Honorary "rare" construct denoting God (“pass”)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 rare (られ) 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, tō-rare-ru (通られる) or “pass” is used.

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

Translation commentary on Luke 3:4

Exegesis:

hōs gegraptai ‘as it is written,’ the usual formula for the introduction of a quotation from the Old Testament. The subsequent quotation, here related to what precedes by the connective hōs ‘as,’ serves to qualify John’s ministry in a general way as the announcing of the promised salvation and has no direct bearing upon the baptism he proclaims.

en biblō logōn Ēsaiou tou prophētou ‘in the book of sayings of Isaiah the prophet.’

biblos (also 20.24) ‘book,’ in both places followed by a genitive which indicates the content of the book. As the synonymous biblion it is to be thought of as a scroll (cf. Plummer on 4.20).

phōnē boōntos ‘(the) voice of one shouting,’ the genitive boōntos makes phōnē, which is without article, definite. The phrase serves to draw the attention strongly to what follows, cf. Phillips‘ “Hark! Someone is shouting”.

boaō ‘to shout,’ ‘to cry out,’ here of solemn proclamation.

en tē erēmō ‘in the desert,’ goes with boōntos, not with what follows, as in the Hebrew text of Is. 40.3.

hetoimasate tēn hodon kuriou ‘prepare the road of the Lord.’ The underlying picture is that of preparations for an approaching visit of a king (cf. Moulton-Milligan 258): the road over which the Lord shall come must be made ready. The plural shows that the order is directed to a group but this group is not subsequently identified. The picture is that of an existing road which must be made ready.

eutheias poieite tas tribous autou ‘make his paths straight.’ The reference is to the elimination of curves, rather than to making the road smooth, as shown by the use of euthus ‘straight’ elsewhere and by the fact that in v. 5 the same word eutheias is used in contrast with skolios ‘bent,’ ‘curved,’ and distinguished from leios ‘smooth.’

eutheia (†, from masc, euthus) ‘straight.’ In v. 5 it is used as a substantive with hodon ‘way’ understood, and meaning ‘straight way.’

tribos ‘a beaten track,’ ‘path.’

Translation:

This verse, in the Greek subordinated to v. 3, may better become a new sentence, e.g. ‘This happened just as it was written in…’ (Marathi), ‘This is according to what…’ (cf. Manobo). A more radical shift of order is required in Telugu, which first quotes the prophecy, and concludes this quotation with the statement that these occurrences were predicted by Isaiah.

As it is written in … For this formula to introduce quotations from the Old Testament see above on 2.23. The pronoun it refers to the details of John’s ministry as described in v. 3, cf. “all in accordance with” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation); if necessary, one may shift to a personal reference, e.g. ‘About him it has been written in…,’ or, ‘He was like the man mentioned in….’

The book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, i.e. the book containing the words of the prophet Isaiah, or, the book recording what the prophet Isaiah has said. Idiom may necessitate some adjustments, e.g. ‘the words recorded in the book (of prophecies) of the prophet Is.’ (Chinese Union Version) or the ‘words of the prophet Is., (as) recorded/contained in his book.’ If idiom, style, or decodability require a simpler wording, the rendering may be modelled on the synonymous phrase “the book of the prophet Is.” (4.17) as done in Marathi, Balinese, or it may become, ‘in the (book of the) prophecies of (Prophet) Is.’ (cf. Malay and Bahasa Indonesia RC). Still further simplification will be necessary where passive constructions and subordination have to be avoided; then the whole clause “it is written … Isaiah” may be rendered, “as the prophet Is. had written in his book” (Good News Translation). For book see also on 4.17.

The voice of one crying in the wilderness. One (or, a person) crying has been rendered by the more specific ‘a proclaimer’ (Marathi, which also changes the phrase in a full sentence by adding a verb, ‘happened’). In Manobo culture ‘crying/shouting’ implies anger and accordingly has to be avoided. In such a case one may shift to ‘the voice of a person was widely heard.’

For prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. — Prepare the way of. One of the renderings possible in Sranan Tongo is ‘clear the overgrown tracks for (lit. wake up the lines for).’ Way and paths, or ‘road(s)’ and ‘little roads,’ ‘path(s)’ and ‘by-paths/side-alleys’; or, not to overtranslate the difference, ‘passage (or, place to walk)’ and ‘ways/paths,’ or a noun and a pronominal reference, e.g. ‘prepare the way…, and make it straight.’

Lord, see above on 1.6, sub (c).

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 3:4

Paragraph 3:4–6

About seven hundred years before John the Baptizer was born, the prophet Isaiah wrote about him. He wrote that someone would announce to people that the Lord was coming and that they should get ready for him (Isaiah 40:3–5). John the Baptizer fulfilled this prophecy.

Isaiah wrote that people should prepare the way/road for the Lord. This is a metaphor. When the Jewish people expected a king to come through their village, they prepared the road for him. John was telling the people to prepare themselves to receive the Lord by repenting. The Lord was coming to them as the Messiah (Jesus). (See Christ in the Glossary.)

