vineyard

The Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that is translated as “vineyard” in English is translated in Noongar as boodjer-djildjiyang, lit. “land for fruit.” (Source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018).

complete verse (Matthew 21:28)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 21:28:

  • Uma: “Yesus continued his words to the leaders of the Yahudi religion, he said: ‘What is your opinion about this: there was a father, he had two children, both male. He went to the older, he said to him: ‘Son/Boy, today go work in the fields.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Isa told a parable, he said, ‘What do you say about this? A man had two sons. He said to the older one, ‘Toto, go today and work on our (incl.) land.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Jesus said again to them, ‘What do you think about this? There was a person who had two sons. He went to the oldest and he said, ‘Son, today you work in the vineyard.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then Jesus related this parable to them. He said, ‘What is your opinion about-this? There was a father who had two children who were males. On one occasion, he said to the older-brother, ‘My child, go work in the vineyard.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Jesus next said to them, ‘What is your perception of this illustration? There was a man who had two sons. He instructed the older boy, saying, ‘Son, work in our (incl.) ubas plantation today.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Jesus said to the people he was talking with: ‘What do you think of the word I will tell you now? A man has two sons. He says to one of his sons: ‘Listen, son, go to work in my field,’ he tells him.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

formal pronoun: Jesus addressing religious leaders

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 religious leaders with the formal pronoun, showing respect. Compare that with the typical address with the informal pronoun of the religious leaders.

The only two exceptions to this are Luke 7:40/43 and 10:26 where Jesus uses the informal pronoun as a response to the sycophantic use of the formal pronoun by the religious leaders (see formal pronoun: religious leaders addressing Jesus).

In most Dutch translations, the same distinctions are made, with the exception of Luke 10:26 where Jesus is using the formal pronoun. In Afrikaans and Western Frisian the informal pronoun is used throughout.

Translation commentary on Matthew 21:28

“Now” of Good News Translation represents either a translational equivalent of the Greek particle, translated “But” by New English Bible, or a transitional marker introduced for the sake of English readers, which is more probable. Barclay translates “What do you think?” but adds “Jesus went on,” which serves both as a transitional marker and as an indicator that Jesus is still speaking.

What do you think? translates the same question form used in 17.25 and 18.12, with the exception that in 17.25 “you” is singular (addressed to Simon Peter) as opposed to the plural “you” of 18.12 and this verse. The problem with a literal rendering of the question, as in most translations, is that it has no point of reference for the reader. One’s initial response to the question can well be “What do I think about what?” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch resolves this difficulty by rendering “What do you say to the following story?”

A man had two sons is literally “A man had two children.” Good News Translation uses “There was once…” (An American Translation, Phillips, Barclay, New International Version, New American Bible “There was…”), which is a normal pattern for introducing a story in English. This introductory formula leaves open the possibility that the story is true, whereas a formula such as “Once upon a time…” would indicate immediately that the story to follow is not true. In all probability this is a parable, but in translation one should not intentionally imply that the story has no basis in reality. On the other hand, in the telling of the story one should use an opening formula that is neutral.

As indicated above, the word sons actually means “children” (the same word used in the quotation in 2.18). However, when used in a context which specifically identifies the sex of the children as males (as the Greek does in verse 31), it is permissible to translate “sons.” There is no indication of the age of the sons, but the fact they were old enough to be asked to work in the fields indicates they were not small children.

“The older one” of Good News Translation (New American Bible “the elder”) is literally the first (so most translations). There is no way to decide whether “the first (verse 28) … the second (verse 30)” means “first one … then the other” or “the older … then the younger.” Good News Bible bases its interpretation on the assumption that in the Jewish culture a man would apparently have approached the older son first.

The noun Son is the singular form of the word translated sons in the first part of the verse. When used to address someone it was considered a term of endearment. For example, Jesus uses it when addressing the paralyzed man in 9.2. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch here translates “My son,” whereas in 9.2 the translators chose to leave it implicit.

Vineyard was discussed at 20.1. As there, the fact that the field in question is a vineyard is not essential to the story, and if the normal translation for the term results in an awkward sentence here, then a general form such as “farm” or “fields” is possible.

The command may need to be expressed with an indirect form, such as “asked the son to go and work in the vineyard that day.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .