spices

The Greek that is translated as spices in English is translated in Tabasco Chontal as “medicine/spices which pertained to rubbing on the body” and in Seri as “a substance that smelled like perfume. It was for pouring on the dead, one to keep his body from stinking.” (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)

Sabbath

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “Sabbath” in English is rendered as “day we rest” in Tzotzil, in Mairasi as “Jew’s Rest Day,” in Quiotepec Chinantec as “day when people of Israel rested,” in Shilluk as “day of God,” in Obolo as Usen Mbuban or “Holy Day,” and in Mandarin Chinese as ānxírì (安息日) or “rest day” (literally: “peace – rest – day”). (Sources: Tzotzil: Marion Cowan in Notes on Translation with Drill, p. 169ff; Mairasi: Enggavoter 2004; Quiotepec Chinantec: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.; Shilluk: Nida 1964, p. 237; Obolo: Enene Enene; Chinese: Jost Zetzsche)

In Matumbi it is translated as Sabato ya Ayahudi or “Sabbath of the Jews,” to distinguish it from the Islamic Sabbath (which is Friday) or the Christian Sabbath (which is Sunday). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

In the old Khmer version as well as in the first new translation this term was rendered as “day of rest” (Thngai Chhup Somrak / ​ថ្ងៃ​ឈប់​សំរាក). Considered inadequate to convey its religious meaning (not only about cessation of work, but also in honor of Yahweh as the Creator), the committee for the Today’s Khmer Version (publ. 2005) decided to keep the Hebrew word and use its transliterated form Thgnai Sabath (​ថ្ងៃ​សប្ប័ទ). “The Buddhist word Thngai Seil ‘day of merits’ used by some Catholics was once under consideration but was rejected because it did not receive unanimous support.” (Source: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 233ff. )

In Spanish, the translation is either día de reposo (“day of rest”) or sábado (usually: “Saturday,” derived from the Greek and Hebrew original). Nida (1947, p. 239f.) explains that problem for Spanish and other languages in its sphere of influence: “In translation ‘Sabbath’ into various aboriginal languages of Latin America, a considerable number of translators have used the Spanish sábado, ‘Saturday,’ because it is derived from the Hebrew sabbath and seems to correspond to English usage as well. The difficulty is that sábado means only ‘Saturday’ for most people. There is no religious significance about this word as the is with ‘Sabbath’ in English. Accordingly the [readers] cannot understand the significance of the persecution of Jesus because he worked on ‘Saturday.’ It has been found quite advantageous to use the translation ‘day of rest,’ for this accurately translated the Hebrew meaning of the term and resolves the problem in connection with the prohibitions placed upon some types of activities.”

In French Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts closing of the blinds of a store:


“Sabbath” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Sabbath .

fat, oil

The different Hebrew and Greek terms that are translated as “(olive) oil” and “(animal) fat” in English are translated in Kwere with only one term: mavuta. (Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Luke 23:56)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 23:56:

  • Noongar: “Then they went back home and prepared leaves and sweet-smelling oil to put on Jesus’ body. On the Sabbath Day, they rested the way the Law said.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “After that, they returned to the town, [and] prepared spices with fragrant oil to smear on the body of Yesus. After that, on the worship day they stopped working, following the Law of Musa.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Then they went home to prepare ointments and perfumes for anointing the body/corpse of Isa. When it was the day of-no-work already, they rested as the law commanded.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Then they went home because they were going to prepare some fragrant pitch and oil to rub onto the body of Jesus. And then on the day of rest they did not do anything because they were obeying that which was commanded in the Law which was handed down to them.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then they went-home to go prepare the oil and perfume that they would later go and rub-on his corpse. But on the next-day which was the time-for-resting, they remained at home to rest, because that was the law of the Jews.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “After those women went home, they prepared perfume and mira in praparation to use on the body of Jesus. And then since the Day of Rest had begun, they all rested according to what was commanded by God.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Scriptures Plain & Simple (Luke 23:50-56)

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 23:50-56:

Joseph Arimathea was honest and earnest,
       eagerly awaiting the advent of the Ultimate Kingdom.
Although he was a member of the council,
       he had disagreed with their decision to execute Jesus.

Joseph approached Pilate, requesting the body of Jesus.
He removed it from the cross, and wrapped it in a linen cloth,
       before placing it in a tomb carved from solid rock —
              a pristine tomb, as yet undefiled by death.

