eternal life

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The Greek that is translated in English as “eternal life” is translated in various ways:

Lloyd Peckham explains the Mairasi translation: “In secret stories, not knowable to women nor children, there was a magical fruit of life. If referred to vaguely, without specifying the specific ‘fruit,’ it can be an expression for eternity.”

See also eternity / forever and salvation.

complete verse (Luke 18:18)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 18:18:

  • Noongar: “An important man of Judea, he asked Jesus, ‘Great Lord, what must I do to get eternal life?'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “One time, a Yahudi leader asked Yesus, he said: ‘Good teacher, what must I do so that I please receive eternal life?'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “One day a prominent Yahudi went to Isa asking him, he said, ‘Sir, you are a good person. What shall I do so that I will be given eternal life?'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “There was a time when one of the Jewish rulers asked Jesus, he said, ‘Hey, Chief — your works are very good. What shall I do so that I might be given life which has no end?'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “There was a leader of the Jews who said to Jesus, ‘Good Sir, what must I do so that I will have life that has no end?'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Once there was a man who had a position/responsibility in the town who questioned Jesus, saying, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do so that life which has no ending can be mine?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 18:18

Exegesis:

kai epērōtēsen tis auton archōn ‘a certain man of the ruling class asked him.’ For eperōtaō cf. on 2.46. archōn is used here in a general sense and denotes a person who belongs to the important and influential groups that have the ruling functions in society.

didaskale agathe ‘good teacher.’

ti poiēsas zōēn aiōnion klēronomēsō lit. ‘(by) doing what shall I inherit eternal life?,’ cf. on 10.25.

Translation:

Ruler, preferably, “a man of high standing” (The Four Gospels – a New Translation), ‘a prominent man’ (Leyden, Nieuwe Vertaling), un notable (Bible de Jérusalem).

Good Teacher, or shifting to an attributive clause, ‘teacher, you who are good.’ In this verse good is used in the sense of ‘kind,’ ‘generous,’ but in v. 19 it refers to moral perfection. Where one term covering both meanings is not available considerable difficulty may arise, since Jesus’ reply in v. 19 takes up the same term but gives it a slightly different meaning. It may then be possible, however, to qualify the term in v. 18, e.g. ‘good of heart,’ i.e. kind (Batak Toba), but to use it without qualification and in a more absolute sense in v. 19. If this also proves impossible, the term for moral goodness, or perfection, is best used in both verses.

Inherit eternal life, see on 10.25 and references.

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.