3:4a

as it is written: The phrase as it is written connects the facts about John in 3:3 to the prophecy about him in the book of Isaiah. The things that John did and said fulfilled what the prophet Isaiah foretold in the Scriptures.

Some other ways to say this are:

⌊John did these things just⌋ as the Bible had said ⌊he would⌋.
-or-
This was foretold in the ⌊Holy⌋ Writings.

in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: The phrase in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet refers to the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament. This is the book where Isaiah the prophet wrote the messages that God gave him. Some ways to say this are:

in the book of the prophecies of Isaiah (Revised English Bible)
-or-
in the book of Isaiah’s messages

In some languages it may be more natural to translate 3:4a as a clause or sentence. For example:

Isaiah wrote these things in his book. He said….
-or-
Isaiah the prophet wrote about John when he said…. (Contemporary English Version)

prophet: A prophet was a person who spoke on behalf of God. He told people what God revealed to him.

Sometimes God told prophets about events that had not yet happened so that the prophets could tell people before the events happened. However, God gave the prophets many other messages that did not involve foretelling the future. Try to translate the word prophet with a term that refers to a person who brings any type of message from God. For example:

a spokesman for God
-or-
a person who speaks God’s words
-or-
God’s message-speaker

When you choose a term for prophet, you will need to distinguish prophet from other words with similar meaning such as “angel,” “apostle,” and “preacher.”

This word also occurs in 1:76b. See also prophet in the Glossary.

3:4b

Luke 3:4b–6 is a quote from Isaiah 40:3–5. You will probably want to include this information in a cross-reference or footnote in your translation.

A voice of one calling in the wilderness: Isaiah was writing about something that would happen seven hundred years later. Use a verb form that is natural for a prophecy about the future. In English it is possible to use either the present or the future tense:

A voice calls in the desert.
-or-
A voice will call in the desert.

A voice of one calling: The voice is the voice of a person proclaiming a message. In some languages it may be natural to translate this as:

A man is calling
-or-
Someone will proclaim

calling: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as calling means to shout or to speak loudly. Some ways to translate calling in this context include:

announce/announcing
-or-
shout/shouting
-or-
speaking/saying loudly

wilderness: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as wilderness here was also used in 3:2. See the note on 3:2b.

3:4c–3:6

In these verses Isaiah used a metaphor. The “voice” was not literally talking about making roads better. It was talking about people, implying that they needed to repent to prepare for the coming of the Lord. In some cultures, readers may not understand the meaning of this metaphor. If that is true for your culture, you may wish to include a footnote. For example:

When Jewish people knew a king would come through their village, they would make the road good for him. Isaiah compared this action to John telling the people to prepare themselves for the coming of Jesus, the Messiah, by repenting from their sins.

These verses are quotations of Hebrew poetry. You may wish to print them in a special way to distinguish them from other verses.

3:4c

Prepare the way for the Lord: Here Isaiah used the metaphor of preparing a road to urge people to prepare themselves morally for the Lord to come.

In some cultures, readers may not understand the meaning of this metaphor. If that is true for your culture, you will have to indicate the meaning more explicitly. The note for 3:4c–6 has examples of using footnotes to do this. Some other ways to do this are:

• Use a simile. For example:

⌊As you would⌋ prepare a road ⌊for a king⌋, ⌊prepare your hearts/minds/lives⌋ for the Lord

• Express the meaning without the metaphor. For example:

Prepare ⌊yourselves⌋ to ⌊receive⌋ the Lord ⌊with integrity/honesty⌋

This verse refers to people preparing themselves in a moral and spiritual way. Your translation should not imply that they should prepare themselves only in a physical way, such as by cleaning their houses.

way: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as way refers to a “road” or a “path.”

Lord: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Lord means “master, one who has authority over others.” The Jews used this word as one way to refer to God. Here it substitutes for God’s personal name that was used in the Hebrew Old Testament. In this context, the word Lord indicates that God was coming to people as the Messiah.

If speakers of your language do not understand that your word for “Lord” refers to God in this context, here are other ways to translate it:

• Use your word for God.

• Use your word for God and indicate that he is the Lord. For example:

God the Lord
-or-
Master God

If you include the word for God in your translation of Lord, you may want to include a footnote to give the literal Greek meaning. For example:

Here the Greek text is literally “Lord.”

See Lord, Context 2, in the Glossary.

3:4d

This part of the verse is parallel to 3:5c and has a similar meaning. The difference is that 3:5c is slightly more specific. In Hebrew poetry, the same meaning was often repeated in different words.

make straight paths for Him: The clause make straight paths for Him may be expressed more fully as “make the paths straight for the Lord ⌊to travel on⌋.”

paths: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as paths has a similar meaning as the word “roads.” In some languages the same word may be used to translate both “road” and “path.” If that is true in your language, you may be able to translate paths as “small/little roads,” or you may be able to use a pronoun such as “it.” For example:

4cPrepare the road for the Lord, 4dmake it straight for him.

© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.