dissolute living, wild living

The Greek that is translated in English as “dissolute living” or “wild living” is translated in Kafa as “whatever his heart thought of.”

In Low German it is idiomatically translated with the reduplicative in Suus un Bruus lewen, literally “live speedily and noisily” (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006).

See also live in pleasure.

parable of the prodigal son (image)

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complete verse (Luke 15:13)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 15:13:

  • Noongar: “After a few days, the young son sold his share, took the money and left home. He went to a far country. There he threw away his money, behaving badly.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “‘Several days after that, the youngest child sold his portion, and he went to a far town. There, he wasted [lit., finished dry] his money with behavior that was not appropriate.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Not long after, the younger one sold his share, took his money and then he went to a far country. When he was there he used up his money for all kinds of useless (things).” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “It wasn’t very long from then that the younger sold his share and travelled, taking his money. He went to a far country and there he wasted his money on things that were of no value.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘When only how-many days went by, that younger-brother sold all his share and went to a far country. When he arrived there, he spent his money on (morally)-foolish ways-of-life.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “A few days passed, then that younger-brother sold his share and went to a-foreign-land/overseas. He took all which had been paid for his share. And then when he was there now, he wasted it by spending-too-freely on a lifestyle which was not right.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 15:13

Exegesis:

kai met’ ou pollas hēmeras ‘and after not many days,’ i.e. ‘not many days later,’ hence, “a few days later” (New English Bible). The phrase goes with apedēmēsen ‘went abroad.’

sunagagōn hapanta ‘having gathered everything,’ probably by turning it into cash.

ho neōteros huios apedēmēsen eis chōran makran ‘the younger son went abroad to a distant country.’

apodēmeō (also 20.9) ‘to go abroad,’ ‘to go on a journey.’

makros ‘far away,’ ‘distant.’

dieskorpisen tēn ousian autou ‘he squandered his property.’

diaskorpizō here ‘to squander,’ ‘to waste.’

zōn asōtōs ‘by living extravagantly,’ going with dieskorpisen.

asōtōs ‘extravagantly,’ i.e. as a spendthrift, or ‘recklessly,’ probably the former.

Translation:

Gathered all he had, or, ‘sold the whole of his share’ (cf. e.g. Good News Translation, Tae’).

Took his journey into, or, ‘left home and went to’ (cf. Good News Translation and New English Bible).

Squandered, i.e. spent lavishly and/or foolishly, ‘flung about’; Batak Toba uses a compound verb built on ‘finished’ and ‘clean’; Zarma has, ‘caused-to-be-lost.’

His property has the same reference as “all he had”; hence, “it” (New English Bible), “his money” (Good News Translation).

In loose living, or, ‘by extravagant behaviour,’ ‘giving-rein-to (his) desires’ (Balinese, similarly Batak Toba).

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.