaisaros lit. ‘the things of Caesar,’ i.e. ‘what is due to Caesar,’ ‘what Caesar is entitled to receive.’

Translation:

He, i.e. Jesus, may have to be specified; similarly in v. 25.

Perceived their craftiness, or “saw through their trick” (New English Bible); in Sranan Tongo the idiom is ‘bored through their head and came to know their trick,’ in Javanese ‘not ignorant of their deceit.’

(V. 24) Coin, or ‘piece of silver, or, money,’ ‘silver coin,’ see references on “denarii” in 10.35; cultural equivalents as mentioned there are not advisable here, because the reference is not to the value but to the object and its historical details. Sometimes a coin of the same value cannot be used because it has no effigy or legend, but one of different value has the details required and hence is the closest natural equivalent, e.g. in Sranan Tongo.

Whose likeness and inscription has it, or with a syntactic shift, ‘who is portrayed on it? Whom does the inscription mention?’ (cf. Leyden). Likeness, or “portrait” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation) “face” (Good News Translation). Inscription, or, ‘writing’ (Batak Toba), ‘stamp/seal’ (Bahasa Indonesia), “name” (Good News Translation), ‘name mark’ (Javanese), ‘written mark.’

Caesar’s, or, ‘those of (or, they belong to, or, the likeness and inscription are of) the Emperor’; or, ‘the Emperor’ (Leyden, cf. above). The answer may have to be introduced by an affirmative expression, without which it would sound impolite, ‘indeed (or, yes, or, you are right), Caesar’s’ (Javanese, Sundanese).

(V. 25) Then, or ‘well, then,’ ‘because that is so,’ ‘for that reason.’

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 20:24

20:24a

Show Me a denarius: Jesus wanted his questioners to show him one of the coins people used to pay the Roman tax. So he asked them to show him a denarius coin. See the next note for more details.

denarius: The word denarius refers to a type of silver coin that Romans used as money. Each Roman coin had the name and image (picture) of Caesar on it. In this context that image is important. When Jesus answered the spies, he used Caesar’s image to teach them and the people an important truth. Some ways to translate denarius in this context are:

• Use a more general term or a descriptive phrase. For example:

the Roman tax coin/money
-or-
the ⌊type of⌋ coin used for paying taxes
-or-
a Roman coin (New Living Translation (2004))

• Use a borrowed word along with a general term. For example:

denarius coin

The word denarius occurred in the plural form in 7:41. However, in that context the focus was on the value of the coins, not on the image. You may need to translate in a different way here.

20:24b

In this part of the verse Jesus asked the spies a question about the denarius. It implies that someone had showed Jesus a denarius, as he requested in 20:24a. In some languages it may be helpful to make this explicit here. For example:

So they showed it to him

It may also be natural to introduce the question that Jesus asked the spies. For example:

Then he asked (Contemporary English Version)

Whose image and inscription are on it?: Jesus asked this question to prepare the people for what he wanted to teach them. Both Jesus and the spies knew the answer to this question, but Jesus still wanted them to say the answer and they did. Some ways to translate the question are:

Whose image and name are on it? (New Century Version)
-or-
Tell me whose picture and title ⌊you see⌋ on it.

image: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as image means “portrait” or “likeness.” On each denarius there was a picture of the emperor’s head. This image symbolically marked the coins as belonging to the emperor.

Genesis 1:26–27 indicates that God made man in his image. In 20:25c Jesus implied a comparison between the image of Caesar on the coin and the image of God on people. If you have already translated Genesis 1:26–27, it may be helpful to translate image with the same word that you used for “image” or “likeness” there. Do this only if it is clear and natural in your language. Other ways to translate image here are:

head (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
picture (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
face (Good News Translation)
-or-
image (New Century Version)

inscription: The inscription on a coin is the writing on it. The writing on a denarius included the name of the emperor. Some other ways to translate the word inscription are:

name (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
title (New Living Translation (2004))

20:24c

“Caesar’s,” they answered: The Berean Standard Bible places the words they answered in the middle of what the spies said in response to Jesus’ question. In some languages. it may be necessary to put these words at the beginning of 20:24c. For example:

And they said, “Caesar’s.”

Caesar’s: The word Caesar’s is the answer that the spies gave to Jesus’ question. In some languages it may be necessary to make this answer into a complete sentence. For example:

the spies told him, “⌊The picture/image and name⌋ of Caesar ⌊are on it⌋.”

they answered: The Berean Standard Bible puts the phrase they answered after the people’s answer. The Greek text places it before their answer. You may place this information where it is natural in your language.

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