Friday had arrived — the Sabbath would commence at sunset.
Those women who had come from Galilee
now followed Joseph and watched
       as the body was placed in the tomb.
They wanted to go at once and prepare burial spices,
       but their religion required they rest on the Sabbath.

Translation commentary on Luke 23:55 – 23:56

Exegesis:

The syntactic structure is as follows: katakolouthēsasai (subordinate participle) hai gunaikes (subject) … etheasanto (main verb); hupostrepsasai (subordinate participle) hētoimasan (second main verb, same subject).

katakolouthēsasai de hai gunaikes ‘the women, having followed,’ i.e. Joseph. The placing of the participle before the subject at the beginning of the clause is for stylistic reasons. The participle denotes the act that connects the events of these verses with the preceding story.

katakoloutheō ‘to follow,’ ‘to follow after (somebody),’ with the implication of following at some distance.

haitines ēsan sunelēluthuiai ek tēs Galilaias autō ‘who had come with him from Galilee,’ identifying the women as those referred to in v. 49.

etheasanto to mnēmeion kai hōs etethē to sōma autou ‘(they) saw the tomb and how his body was laid.’ Note the twofold object of etheasanto, i.e. a noun (to mnēmeion) and an indirect question (hōs etethē …), which denotes the act of burial, rather than the manner. For to sōma cf. on v. 52. As implied in the story as a whole the women saw the grave with a view to coming back later. Hence etheasanto may be rendered, ‘they noted,’ ‘they took note.’

(V. 56a) arōmata kai mura ‘spices and ointments.’

Translation:

For followed see on 7.9. A specification of the person followed may be preferable, or of the place reached, ‘followed to-that-place’ (Balinese, Batak Toba 1885).

Saw. The verb may have to be repeated, cf. e.g. ‘saw the grave and burial affair saw’ (Ekari), ‘looked at the grave: saw how they had put his body’ (Sranan Tongo).

(V. 56a) Then they returned, or, ‘after that they went back home,’ i.e. to their lodgings in Jerusalem, not to Galilee.

For ointment above on 7.37.

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 23:56

23:56a

Then they returned: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible literally translates as Then they returned indicates that the women went back to the place where they were staying in Jerusalem or the surrounding area. They did not go back to their homes in Galilee at this time. Some other ways to translate the clause Then they returned are:

Then they went back to the city (God’s Word)
-or-
After that, they returned to the town
-or-
Then the women left (New Century Version)

23:56b

to prepare spices and perfumes: This phrase indicates that the women prepared sweet-smelling substances to use to anoint Jesus’ body. Luke did not indicate how the women prepared them.

The women were planning to put the spices and perfumes on Jesus’ body after the Sabbath. It was a custom of the Jews to do this to a corpse before burial. They did this in order to honor the one who had died and to preserve the body for a while.

Translate the phrase in a natural way in your language.

spices and perfumes: In this context the words spices and perfumes have a similar meaning. They refer to sweet-smelling substances that were often used to anoint a dead body. The sweet smell of these substances helped to hide the smell of decay. The substances used in this way were probably some type of fragrant salve, oil, or ointment. They were not the same spices that were used in food.

In some languages it may be more natural to use one general term to describe such burial spices/perfumes. For example:

fragrant anointing oils
-or-
sweet-smelling burial perfumes

spices: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as spices can refer to any kind of fragrant substance. Here the word probably refers to some type of fragrant ointment.

perfumes: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as perfumes means “ointments, perfumes.” The word often referred to expensive oils that smelled very sweet.

23:56c

And: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as And is a common conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Here it introduces what the women did next. After they prepared spices and perfumes to anoint Jesus’ body, they rested on the Sabbath. They did not return immediately to the tomb, so there is an implied contrast with 23:56b. For example:

But (New International Version)

In some languages a conjunction is not needed. You should begin 23:56c in a way that is natural in your language.

they rested on the Sabbath: This clause indicates that at sunset on Friday the women began to celebrate the Sabbath day. The Sabbath was the day when the Jews rested and worshiped. So the women did not go back to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body until that day was over. See how you translated Sabbath in 23:54.

according to the commandment: The women rested in order to obey the commandment. The phrase the commandment refers to the command about the Sabbath in the Law of Moses. It is one of the Ten Commandments that God told Moses to give to all the Jewish people. God said that they must keep the Sabbath (seventh) day holy and do no work on that day. See Deuteronomy 5:12–15.

Some other ways to translate the phrase according to the commandment are:

as the Law commanded (Good News Translation)
-or-
as required by the law (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
as ⌊God⌋ commanded in the Law

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