Translation commentary on Luke 12:18

Exegesis:

kai eipen ‘and (at last) he said.’ After dielogizeto (v. 17, imperfect tense) eipen (aorist) marks the end of his deliberations and the reaching of a decision.

touto poiēsō ‘this (is what) I will do,’ introductory clause. touto is emphatic.

kathelō mou tas apothēkas ‘I will tear down my barns.’ For kathaireō cf. on 1.52. For apothēkē cf. on 3.17.

kai meizonas oikodomēsō ‘and I will build bigger ones,’ with apothēkas understood.

ekei ‘there,’ i.e. in the new bigger barns.

panta ton siton kai ta agatha mou ‘all my grain/corn and goods.’ panta goes with siton only. agatha refers to movable possessions in general.

Translation:

Pull down, referring probably not to mere destruction, but to the deliberate taking down of the barns in such a way that the material can still be used, as indicated e.g. in Balinese, which uses a word lit. meaning ‘to untie/loosen.’

Barns, or, ‘storehouses,’ in Indonesia often a term that basically means ‘rice barn,’ then ‘granary,’ ‘storehouse (for any kind of food and goods).’ A generic descriptive phrase, ‘place/building where are stored,’ may coincide with the expression employed in v. 17.

All my grain and my goods, or, ‘all this grain (of mine) and my other goods/possessions.’ For grain cf. on “wheat” in 3.17.

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.

Leave a Reply