complete verse (Luke 12:45)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 12:45:

  • Noongar: “But if this servant says to himself, ‘My master is a long time coming back’, and if he begins to hit the other servants, the men and also the women, and eating and drinking and getting drunk,” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “But disaster will [come] to the slave who slaves: ‘The nobleman will not soon come.’ He begins to beat/strike his fellow slaves, woman or man, and he continually eats and drinks to the point of drunkenness.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But if for example that servant says in his liver, that it is still a long time till his master comes, and then he beats his fellow servants including the women and that is what he does he feasts and has drinking-parties and gets drunk,” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “But pity him if what is in his thinking is that his master will be a long time coming home, and he beats his fellow servants, women and men, and the only thing he does is to eat and drink and get drunk.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But if for-example that servant is evil, he says to himself, ‘My master’s return will probably still be a long-time-away.’ And he repeatedly-hardships his fellow slaves who are men or women and meanwhile eats-and-eats, drinks-and-drinks and gets-repeatedly-drunk.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But supposing the nature/ways of that slave are evil, what is in his mind is, ‘Probably it will be much longer before my master returns.’ Well, what he will do is he will keep causing-hardship/suffering to his fellow slaves, female and male. And he will do nothing else but eat only and get drunk.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 12:45 – 12:46

Exegesis:

ho doulos ekeinos ‘that servant,’ i.e. the one referred to in v. 43.

en tē kardia autou ‘in his heart,’ i.e. ‘to, or, in himself.’

chronizei ho kurios mou erchesthai ‘my master is a long time in coming.’ For chronizō (here with the infinitive) cf. on 1.21.

kai arxētai tuptein tous paidas kai tas paidiskas ‘and (when) he begins to beat the menservants and womenservants,’ dependent on ean. tuptō (cf. on 6.29) here has a more general meaning, i.e. ‘to bully,’ cf. New English Bible.

paidiskē (also 22.56) ‘maid,’ ‘servant-girl,’ ‘woman-servant.’

esthiein te kai pinein kai methuskesthai ‘to eat and drink, and to get drunk,’ dependent on arxētai. esthiein te kai pinein is one phrase and denotes gluttony (cf. on 7.33 where a different meaning prevails).

methuskomai ‘to get drunk.’

(V. 46) ho kurios tou doulou ekeinou ‘the master of that slave,’ emphatic repetition of ho doulos ekeinos in v. 45.

en hēmera hē ou prosdoka ‘on a day on which he does not expect (him to return).’ For prosdokaō cf. on 1.21.

kai en hōra hē ou ginōskei ‘and at a time at which he does not know,’ i.e. he had not been informed about the time of his master’s return.

kai dichotomēsei auton ‘and will cut him in two,’ as execution of death penalty.

kai to meros autou meta tōn apistōn thēsei lit. ‘and (he) will put his share with the unbelievers,’ i.e. ‘will make him share the lot of the unbelievers’ with implicit reference to the final judgment. apistos, cf. on 9.41.

meros ‘part,’ here ‘share,’ ‘lot,’ ‘allotted place,’ ‘place of destiny.’

Translation:

V. 45 expresses a suppositional case: ‘but suppose now…’; v. 46 is to be introduced then by a consecutional connective, e.g. ‘so, then’ (Trukese).

Says to himself, or ‘says in his heart,’ ‘thinks.’

My master is delayed in coming, or, describing the verb, ‘my master does not come (home) quickly/shortly, or, stays away fairly long’; or, ‘it will take a long time before my master returns.’

Beat, probably with hand or stick.

Menservants and maidservants, or, ‘servants, both men and women.’

To eat and drink and get drunk here refers to feasting. In Chuukeseexcessive eating and drinking is expressed by reduplicated forms of the verbs, and “get drunk” by ‘become-foolish.’

(V. 46) On a day when he does not expect him, or, ‘does not await him, or, does not think he will come.’

At an hour he does not know closely parallels the preceding phrase, using a more specific indication of time, and a verb that, in this context, is rather synonymous with ‘to expect.’ Hence the two phrases can better be combined in some languages, cf. e.g. ‘at a day and an hour that are not to-be-known’ (Balinese), ‘at an hour when his heart is forgetful, and he is not expecting him.’

Will punish him, preferably, ‘will punish him by death (or, very severely)’; or in languages that prefer to make explicit indirect agency, ‘will have him punished (or, will order someone to punish him) severely/by death.’

Put him with the unfaithful (preferably, ‘the unbelievers’), or, ‘put him where the unbelievers are, or, in the same place as the unbelievers,’ ‘let him suffer what the unbelievers suffer.’ The term ‘unbelievers,’ i.e. those who do not believe in the God of Israel, refers to the non-Jews in general; hence some versions render ‘heathen’ (Bible de Jérusalem, Bahasa Indonesia). For ‘to believe’ cf. the references on “faith” in 5.20; for ‘heathen’ cf. on “Gentiles” in 2.32.

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.