complete verse (Luke 22:10)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 22:10:

  • Noongar: “Jesus said, ‘Go into the city. A man carrying a jar of water, he will come to you. When he goes into a house, follow him,” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “He said to them: ‘When you enter into the town, you will meet with a man who is carrying a water-fetching-container after fetching-water. Follow him coming to the house he enters.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “He said to them, ‘When you have entered the town, you will meet a person carrying an earthenware-jar with water. Follow him to the house where he enters,” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Jesus answered, ‘When you arrive in the town, you will meet a man carrying a jar filled with water. Follow him to the house that he enters.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then he said, ‘Go to the city. When you arrive there, you will meet a man who has gone to fetch-water. Follow him to the house he enters,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “‘Like this is what you are to do,’ said Jesus, ‘go to the city. When you arrive there, you’ll see a man shouldering a water-drawing jar. Follow him to the house where he will go.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

formal pronoun: Jesus addressing his disciples and common people

Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.

As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff.), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.

Here, Jesus is addressing his disciples, individuals and/or crowds with the formal pronoun, showing respect.

In most Dutch translations, Jesus addresses his disciples and common people with the informal pronoun, whereas they address him with the formal form.

Translation commentary on Luke 22:10

Exegesis:

idou lit. ‘behold’ (cf. on 1.20), here calling their attention to what follows, hence ‘listen.’

eiselthontōn humōn eis tēn polin sunantēsei humin anthrōpos ‘when you have entered the city a man will meet you.’ sunantēsei does not imply that the man would come with the purpose of meeting them and the intention of the Greek text is better brought out by rendering ‘you will meet’ or ‘you will find.’ sunantaō also 9.37.

keramion hudatos bastazōn ‘carrying a jug/jar of water,’ i.e. filled with water. keramion.

akolouthēsate autō eis tēn oikian eis hēn eisporeuetai ‘go after him into the house into which he goes,’ or, ‘which he enters.’

Translation:

If the manner of carrying has to be specified, as is often the case, one should conform to what is normal in the receptor culture, e.g. ‘carry-on-the-shoulder’ (Tae’), ‘carry-on-the-head’ (Uab Meto), ‘carry-on-the-back’ (Tzeltal). Ekari, not specifying how the water was carried, has, ‘a person who has gone to fetch water.’

Jar. The Medumba rendering refers to a gourd serving as water-vessel, elsewhere this may be a bamboo tube. Some languages use an instrumental noun derived from ‘to fetch-water’ (Tae,’ Batak Toba), or simply say, ‘place-of water’ (Trukese).

Meet. The non-purposive meaning the verb has here is in some languages rendered by a reciprocal expression, e.g. ‘will come-to-each-other you and a man…’ (Tae’).

Follow him into the house which he enters, or, ‘go along with him and enter the house which he enters.’

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.