The Greek that is translated as “humbled” in English is rendered in Gumuz as “become small” (source: Loren Bliese) and in Uma as “make hearts low” (“proud,” the opposite is translated as proud “make hearts high”) (source: Uma Back Translation).
complete verse (Luke 3:5)
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 3:5:
- Noongar: “You must fill every valley. You must make low all hills and mountains. You must make straight all rooked paths. You must make smooth all rough paths.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
- Uma: “The holes must be filled, The high parts and the bumpy places [lit, hilly] must be madelevel/the same. The curvy places [lit, elbow-y] be made straight, and the hollow places made flat.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “All valleys should be filled and all mountains and hills should be leveled, the crooked should be straightened, the bumpy way (lit. the hill-valley way) should be smoothed.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Fill in the low places, and if the way is hilly, make it flat. If the way is winding, straighten it out. And if there are bumps, you must level them off.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “What you will do is, level-out the mountains and hills. If there are also very-winding-places, make-them-straight. The potholes as well, fill them in” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “It’s necessary that you (pl.) fill in the hollows and level each hill and mountain. Make-direct the path which is crooked and flatten the uneven.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
For the Old Testament quote, see Isaiah 40:3 – Isaiah 40:5.
Sung version of Luke 3
Translation commentary on Luke 3:5
Exegesis:
pasa pharagx ‘every valley, or, ravine.’ pharagx in Is. 40.4 and elsewhere renders Hebrew gaiʾ ‘valley.’ This rendering also here.
plērōthēsetai ‘shall be filled.’ The future tenses of v. 5 may be interpreted as imperatives (continuation of v. 4) or as referring to future events, as v. 6. The later is preferable. For pleroō cf. on 1.20; here it is used in a literal meaning.
pan oros kai bounos tapeinōthēsetai ‘every mountain and hill shall be levelled.’
bounos (also 23.30) ‘hill.’
tapeinoō here ‘to level,’ elsewhere ‘to humble.’
kai estai ta skolia eis eutheian ‘the crooked (places) shall become a straight (way).’ The future tense has the same meaning as that in the preceding clauses, see above.
skolios ‘bent,’ ‘curved,’ ‘crooked.’ ta skolia, as the gender shows, does not refer to existing roads but to places that were too crooked to have any roads at all.
eutheian scil. hodon ‘a straight road.’ Other manuscripts read eutheias, scil. hodous ‘straight roads,’ cf. Nestle.
hai tracheiai eis hodous leias ‘the rough ways (shall become) smooth.’ From the preceding clause a form of the verb eimi ‘to be’ has to be supplied, i.e. esontai. Here the reference is clearly to existing roads that shall be made smooth.
trachus ‘rough,’ ‘uneven.’
leios ‘smooth.’
Translation:
Where a passive construction cannot be used one may employ such a rendering as ‘every valley shall fill-up, every mountain … shall go-down. Roads that are crooked shall straighten-out, roads that are bumpy (lit. holes-holes) will be measure (=level) ones’ (Kituba), or (in lines c, d) ‘the crooked paths shall become straight, the bad paths shall become pleasant to walk’ (Sranan Tongo), or, with an explicit reference to the agent, ‘God will fill … bring low…’ etc.
Be filled, or a more specific term, ‘be earthed-up/filled up’ (Javanese, Balinese).
Mountain and hill, or, where such a pair of close synonyms does not exist, ‘mountain and little-mountain’ (Kituba), ‘hill and rise in land’ (Kele), ‘mountains high or low,’ ‘hills big or small.’ Hindi can use the feminine form of ‘mountain’ to refer to a hill.
Brought low, or, ‘caused to be low,’ “levelled” (New English Bible, An American Translation, similarly in Javanese, Tae’).
One, or both, of the contrastive pairs crooked – straight, rough – smooth may have to be rendered by a negative-positive phrase, e.g. ‘the not-straight shall be made straight’ and/or ‘the not-smooth shall be smoothed’ (the latter in Toraja-Sa’dan).
