village

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “village” or “town” in English is translated in Noongar as karlamaya or “fire (used for “home“) + houses” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

In Elhomwe it is typically translated as “place.” “Here in Malawi, villages very small, so changed to ‘places,’ since not sure whether biblical reference just to small villages or also to bigger towns. (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

The Road to Emmaus (icon)

Following is a contemporary Ukrainian Orthodox icon of Christ as the grapevine by Khrystyna Kvyk.

 

Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )

complete verse (Luke 24:13)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 24:13:

  • Noongar: “The same day, two men who followed Jesus, they were going home to Emmaus, a journey of one afternoon from Jerusalem.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “On that day also, two followers of Yesus were walking to the town of Emaus, its distance about eleven kilometers from Yerusalem.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “On that day also two of the disciples of Isa went to the village called Emmaus, it is at a distance of eleven kilometers from Awrusalam.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And on that day also there were two men who came from Jerusalem, and they were on their way to a town named Emmaus. And as for this town, it was about thirteen kilometers away from the town of Jerusalem.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “On that same day, two of Jesus’ disciples were walking to go to a barrio at Emmaus whose distance from Jerusalem was over eleven kilometers.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “That day, two people who were indeed believers in Jesus set out. They were going to a bario called Emaus, about eleven kilumitru distant from Jerusalem.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Jerusalem

The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:


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

While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)


“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Jerusalem .

distance (long / wide / high)

The concepts of distance that are translated in English with “long,” “wide,” and “high/tall” are translated in Kwere with one word: utali. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

Sung version of Luke 24

Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).

For more information, see here .

Translation commentary on Luke 24:13 – 24:14

Exegesis:

kai idou ‘and behold,’ cf. on 1.20.

duo ex autōn ‘two of them,’ either of the apostles (cf. v. 10), or of the disciples in general. The latter is preferable, as shown indirectly by v. 33.

ēsan poreuomenoi eis kōmēn apechousan stadious hexēkonta apo Ierousalēm ‘were going to a village sixty stades distant from Jerusalem.’ The periphrastic imperfect ēsan poreuomenoi is durative.

apechō ‘to be distant from,’ with apo and genitive. Here it goes with stadious hexēkonta as accusative of extent.

stadion (with masculine plural; †) ‘stade,’ as a measure of distance, about 607 English feet, or 185 metres.

(V. 14) kai autoi hōmiloun pros allēlous ‘and they were talking to each other.’ autoi, not emphatic, is used to resume the subject after the identification of Emmaus in v. 1.

homileō ‘to converse,’ ‘to talk.’

peri pantōn tōn sumbebēkotōn toutōn ‘about all these things that had happened.’ The things referred to are mentioned in vv. 19ff; hence toutōn has a temporal connotation.

sumbainō ‘to happen.’ The perfect participle in the neuter is virtually equivalent to a noun meaning ‘event.’

Translation:

Two of them, i.e. ‘two of Jesus’ followers’ (Tae’ 1933).

About seven miles from, or, ‘(which was situated) at a distance of about seven miles from, or, eleven kilometres from (Tae’ 1933), or, two hour’s walk from (Leyden, Sranan Tongo, Uab Meto), or, two leagues from’ (Tzeltal, where ‘a league’ is commonly explained as ‘one hour’s walk’).

(V. 14) And (they were) talking with each other, cf. on “said to one another” in 4.36.

All these things that had happened, or, ‘all these events’ (cf. also on 2.15), or, to bring out the temporal force the pronoun has here, ‘all that had recently happened.’

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 24:13

Section 24:13–35

Jesus came to two disciples on the road to Emmaus

The author told how two of Jesus’ disciples saw Jesus on the road to the village of Emmaus, but they did not know that he was Jesus. He talked with them and reminded them that God’s prophets had said that the Messiah would die and rise again. They invited him into their home. As he sat at the table with them, God caused them to realize that this man himself was Jesus, who had become alive again. Jesus disappeared, and the two disciples went quickly back to Jerusalem and told the other disciples that they had seen the Lord.

The account in this section does not occur elsewhere in Scripture. Some other examples of headings for this section are:

Jesus Appears to Two Disciples (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
The Walk to Emmaus (New Living Translation (2004))

Paragraph 24:13–18

24:13a

The Greek text of 24:13a begins with a common conjunction and that is often translated as “and.” Versions such as the CSB, NET Bible, and New International Version translate this word as “Now.” It introduces a new event and two people in the event. These people are two of the “others” (24:9) who heard the women tell about seeing angels at Jesus’ tomb.

This conjunction is followed by a Greek word that means “look!” or “behold!” Versions such as the New American Standard Bible translate these two Greek words as “And behold.” This way of introducing the event probably indicates that it is important in the longer story of Jesus’ resurrection.

The Berean Standard Bible and some other English versions do not translate this introductory phrase explicitly. You should introduce the new event/story and the disciples in a way that is natural in your language. Some other ways to do this are:

And it happened
-or-
And then
-or-
After that, listen!

That same day: The phrase That same day refers to the same day that the women told the disciples what they saw and heard at Jesus’ tomb. That day was Sunday, the same day that Jesus became alive again. Refer to it here in a clear way in your language.

two of them: The phrase two of them refers to two of Jesus’ followers. These were two of the “others” who were mentioned in 24:9. They were not among the eleven apostles. The name of one of them was Cleopas (24:18), who was a man. The second disciple could have been either another man or Cleopas’ wife. Some other ways to translate the phrase two of them are:

two of Jesus’ followers (Good News Translation)
-or-
two of the others ⌊who heard what the women said⌋

24:13b

were going to a village called Emmaus: Jesus’ two followers were walking from the city of Jerusalem to Emmaus. Emmaus was a village (small town). Other ways to translate this phrase are:

were walking to the village of Emmaus (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
were on their way to a village called Emmaus (NET Bible)
-or-
were going to a town named Emmaus (New Century Version)

24:13c

about seven miles from Jerusalem: seven miles is about the same distance as eleven kilometers. Jesus’ followers would probably take about two hours to walk this distance. Use the method for measuring distance that is natural in your language. For example:

a two-hour walk from Jerusalem

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