ponder

The Greek that is translated as “ponder” in English is translated as “continually think-about” in Tboli, “turn around in the mind” in Batak Toba, “puzzle forth, puzzle back” in Sranan Tongo (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel), “constantly setting down her visions” in Mairasi (source: Enggavoter 2004), “carried all those words in her heart and then sat thinking” in Enga (source: Adam Boyd on his blog ), or “moved them in her heart” (bewegte sie in ihrem Herzen) (German Luther translation).

In Low German idiomatically as “let it pass through her heart again and again” (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006).

Mary (mother of Jesus)

The name that is transliterated as “Mary” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with arms folded over chest which is the typical pose of Mary in statues and artwork. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff.)


“Mary” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

In American Sign Language it is translated with a sign for the letter M and the sign for “virgin,” which could also be interpreted as “head covering,” referring to the way that Mary is usually portrayed in art works. (Source: RuthAnna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Mary” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

In the Burmese Common Language Version (publ. 2005), Mary is described as a king’s mother by using the royal noun suffix taw / တော် with the word “mother” in Matthew 1:16 and Luke 2:33. This is done to highlight the status of Jesus as a king or the divine Son. Othjer passages where taht is used include Matthew 2:11, 13, 14, 20, and 21. (Source: Gam Seng Shae, The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff.) See also Jesus’ human vs. divine nature in modern Burmese translation.

Nativity scene (icon)

Following is a Macedonian Orthodox icon of the Nativity scene from 1865 (found in Saint George Church in Kočani, North Macedonia).

Down below is a modern icon from the Eritrean Orthodox Church.

Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )

Nativity (image)

He Qi © 2021 All Rights Reserved.

Image taken from He Qi Art . For purchasing prints of this and other artworks by He Qi go to heqiart.com .

For other images of He Qi art works in TIPs, see here.

complete verse (Luke 2:19)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 2:19:

  • Noongar: “Mary remembered all these things, and she kept everything in her heart.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “But Maria stored all that happened in her heart, and she continually thought about them.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But Mariyam remembered everything and always thought about it.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as for Mary, she did not forget all of these things that she heard, but rather, she very carefully thought about them.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “As for Maria, she stored all these-things that had happened in her mind and kept-thinking-about-them.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “As for Maria, she stored all that well in her head, always/often thinking about it.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 2:19

Exegesis:

hē de Mariam ‘but Mary,’ in contrast with pantes hoi akousantes ‘all who heard’ in v. 18.

panta … ta rēmata tauta ‘all these things’; panta is emphatic, as shown by its position.

rēmata ‘things’ (many translators) or ‘words’ (Dutch versions, An American Translation, Zürcher Bibel); the former interpretation implies a reference to all that Mary had seen, heard and experienced and is, therefore, wider in scope than the latter and as such preferable.

sunēterei ‘(she) treasured up’; as compared with the aorist tense in the preceding verse the imperfect tense here suggests that Mary kept her experiences in mind not for a moment but for a long time.

suntēreō ‘to keep carefully,’ ‘to treasure up in one’s memory.’

sumballousa en tē kardia autēs ‘pondering in her heart,’ scil. all these things; the object is to be taken over from sunetērei ‘she treasured up’; en tē kardia may go with sunetērei, or with sumballousa; because of the word order preferably the latter.

sumballō (also 14.31) transitive ‘to bring together,’ hence ‘to compare,’ ‘to interpret,’ or, in a more weakened sense, ‘to ponder.’

Translation:

Kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. In some receptor languages ‘to keep/to treasure,’ in the sense intended here, requires a reference to the place where the things are kept, whereas ‘to ponder’ can go without; hence such transposition of the locative phrase as ‘placed in her heart and considered’ (Tamil, Kannada), ‘she-put in her breath and … she-thought’ (Tboli, similarly in Tagalog). In other languages both verbs have to be qualified; hence a transposition of the object, e.g. ‘kept and pondered all these things in her heart’ (Bahasa Indonesia RC). — To keep, or, ‘to keep in the heart.’ A connotation of secrecy (which can slip in rather easily because of the esoteric tendencies of many religions) must be avoided. Ponder, or, ‘continually think-about’ (Tboli), ‘turn around in the mind’ (Batak Toba), a reiterative form of ‘think’ (several other Indonesian languages), ‘puzzle forth, puzzle back’ (Sranan Tongo).

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.