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 3:5
3:5
There are two ways to interpret the clauses in this verse:
(1) They describe things that should or must be done. For example:
Every valley must be filled up (Good News Translation)
(Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Century Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New Living Translation (1996))
(2) They describe things that will be done. For example:
Every valley will be filled (God’s Word)
(New American Standard Bible, NET Bible, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004))
English versions that use “shall” are ambiguous (Berean Standard Bible, New International Version, Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, King James Version, Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English, English Standard Version).
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). It fits the context of John’s preaching that the people should repent and that their lives must show their repentance.
3:5a
In this verse, Isaiah continued to use the metaphor about preparing the Lord’s way. In the metaphor, the valleys must be filled in so that the road would be level. There are several possible interpretations of this metaphor, so it is good to not be too specific about the meaning here.
Every valley shall be filled in: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as shall be filled in is passive. In some languages it may be more natural to translate this clause without using a passive verb. For example:
Every valley must become full
-or-
All the valleys must no longer be deep
In some languages it may be necessary to say who must or will fill up the valleys. Scholars have two main views about this:
(1) People must fill up the valleys. For example:
⌊People/You⌋ must fill every valley
-or-
Fill up every valley (Contemporary English Version)
(2) God will fill up the valleys. For example:
⌊God⌋ will fill every valley
In a sense, both interpretations are true. However, if you must choose, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The context focuses on the people’s actions that prepare for the Lord and show their repentance.
valley: A valley refers to a low area of land between hills or mountains. In this context it is a low place that contrasts with the hills and mountains.
filled in: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates here as filled in indicates that the valleys should be made level by filling them with dirt and stones.
3:5b
In this part of the verse Isaiah continued to use metaphors about preparing the road. He indicated that the mountains and hills on the path/road should be made low. The mountains should be lowered and the valleys be filled so that the road would be level. Translate this part of the verse in a way that fits well with 3:5a.
and every mountain and hill made low: In this clause some words are implied before the phrase made low. For example:
and every mountain and hill should be made flat. (New Century Version)
This clause refers to taking soil from a hill or mountain and putting it in a lower place so that the road will be level. Another way to say this are:
and every mountain and hill must be leveled.
As in 3:5a, it may be more natural in some languages to translate this without using a passive verb. For example:
Every mountain and hill must become level/flat.
-or-
and level the mountains and hills! (New Living Translation (1996))
made low: In this context the Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as made low refers to making something level or flat. In other contexts this word can also refer to proud people being made humble or humbling themselves. If your language has a verb that can be used in both of these contexts, you may be able to use it here. In some languages it may be possible to express this idea figuratively. For example:
Every ⌊proud⌋ hill and mountain must be flattened/humbled.
3:5c
This part of the verse continues to use the metaphor of preparing a road to symbolize how people repent to prepare for the Lord. Isaiah mentioned other things that must be done to the road. You should connect 3:5c and 3:5b in a way that is natural in your language.
The crooked ways shall be made straight: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as The crooked ways shall be made straight is literally “and the crooked will be into straight.” The Berean Standard Bible has supplied the word ways. Other words such as “paths” or “roads” would also fit here. For example:
Winding paths must be made straight
-or-
The crooked roads should become straight
-or-
Straighten the curves (New Living Translation (1996))
crooked…straight: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as crooked means “twisted, bent, curved.” The word that it translates as straight means “being in a direct line, not bent or curved.”
Both of these words can be used in a figurative way. The word crooked can refer to being morally bent or twisted, that is, dishonest, unrighteous, or unjust. The word straight can refer to being righteous and honest. If your language has words or idioms that could be used in either sense, you may be able to use them here.
3:5d
This part of the verse continues to use the metaphor of preparing a road to symbolize how people repent to prepare for the Lord. Translate it in a way that fits this metaphor and connects in a natural way with 3:5c.
and the rough ways smooth: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the rough ways smooth is more literally “and the rough into smooth roads.” This is an ellipsis. The full meaning is “and the rough ⌊roads⌋ ⌊should be made⌋ into smooth roads.” It indicates that the rough, uneven paths must be made flat and smooth.
Some other ways to say this are:
and rough roads should be made smooth (New Century Version)
-or-
and smooth out the rough roads (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
remove the uneven places from the roads to make them easy ⌊to travel on⌋
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