woe (to you)

The Greek that is translated as “woe to you” or similar in English is translated in Martu Wangka as “you sit as sorry ones.”

hungry

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated in English as “hungry” is translated in Noongar as koborl-wirt or “without stomach” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang) and in the Kölsch translation (publ. 2017) it is often translated as nix zo Käue han or “have nothing to chew on” (note that zo Käue han or “something to chew on” is also used for “eat” — see Mark 6:37). (Source: Jost Zetzsche)

See also famished.

full, plenty

The Hebrew that is translated as “plenty” in English is translated in Low German with the alliteration in Hüll un Füll or “enough and to spare (i.e. abundant)” (translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1937, republ. 2006).

The same idiom is also used in Luke 6:25 for “full.”

See also in abundance.

complete verse (Luke 6:25)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 6:25:

  • Noongar: “It is awful for you people with plenty food now! You will be hungry! It is awful for you people laughing now! You will be sad and crying!” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “Disaster to you who are satisfied/full at this time, because you will be hungry. Disaster to you who are glad/joyful at this time, because you will be sad and weep.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “‘You are to be pitied who are satisfied now, for there is a time in the future when you will be hungry. ‘You are to be pitied who are now laughing, for there will be a time in the future you will have sorrow and will weep.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Pity you whose hunger is always satisfied now, because there will be a time in the future when you will be hungry. Pity you who rejoice now, because there will be a time in the future when you will be very sorrowful.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “‘Pitiful also are you who are satisfied now, because in the future you will be hungry. ‘Pitiful also are you who are smiling/laughing now, because in the future you will mourn and cry-bitterly.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Very hard is what is in store for you who have-all-you-want now, who have no awareness of being-in-need, for it really will come that you will be hungry, for hardship/suffering will come to you. Very hard is what is in store for you who give-priority-to happiness, who aren’t grieved about sin, because grief really will come to you and you will cry.” (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 6:25

Exegesis:

ouai humin, hoi empeplēsmenoi nun ‘woe to you, you who are filled now.’ For empiplēmi cf. on 1.53. Here the phrase refers to people who are “filled”, i.e. have all they want (cf. chortasthēsesthe in v. 21).

hoti peinasete ‘for (there will be a time when) you will be hungry.’

hoti penthēsete kai klausete ‘for (there will be a time when) you will mourn and weep.’

pentheō ‘to mourn’; as compared with klausete it is of a more general meaning.

Translation:

You that are full. The rendering may coincide with that of “satisfied” in v. 21. Sranan Tongo has here, ‘you whose goods pass the mark.’

Mourn and weep. The first verb primarily refers to ritualized, collective expressions of sorrow because a death has occurred; terms used may mean, ‘to sing-songs-for-the-dead’ (Batak Toba), ‘to emit loud cries’ (Shona 1963). Some versions prefer a less specific term, e.g. Toraja-Sa’dan (lit. ‘to cry “O mother!” ,’ which expresses terror, pain, fear), or simply, ‘to be sad-in-heart’ (Tzeltal, similarly Cuyono, Shona 1966, Sranan Tongo, Sundanese, Tboli). The second verb refers to the shedding of tears as a more private and personal expression of grief. Together the two verbs indicate intense grief, which in Laka can be expressed by the phrase ‘my soul is seeking me.’

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.