complete verse (Luke 21:22)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 21:22:

  • Noongar: “These days will become ‘The Days of Punishment’ , because everything the Scriptures say really will happen.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “Because that time will be the time of the punishment of God, so that all that is written in the Holy Book is fulfilled/happens.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “For those are the days when God will punish the people and all that is written in the holy-book will be fulfilled.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Because that will be the time prophesied long ago when God will punish the people who are his enemies. And this was written by the prophets of God long ago.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Because this is the time of punishment that is the fulfillment of all that God caused-to-be-written.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Because you then will know that the time has now come for the fulfilling of all the punishment which was warned about which is contained in what is written which is the word of God, about this Jerusalem.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 21:22

Exegesis:

hoti hēmerai ekdikēseōs hautai eisin ‘for those are the days of vengeance.’ hautai is subject. hēmerai ekdikēseōs is emphatic by position.

ekdikēsis (also in 18.7f, in a different meaning) ‘vengeance,’ ‘punishment.’

tou plēsthēnai panta ta gegrammena ‘that all that has been written be fulfilled,’ articular accusative and infinitive in the genitive loosely dependent upon the preceding clause, either complementing it and defining the idea of vengeance expressed by hēmerai ekdikēseōs as a fulfilment of prophecy (cf. e.g. New English Bible), or (in a consecutive sense) denoting that the vengeance will result in the fulfilment of prophecy (cf. e.g. Good News Translation). The former appears to be preferable. For pimplēmi cf. on 1.15; here it is used in a meaning for which Luke elsewhere uses teleō (cf. 18.31; 22.37), or plēroō (cf. 4.21; 24.44). ta gegrammena refers to what is written in the Scriptures.

Translation:

Days of vengeance. Terms for vengeance, or, ‘to avenge, or, revenge oneself,’ etc. usually have a connotation of ‘paying back in kind,’ implying malice and ill will; hence ‘days of punishment’ (cf. Good News Translation, Bible de Jérusalem), or, ‘time when God punishes Israel/his-people’ is usually preferable.

To fulfil all that is written, preferably, ‘which is the fulfilment of (or, which fulfils) all that is written,’ “when all … is to be fulfilled” (New English Bible), or, as a co-ordinated sentence, ‘at this time all … will be fulfilled.’ For to fulfil see on 4.21. For all that is written see on 4.4. That all has limited application, as shown by the context, may have to be stated explicitly, ‘all that is written about it, or, about those days, or, about the coming judgment.’

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 21:22

21:22a

For: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as For introduces the basis or reason for the commands that Jesus gave in 21:21. Other ways to translate this conjunction are:

because (NET Bible)
-or-

⌊I say that⌋ because

these are the days of vengeance: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as these are the days of vengeance is literally “days of vengeance these are.” The phrase days of vengeance is emphasized.

Prophets who lived during the time of the Old Testament warned that God would punish his people because they disobeyed him and rebelled against him. On some occasions God used the phrase days of vengeance or “the day” to describe the time when He would punish His people. (See Hosea 9:7 and Malachi 4:1.) God would also specifically punish them for rejecting Jesus as the Christ/Messiah whom God had sent to them, as 19:44 indicates.

In some languages it may be necessary to translate vengeance as a verb and to make explicit both the subject and the object. For example:

this is the time ⌊when God⌋ will punish ⌊the people of Jerusalem⌋
-or-
At this time ⌊God⌋ will punish ⌊people⌋

21:22b

to fulfill: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to fulfill is literally “are to be fulfilled.” The verb fulfill means “to make/cause to truly happen.” Here it indicates that what happens during “the time of punishment/vengeance” will cause everything that was written in the Scriptures about it to happen as the Scriptures said. Other ways to translate this word are:

to make come true (Good News Translation)
-or-
will come true (God’s Word)
-or-
so that ⌊it⌋ may happen as predicted

all that is written: The phrase all that is written refers to everything that the prophets wrote in Scripture. It refers specifically here to all the writings about the time when armies would attack and destroy Jerusalem. Another way to translate this is:

all that ⌊the prophets⌋ wrote ⌊about this⌋

Jesus may have been referring to passages such as 1 Kings 9:6–9, Daniel 9:26, Hosea 9:7 and Micah 3:12.

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