Lectionary Year C
August 12, 2001
Luke 12:32-40
Initial Acquaintance/Rough Translation
Step I - (Initial) Acquaintance
A. Comparing Translations
(JFC) The New American Bible, the New English Bible and the Revised Standard Version differ in their translations somewhat:
33 Sell your belongings and give alms - NAB
Sell your possessions and give to the poor - NEB and RSV
money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, - NAB
Provide yourselves purses that do not wear out, - NET
provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, - RSV
an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy. - NAB
a treasure in heaven that never decreases, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. - NET
with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. - RSV
35 Gird your loins and light your lamps - NAB
Get dressed for service and keep your lamps burning; - NET
"Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning, - RSV
36 and be like servants - NAB
be like men - NET
and be like men - RSV
return from a wedding, - NAB
to come back from a wedding celebration, - NET
to come home from a marriage feast, - RSV
ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. - NAB
so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. - NET
so that they may open to him at once when he comes and knocks. - RSV
B. Textual Criticism
(JFC) 32 D, Codex Bezae, inserts en autw between o[ti and euvdo,khsen, which would make the sentence longer and unnecessarily so. To add such a designation is merely to express what is understood without having to be written, copied, etc. Ergo, I reject it.
35 Codex Bezae replaces Estwsan u`mw/n ai` ovsfu,ej periezwsme,nai, with estw u`mw/n h ovsfu,j periezwsme,nh. Granted, in English, the tenses and voices seem awkward, at first reading. A third person singular present imperative for a plural? That alteration makes it even more questionable. And, for the h, how does that make any sense? And, then, the periezwsme,nh, a feminine singular participle for a plural, when all the other numbers in these verses are plurals? So, these variants seem hardly less awkward, again, at first sight. Will they clear up as we study further? We'll see.
37 a* omits kai. parelqw.n diakonh,sei auvtoi/j. Such an omission would make the verse shorter, to be sure, and the picture these words paint could go unmissed to complete the scene. However, the weight of the evidence is too scant to do away with them. Furthermore, the image conjured by these descriptive words, commonly found in these records, paints too dynamic a picture to leave them out.
38 Codex Bezae and several other witnesses replace ka'n evn th/| deute,ra| ka'n evn th/| tri,th| fulakh/| e;lqh| kai. eu[rh| ou[twj, with kai ean elqh th esperinhg qulakh kai eurhsei outwj poihsei kai ean en th deutera kai th trith. Such changes in terms seem too strange to determine which is original. Could either be so and not matter which? Then, several Uncials and a majority of other manuscripts replace evkei/noi, with oi douloi ekei/noi. a* omits, apparently, the entire phrase and Papyrus 75 and several others retain the text as received. So, let's keep it short, and turn down the variations.
39 The Matthean parallel replaces ouvk a'n, with egrhgorhsen an (-a1) kai ouk. Papyrus 75 and a* and others, including Marcion, retain the text as printed. The "waking up" element seems forced and/or foreign to Luke, so, let's leave it brief as received.
40 Between u`mei/j and gi,nesqe, several Uncials and a majority of others add oun. So do I, although Papyrus and other reliables retain the Textus Receptus. It seems to be needed here for emphasis' sake.
C. Rough Translation
(JFC) 32 Fear not, the little flock (of disciples, from verse 22), for was pleased the father of yours to give to you the kingdom.
33 Sell the possessions of yours and give a donation; make for yourselves money bags not to get obsolete, a treasure box inexhaustible in the heavens, wherever a thief does not approach nor a moth destroys; 34 wherever for is the treasury of yours (pl), there also the heart of yours (pl) will be.
35 They are to be (3rd person plural present active imperative) on you (pl) the waist-belt girded (perfect passive participle plural) and the lamps lighted; 36 and you resembling men expecting the lord himself when he departed from the wedding feast, he came and knocked immediately they opened unto him. 37 Blessed the servants those when appeared the lord shall find (them) being watchful; verily/amen I say unto you that he shall gird about and cause to sit down them and having come near he will minister unto them. 38 Whether in the second or in the third watch he came and found in this way, are they these. 39 But this you are coming to know or to come to know (present active indicative or imperative) that the master of the house what hour the thief would be coming, not did he abandon a thief the house of his. 40 And you now be ready, that the hour not do you know the son of man appears.
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