judge vs. condemn

The Greek terms krino and katakrino/katadikazo that are translated as “judge” and “condemn” respectively in English are translated with only one term in Kutu (tagusa). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Luke 19:22)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 19:22:

  • Noongar: “The king said, ‘You bad servant! You know that I am a hard man. I will use your own words to condemn you. I take what I do not own and I harvest what I do not plant.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “‘The king said saying to him: ‘You (sing.) are a bad/evil servant! If you (sing.) knew I was harsh, if you (sing.) knew that I harvest what are not my plants, and that I take what I did not work-hard-for,” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The king said to him, ‘You are a bad/wicked and lazy servant. I will judge you with those your words. You know – surprise – that I have no pity/mercy. You know that I take what is not mine and reap what I have not worked for.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And that king asnwered, ‘So you are a wicked servant! There from your own words you have let it be known that you have sinned against me, because you knew that what I say, I make sure that it happens, and the money that I have people take care of, I expect some increase; and what I have planted, I expect its harvest — that’s very true.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘You (sing.) are a bad servant!’ said the king. ‘What you (sing.) have said is indeed also what I-will-use-to-condemn you (sing.). If you (sing.) already-knew that I was an easily-angered person who gets what I didn’t work for and harvests what I didn’t plant,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “He was answered by that master of his, saying, ‘What an evil slave you are! According to what you yourself said, I will judge you. For you know apparently that I am strict, that I collect-money/take-payment when it wasn’t I who deposited it and I harvest what I wasn’t the one who labored over.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 19:22

Exegesis:

legei autō ‘he said to him’; change of subject without indication.

ek tou stomatos sou krinō se lit. ‘out of your own mouth I condemn you,’ i.e. on the basis of your own words, cf. Good News Translation. krinō may be interpreted as present (so GOOD NEWS BIBLE), or as future (so Nestle), depending on the accentuation in Greek. The latter is preferable. krinō is a judicial term, here used in a non-judicial situation meaning either ‘to condemn,’ or ‘to judge,’ preferably the former.

Translation:

He said to him, or to specify the reference, ‘the master (or, king) said/replied.’

I will condemn you out of your own mouth, or, “by your own words” (New English Bible), ‘in accordance with what you yourself just said,’ ‘by what comes-out of your mouth, or, lips’ (cf. Kituba, Toraja-Sa’dan); or recasting the sentence structure, “I will use your own words to condemn you” (Good News Translation), ‘you yourself are saying with your own mouth what you will be judged by’ (Tzeltal); or again, taking a non-personal subject, ‘the word you uttered condemns you’ (Ekari, similarly Shona 1966). For condemn see on 6.37.

You wicked servant may have to be transposed to the beginning of the discourse, and/or rendered as a statement.

You knew … sow?, a rhetorical question that may have to become a statement, e.g. ‘you said that you knew … sow.’

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.