God's anger, wrath of God

The Hebrew and Greek What is translated into English as “the wrath of God” (Good News Translation: “God’s anger”) has to be referred to in Bengali as judgment, punishment or whatever fits the context. In Bengali culture, anger is by definition bad and can never be predicated of God. (Source: David Clark)

In Kikuyu the whole phrase that is translated in English as “storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath” or similar is translated as “you are increasing for yourself God’s wrath.” (Source: Jan Sterk)

In Quetzaltepec Mixe it is translated with a term “that not only expresses anger, but also punishment” (source: Robert Bascom), in Western Bukidnon Manobo as “the coming punishment of God on mankind” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation), in Kankanaey as “God’s fearful/terrible future punishing of people” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation), in Tagbanwa as “the coming anger/hatred of God” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation), and in Tenango Otomi as “the punishment which will come” (source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation).

See also anger.

pregnant

The Greek, Latin and Hebrew that are translated as “(become) pregnant” in English is rendered as “got belly” (Sranan Tongo and Kituba) as “having two bodies” (Indonesian), as “be-of-womb” (Sinhala), as “heavy” (Balinese), and as “in-a-fortunate-state” (Batak Toba). (Source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)

In Kafa it is translated as “having two lives” (source: Loren Bliese), in Southern Birifor as tara pʊɔ or “to have stomach,” in Kamba as “be-heavy” (source for this and above: Andy Warren-Rothlin), and in the Swabian 2007 translation by Rudolf Paul as kommt en andere Omständ, lit. “be in different circumstances.”

In Mairasi it is translated as “have a soul [ghost].” (Source: Enggavoter, 2004)

nurse (verb)

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “nurse” in English is translated in German as stillen or “to quiet.”

The das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022) and the BasisBibel (publ. 2021) also use the same verb in Psalm 131:2 (for this choice, see here).

complete verse (Luke 21:23)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 21:23:

  • Noongar: “These days will be very terrible for those women who are pregnant and mothers with young children. Very bad days and terrible days will come to this land, and God will punish these people.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “Feel-sorry-for/How-sad the women who are pregnant or nursing their children at that time, because it will be hard for them to run-away. Because this town will be struck with a great disaster, and the Lord God will punish the townspeople.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Andý’ (exclamation) in those days the ones pregnant and those with small children are really to be pitied. For great difficulty will come to this country and the tribe of Yahudi will be hit by God’s wrath.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “On that day, pity very much the women who are pregnant and those who are nursing children, because they will have a very hard time running away! For times of great trouble will take place in this town because that will be the time for God to punish the Jews.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “In those days to-be-pitied (empathy particle) will be the pregnant and those who have nursing-infants, because all people in this town/country, they will be greatly hardshipped and they will feel God’s punishment of them.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Really very-pitiful are those pregnant and with nursing-babies in those days. Because far from ordinary suffering really will come here to this place, which is the anger of God against this nation.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 21:23

Exegesis:

ouai tais en gastri echousais kai tais thēlazousais ‘alas for those who are with child and for those who are nursing (children).’ ouai here implies the thought of sudden danger. For en gastri cf. on 1.31. For thēlazō cf. on 11.27.

en ekeinais tais hēmerais ‘in those days,’ goes with the whole clause. It refers to the same time as tote in vv. 20f.

anagkē megalē ‘great distress.’

epi tēs gēs ‘on earth,’ or, ‘in the land,’ preferably the latter. The land referred to is Palestine.

orgē ‘wrath,’ cf. on 3.7. Here it refers to God’s impending judgment.

tō laō toutō ‘for this people,’ ‘upon this people,’ i.e. the Jewish nation.

Translation:

Alas, or an equivalent exclamative particle indicating pity for suffering, or some such expression as, ‘poor/miserable (are),’ ‘you should pity,’ ‘what misfortune will this be for.’

Those who are with child, see on 2.5.

Those who give suck, referring to the situation mothers with babies will be in rather than to the process of suckling; hence, “women … who have children at the breast” (New English Bible, similarly Sranan Tongo), ‘women who have babies to suckle/nurse,’ “mothers with little babies” (Good News Translation). For to give suck.

Great distress shall be upon the earth, or, ‘will come over, or, will harass this earth’; or recasting the syntactic structure, ‘this earth will suffer great distress, or, will greatly be-distressed.’ For distress, primarily referring to physical disasters and suffering. The earth, or, ‘all men in (or, inhabitants of) this land.’

Wrath (will come) upon this people may have to be recast in the same way as the preceding phrase. For wrath, or, ‘judgment,’ ‘punishment,’ cf. on 3.7; for this people on 1.17.

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.