εἶπεν δὲ αὐτοῖς, Ἀλλὰ νῦν ὁ ἔχων βαλλάντιον ἀράτω, ὁμοίως καὶ πήραν, καὶ ὁ μὴ ἔχων πωλησάτω τὸ ἱμάτιον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀγορασάτω μάχαιραν.
36He said to them, “But now, the one who has a purse must take it, and likewise a bag. And the one who has no sword must sell his cloak and buy one.
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated with “clothes” or similar in English is translated in Enlhet as “crawling-in-stuff” (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 169ff. ) and in Noongar as bwoka or “Kangaroo skin” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
See also cloth and cloak / shawl.
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “sell” in English is translated in Noongar as wort-bangal or “away-barter.” Note that “buy” is translated as bangal-barranga or “get-barter.” (Source: Bardip Ruth-Ang 2020)
See also buy and buying / selling.
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 22:36:
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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, iw-are-ru (言われる) or “say” is used.
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Luke 22:31-38:
Jesus said, “Peter, listen carefully!
Satan has demanded the right
to severely test each of you.
But I’ve prayed for your faith to be strong,
and when you’ve endured the testing,
then turn and help the others endure.”
Peter replied, “Lord, I’m willing to face prison
;or even death with you!”
“Before a rooster crows tomorrow morning,” said Jesus,
“you’ll say three times you don’t even know me.”
Then Jesus spoke to all his followers,
“When I sent you out on your first mission,
I told you not to take along a traveling bag
or extra clothes and sandals.
But now I tell you to take all these
and possibly even a sword,
because I’ll be treated like a criminal,
just as the Bible says.”
“We have two swords!” shouted his followers.
“Enough of this!” replied Jesus.
Exegesis:
eipen de autois, Alla nun ‘then he said to them, “But now…” .’ The introductory clause serves to emphasize the contrast between then and now to which alla nun refers.
ho echōn ballantion aratō ‘he who has a purse must take it along.’
homoiōs kai pēran ‘in the same way also a knapsack,’ short for homoiōs kai ho echōn pēran aratō ‘and in the same way he who has a knapsack must take it along.’
kai ho mē echōn ‘and he who has not…’ with either ballantion ‘purse,’ i.e. ‘money,’ or, machairan ‘sword’ understood. The latter is preferable.
pōlēsatō to himation autou kai agorasatō machairan ‘must sell his cloak and buy a sword.’ For himation cf. on 6.29.
Translation:
Let him who has … take, or, ‘if a man has … he must take,’ “if you have … take” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation).
Sword may be described as, ‘huge knife,’ ‘large knife of war.’
Mantle, see on “cloak” in 6.29.
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.
22:36a
“Now, however,” He told them: In the Greek text, the phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as He told them occurs before the words that Jesus spoke to the disciples. In some languages, it may be necessary to place these words at the beginning of 22:36a. For example:
He said to them, “But now…” (New International Version)
Place this phrase where it is most natural in your language. See the note below on the phrase He told them for more guidance.
Now, however: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Now, however introduces a contrast to 22:35. During the time that began that night, the situation would be different. So Jesus gave different instructions in 22:36.
There is implied information here. Verse 35 implied that people took care of the apostles when they preached about Jesus. At that time they welcomed the message about Jesus. However, in 22:37 Jesus explained that people will now treat him as a criminal. He implied that they will also treat the apostles as criminals and persecute them.
In some languages it may be necessary to make some of this information explicit. For example:
But now ⌊people will not help you. So⌋
-or-
However, starting now, ⌊people are against us(excl)⌋.
You may want to include some of the information in a footnote. For example:
When Jesus sent the disciples out before (9:1–6, 10:1–16), people welcomed them into their homes and listened to their message about Jesus. Now they would treat Jesus like a criminal, and they would also mistreat his disciples.
He told them: In Greek the clause He told them introduces Jesus’ response to the apostles after they answered his question. It includes a conjunction that some English versions translate as “Then.” Introduce Jesus’ response in a natural way in your language.
22:36b
the one with a purse should take it, and likewise a bag: Here Jesus told the disciples to take a purse and a bag with them when they travel.
Some other ways to translate these instructions are:
the person who has a wallet and a traveling bag should take them along (God’s Word)
-or-
take your money and a traveler’s bag (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
whoever has a purse had better take it with him, and his pack too (Revised English Bible)
purse: Jesus implied that the purse was for money and that it contained money. For example:
the one who has a money bag must take it (NET Bible)
If you translated purse as “money” in 22:35a–b, you should do so again here. For example:
take money with you
a bag: The phrase a bag implies here that each apostle will fill a traveling bag or pack with things that he will need, such as extra clothes. Use the same word here as you used in 22:35b.
22:36c–d
the one without a sword should sell his cloak and buy one: This command is more literally “the one not having should sell his outer-garment and buy a sword.” It refers to a disciple who does not have a sword and also does not have enough money to buy one. Then he should sell his cloak and take the money to buy a sword.
Some other ways to translate this command are:
he who has no sword should sell his shirt and buy one
-or-
the one who has no sword, he must go buy, even if it is necessary for him to sell his outer garment so that he will have something-to-pay-with
Here Jesus implied that his disciples will soon be in serious danger. They will need protection even more than they will need a cloak. This is an emphatic way to tell his disciples to be ready for hardship and persecution.
Many Bible scholars believe that Jesus spoke figuratively here. He may not have referred to a literal sword but to being prepared for danger. This view fits with 22:49–51. You may want to include a footnote in your translation about this. For example:
Jesus may have used a figure of speech here. He may not have wanted his disciples to buy real swords. (See 22:49–51.) Instead, he wanted them to prepare for a dangerous time when people will persecute them. His disciples thought that he referred to real swords. (See 22:38.)
sword: The word sword also occurred in 21:24. See how you translated it there.
cloak: A cloak is a long coat or robe that people use to keep warm. It was an important item of clothing that people needed during the cold time of the year.
In some areas people may not wear cloaks. If that is true in your area, some other ways to translate it are:
• Use a more general expression. For example:
outer garment
• Use an item of clothing that is common in your culture. For example:
shirt
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