complete verse (Luke 6:43)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 6:43:

  • Noongar: “A good tree does not bear bad fruit and a bad tree does not bear good fruit.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “‘There is not a good tree that gives bad fruit. so also there is not a bad tree that gives good fruit.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Isa said also, ‘A good tree does not bear fruit that is not good and a tree which is not good does not have good fruit.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Jesus said again, ‘The tree which has no disease, it’s fruit is good, and it will not give bad fruit. The tree that has a disease, its fruit is bad, and it does not bear good fruit.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Jesus also said, ‘The good tree, it doesn’t bear-bad -fruit, and neither does the bad tree bear-good -fruit.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “‘As for a good tree, of course it doesn’t bear bad fruit. And also a tree which is sick doesn’t bear good fruit.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 6:43

Exegesis:

ou gar estin dendron kalon poioun karpon sapron ‘for there is no good tree which bears rotten fruit,’ or, ‘a tree is not good when it bears rotten fruit,’ taking kalon as predicate. The former is preferable. gar expresses here continuation, not explanation.

sapros ‘rotten’ (here of rotten fruit and a rotten tree), or, somewhat more general, ‘bad.’

oude palin ‘nor, on the other hand.’ Several translations do not render palin (cf. e.g. Translator’s New Testament, An American Translation).

palin ‘again,’ here ‘in turn,’ ‘on the other hand.’

Translation:

Another possible change in the structure is, ‘a good tree does not bear bad fruit,’ etc. (cf. Good News Translation).

For good or bad trees bearing bad or good fruit.

To bear fruit (for which cf. 3.8) is used here in a literal sense, but the sentence as a whole has figurative meaning.

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.