complete verse (Luke 21:1)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 21:1:

  • Noongar: “Jesus watched everything, and he saw rich people. They were bringing their money and putting the money putting into the money box at the Temple,” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “In the House of God, Yesus saw rich people putting money into the box for putting-in worship-offering money.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Then Isa looked and he saw the rich people dropping the money they were giving to God into the container there in the temple.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Jesus saw the rich people dropping their offerings in the offering holder,” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then Jesus looked-up and he saw rich-people putting their money in the place-for-inserting money in the Temple.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “While Jesus was still there in the Templo, looking around, he saw the rich dropping into the dropping-place the money which they were giving to the Templo.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 21:1

Exegesis:

anablepsas ‘looking up,’ or ‘looking closely,’ preferably the latter; it suggests an attentive look.

eiden tous … plousious ‘he saw the rich.’ plousious is stressed by its position at the end of the participial phrase that goes with it (see below).

ballontas eis to gazophulakion ta dōra autōn ‘dropping their gifts into the treasury,’ participial phrase going syntactically with tous … plousious. ballō eis may mean ‘to drop into,’ or ‘to put into,’ here preferably the former.

gazophulakion ‘treasury,’ ‘contribution box.’

dōron (also v. 4) ‘present,’ ‘gift.’

Translation:

Saw the rich putting, or, ‘saw the rich (who) put.’ The aspect is iterative: Jesus saw that again and again one of the rich came to bring a gift.

Gifts, or, ‘offerings,’ ‘the money they offered’ (Balinese). To use a term for ‘alms’ is not advisable.

Treasury, or ‘box (for) gifts’ (Balinese), ‘money-box of the church/temple’ (Sranan Tongo), ‘place/box where people put in the money.’

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.