snare

The now commonly-used German expression Fallstrick for “snare,” but today only used in German in the sense to cause someone to stumble (“jemandem einen Fallstick legen”), was first coined in 1534 in the German Bible translation by Martin Luther. (Source: Günther 2017, p. 65)

For other idioms or terms in German that were coined by Bible translation, see here.

complete verse (Luke 21:35)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 21:35:

  • Noongar: “Because the Day will come to all people of every part of the Earth.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “My arrival will strike all people in the world, like a snare traps a mouse.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “For that day will really come suddenly figuratively like a trap snapping shut and all people in the shallow of this world are hit/caught.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “because this is how fast this day is going to overtake all mankind.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Because the people in all the many-countries on the surface of the earth will emphatically be startled-speechless like a bird caught in a bird-snare.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Because it’s true, what my returning here will be like is a bamboo-trap which is sprung, for all the people here under the heavens will truly panic.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 21:35

Exegesis:

hōs pagis ‘like a trap,’ goes with the preceding clause in Nestle; this is followed in the majority of modern translations, cf. e.g. Revised Standard Version, Translator’s New Testament, New English Bible. The punctuation and reading GOOD NEWS BIBLE are followed by AV and Good News Translation.

hōs pagis gar epeleusetai ‘for like a trap it will come.’ Subject is hē hēmera ekeinē, eperchomai followed by epi (cf. on 1.35) is equivalent to eperchomai with dative (cf. on v. 26).

pagis ‘trap,’ ‘snare,’ here figuratively for a sudden and unexpected danger.

epi pantas tous kathēmenous epi prosōpon pasēs tēs gēs lit. ‘upon all who are sitting on the (sur)face of the whole earth,’ i.e. ‘all who are living on the whole earth.’ epi prosōpon meaning ‘upon’ is a Hebraism.

Translation:

The reading of GOOD NEWS BIBLE will result in a rendering like, ‘for like a snare it will come upon all…,’ or, if one has to be quite explicit, e.g. ‘just as a snare seizes a bird/animal, so will the day come upon all….’ For snare one may have to use, ‘noose,’ ‘trap,’ or ‘net’ (Medumba) for catching birds or wild animals.

The rendering of come upon may be coloured by the metaphor, e.g. ‘close upon,’ ‘catch,’ ‘fall upon.’

All who dwell upon the face of the whole earth, or, “all men, wherever they are, the whole world over” (New English Bible); in Balinese the equivalent idiom is, ‘all men under-the-vault-of the sky.’

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.