complete verse (Luke 8:18)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 8:18:

  • Noongar: “‘Then you must not be careless of the things you hear, because people who have something, they will be given more, but people who have nothing, their little things they think they have, everything will be taken away.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “‘That is why I say, be careful how you hear the Word of God. Because people who receive the Word of God, their hearts are made-clear so that they know more-and-more. But people who do not want to receive the Word of god, even though there is a little that they know, it will just be taken-from-them.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Therefore listen well. For anybody who can understand he will be given so that he can understand more. But whoever does not understand, even the little bit that he mistakenly-thinks he can understand will be taken away from him.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Therefore, carefully listen to what I teach, because the person who accepts what God causes him to understand, God will add to his understanding. But the person who will not receive what God causes him to understand, that which he thought he already understood will be taken away from him.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Be-diligent then in listening to what I am saying, because the person who heeds what he hears, his understanding will be added to, but the one who does not heed, even the little that he thinks he has understood will cease-to-exist.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Therefore listen carefully. Because as for the person who tries-to-understand what he hears from me, God will increase his understanding/wisdom until his knowledge is plentiful. But as for that one who doesn’t try-to-understand this which he has heard, God will remove even what he thought-mistakenly that he’d understood, so that it won’t amount to anything.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 8:18

Exegesis:

blepete oun pōs akouete ‘take care, then, how you listen.’ oun characterizes the clause as an inference from the preceding. For blepō meaning (to take care).

hos an gar echē, dothēsetai autō ‘for (he) who has, to him will be given,’ referring either to faith (pisteusantes, v. 12; pisteuousin, v. 13), or, to the bearing of fruit (karpophorousin, v. 15), preferably the former. The agent of dothēsetai is God.

hos an mē echē, kai ho dokei echein arthēsetai ap’ autou ‘(he) who has not, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.’ For airō cf. on 6.29f.

dokeō ‘to believe,’ ‘to think’ (of subjective opinion), ‘to seem.’

Translation:

Take heed then how you hear, or, ‘look to the manner you hear the word’ (Sranan Tongo). For take heed.

To him who has will more be given, or, ‘he who has (some), he shall receive (or, to him God shall give) more (than that).’ Comparable changes will then be necessary in the next clause, using e.g. ‘lose’ or ‘forfeit’ (cf. Phillips, New English Bible), as the opposite of ‘receive.’

What he thinks he has, avoiding the paradoxical wording Mark has. Other possible renderings are, ‘the things he supposed to be his’ (Bahasa Indonesia), ‘even what he called (or, said to be) his possessions’ (cf. Toraja-Sa’dan). For to think cf. on “to suppose” in 2.44.

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.