Luke 9:48

in the name of, on the account of his (or: my) name

Some of the Hebrew and Greek phrases that are translated in English in association with “name,” including “in the name of,” “in my name,” “in your name,” “on the account of my name,” “on the account of your name” (according to a classification by Robert Bratcher in The Bible Translator 1963, p. 72ff. , phrases that belong to the categories of “Agency or instrumentality” and “Representation”) present a number of challenges in other languages.

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Eugene Nida (1947, p 178ff.) explains this way:

“The biblical attitudes toward human personality are of great theological importance. There is, however, only one word which produces any considerable difficulty in other languages. This is the word ‘name.’ The great difference attached to the significance of the name of a person in the Bible times in contrast with our own culture is very important. Note such phrases as ‘whatsoever ye shall ask in my name,’ John 14:13, ‘believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God,’ John 3:18, and ‘life through his name,’ John 20:31. These expressions are generally difficult for us to understand, for the word ‘name’ does not mean the same to us as it meant to those of Bible times. To them the name was the symbolization of the authority and personality of the individual who possessed the name. To us a name is far less important. It may be changed whenever one can convince a judge that another name might be more economically advantageous. The name is also a legal method of giving one’s written assent to certain business transactions, but to us it is not the symbol of the personality.”

The translation in Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl typically is “in someone’s authority” (for instance “I have come in my Father’s name” in John 5:43 becomes “I have come on my Father’s authority”) (source Nida 1947, p. 179), or in Highland Puebla Nahuatl with the more paraphrastic equivalent “as though on orders from you” or in Tzeltal as “by your authority, so he said” (both examples for Mark 9:38 and 39, see Bratcher / Nida).

In Guhu-Samane, Mark 11:9 (in English: “Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord”) is translated as “Blessed is the Lord’s namesake who comes.” “In the name of the Lord” caused “puzzlement [because] “has he just assumed the name of the Lord, valid or otherwise? [But] with ‘blessed is the Lord’s namesake who comes’ the strong bond between the namesake and the important ancestor for whom named entitles the namesake to the deference due the ancestor. Thought very proper in this context.” (Source: Ernest L. Richert in Notes on Translation December 1963: p. 4-7; reprinted in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 198ff. )

Barclay Newman (see The Bible Translator 1974, pp, 432ff. ) reports on different solutions for the translation of the Today’s Malay Version (Alkitab Berita Baik, 1987):

In Malay “the phrase ‘in my name’ is problematic (…) since it sounds like the use of magic. For this reason [the English] Today’s English Version (Good News Bible) was followed at such passages as John 5:43 and 10:25, where ‘in the name of my Father’ is translated as ‘with my Father’s authority’ and ‘by my Father’s authority’ [respectively]. In John 12:13 ‘in the name of the Lord’ has become ‘in his (the Lord’s) behalf,’ following the common language German translation Die Gute Nachricht. In John 14:13, ‘because you are my followers’ is used, in John in 15:16, 16:23 and 24 ‘as my followers,’ in John 17:11 ‘by your own power, the power you gave me,’ and in John 14:26 ‘in my place.'”

Other translations for “in the name of Jesus Christ” include “in the authority of Jesus Christ” (Isthmus Mixe), “calling on Jesus Christ” (Teutila Cuicatec), “calling the name of Jesus Christ over you” (Ayutla Mixtec), “because of Jesus” (Tepeuxila Cuicatec), “by the power of the name of Jesus Christ” (Chichimeca-Jonaz), or “the word of Jesus Christ is strong” (Lalana Chinantec). (source for this and above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.).

he who, whoever

The Greek that is typically translated with a generic expressions such as “he who,” “whoever,” or “if anyone” in English is translated with the plural form (“they”) in Daga. “A literal translation of these conveys the idea that one specific unnamed individual is being dis cussed. Thus, for instance, in John 5:24 ‘he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has eternal life’ meant in Daga that there was one fortunate individual to whom it applied.”

complete verse (Luke 9:48)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 9:48:

Noongar: “and said to them, ‘A person who greets this child in my name, greets me; and the person who greets me, also greets the one who sent me. So the smallest person among you, he is greater than you all.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “and he said to them: ‘Whoever receives this small child because of his belief in Me, its meaning, I am the one whom he receives. And whoever receives me, he also receives the Lord God who sent me. Whoever of you is humble [lit, makes-low his life], he is the one whose life is really big.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Then he said to them, ‘If there is a person and because of his trust in me he treats-according-to-custom/honors a small child like this one, it is I whom he is honoring. And if someone honors me, he also honors God, the one who sent me to the world. Whoever of you has the most lowly liver, he is the very greatest.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “and he said, ‘A person who, because of his belief in me, accepts and treats very well this small child, he has accepted me also. And anyone who accepts me has accepted also my father, God, who sent me. For anyone of you who submits himself to his companions, he is the one who is really greater among you.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Then he said to them, ‘Whoever receives/accepts a child like this because of his faith in me, I am the one he has received, and the one who receives me, he has also received the one who sent me. Therefore the lowest one among you, he is the highest.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And he said to them, ‘Whoever will receive this child because of his belief-in/obeying-of me, I am the one he is receiving. And the one who receives me, it isn’t only I whom he is receiving but on the contrary, including my Father who sent me. Because the one who is the most insignificant of you all, he really is the greatest/most-important.'” (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 9:48

Exegesis:

hos an dexētai touto to paidion epi tō onomati mou ‘whoever receives this child on account of me.’ dechomai probably is used here because of what follows where dechomai is appropriate (see below). For epi tō onomati mou. Here the rendering ‘on my account’ appears to fit the context best.

eme dechetai ‘receives me.’ eme is emphatic.

kai hos an eme dexētai dechetai ton aposteilanta ‘and whoever receives me, receives him who has sent me.’ eme is repeated from the preceding clause. dechomai is used here in the sense of ‘acknowledge’ or ‘obey,’ cf. v. 5. For apostellō cf. on 1.19.

ho gar mikroteros en pasin humin huparchōn lit. ‘for he who is the least among you all.’ For huparchō cf. on 7.25. mikroteros has superlative force and is used metaphorically.

houtos estin megas ‘he is (really) great’; houtos is emphatic. For megas cf. on 1.15.

Translation:

Receives (4X), cf. on 9.5. Tzeltal uses an expression meaning ‘to take into account,’ ‘to consider important’ in all four occurrences.

This child, here, of course as an example of its kind, ‘a little-one like this’ (Toraja-Sa’dan).

In my name, or, ‘because of my name (or, of me); or a descriptive phrase, such as, ‘because he obeys me,’ ‘because he is a follower of mine.’

Least, the direct opposite of “the greatest” in v. 46; hence, ‘(the) least important,’ ‘(the one) most to the back,’ ‘the one who has little power’ (Kekchi).

Great here refers to a deeper, spiritual reality; hence, “really great” (An American Translation, similarly Tae’ 1933), ‘the one who really has great power’ (Kekchi), ‘what-you-call great’ (Batak Toba). Several versions (e.g. New English Bible, Translator’s New Testament, Bahasa Indonesia RC) use the superlative, because the qualification refers to one out of many.

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.

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Verse: Luke 9:48