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OET (OET-LV) And it_became at the time him to_be_saying these things, a_certain woman from the crowd having_lifted_up a_voice, said to_him:
Blessed is the womb which having_borne you, and the_breasts which you_nursed.
OET (OET-RV) While Yeshua was teaching these things, a woman in the crowd shouted out, “Blessed is the mother who bore you and the one who raised you.”
A woman in the crowd was very impressed with the way Jesus had answered his critics in the previous section. So she pronounced a blessing on Jesus’ mother. By doing this, the woman was praising Jesus himself. Jesus replied that the people who were truly happy/blessed were those who listened to the word of God and obeyed it.
Some other possible headings for this section are:
People Who Are Truly Happy (NCV)
True Happiness (GNT)
This story occurs only in Luke.
As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said,
¶ While Jesus was teaching/saying this, there was a woman in the crowd of people. She called out to him,
¶ After Jesus said these things, a woman who was among the many people spoke loudly and said to him/Jesus,
As Jesus was saying these things: At some point during Jesus’ teaching, a woman called out. She probably waited until he paused and then called out. The Greek word that the BSB translates as these things is literally “this.” Several English versions, such as the GNT and NRSV, translate it that way. It refers in general to what Jesus had been talking about in the previous verses. Some other ways to translate this clause are:
When Jesus had said this (GNT)
While Jesus was speaking (GW)
a woman in the crowd: The phrase a woman in the crowd introduces a new person into the story. Introduce this unnamed woman in a natural way in your language. For example:
there was a woman in the crowd
a certain woman in the crowd
raised her voice and said: The Greek expression that the BSB translates literally as raised her voice and said indicates that the woman called out to Jesus. Apparently the woman was not close to Jesus and so she had to speak loudly in order for him to hear her. Some other ways to translate this are:
shouted (GW)
said loudly
Use an expression in your language that is appropriate for this situation.
“Blessed is the womb that bore You, and blessed are the breasts that nursed You!”
“God has truly blessed the woman who bore you(sing) and nursed you(sing) at her breasts!”
“Your(sing) mother is really fortunate/privileged/favored!”
Blessed is the womb that bore You, and blessed are the breasts that nursed You!: Some English versions translate more literally the Greek clause that the BSB translates as Blessed is the womb that bore You, and blessed are the breasts that nursed You. For example:
Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked! (RSV)
This is a figure of speech. The parts of the body (womb and breasts) that are mentioned here represent the whole person (Jesus’ mother). This is a poetic way of saying:
Blessed is your mother!
The woman who said this was making a statement. She was saying, “Your mother…is blessed.” She was not saying, “May God bless your mother.”
Blessed: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Blessed here refers to being in a good situation. Many English versions translate this as “happy.” In your translation, try to use an expression that refers to a fortunate situation rather than simply to a feeling of happiness. For example:
The woman who bore you and nursed you is truly fortunate/privileged!
God has really blessed the woman who gave birth to you and nursed you!
This word also occurred in 10:23b. See how you translated it there. See bless, Meaning 3, in the Glossary.
Note 1 topic: writing-newevent
ἐγένετο δὲ
˱it˲_became (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐγένετο Δέ ἐν τῷ λέγειν αὐτόν ταῦτα ἐπάρασα τὶς φωνήν γυνή ἐκ τοῦ ὄχλου εἶπεν αὐτῷ Μακαρία ἡ κοιλία ἡ βαστάσασα σέ καί μαστοί οὕς ἐθήλασας)
Luke uses this phrase to introduce a new event in the story. Use a word, phrase, or other method in your language that is natural for introducing a new event.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ἐπάρασά & φωνὴν & εἶπεν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐγένετο Δέ ἐν τῷ λέγειν αὐτόν ταῦτα ἐπάρασα τὶς φωνήν γυνή ἐκ τοῦ ὄχλου εἶπεν αὐτῷ Μακαρία ἡ κοιλία ἡ βαστάσασα σέ καί μαστοί οὕς ἐθήλασας)
The idiom lifting up her voice means that the woman spoke loudly. Alternate translation: [said in a loud voice]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / hendiadys
ἐπάρασά & φωνὴν & εἶπεν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐγένετο Δέ ἐν τῷ λέγειν αὐτόν ταῦτα ἐπάρασα τὶς φωνήν γυνή ἐκ τοῦ ὄχλου εἶπεν αὐτῷ Μακαρία ἡ κοιλία ἡ βαστάσασα σέ καί μαστοί οὕς ἐθήλασας)
The phrase lifting up her voice tells how the woman said what she did. If it would be helpful in your language, you could combine these two terms. Alternate translation: [shouted out]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche
μακαρία ἡ κοιλία ἡ βαστάσασά σε, καὶ μαστοὶ οὓς ἐθήλασας
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐγένετο Δέ ἐν τῷ λέγειν αὐτόν ταῦτα ἐπάρασα τὶς φωνήν γυνή ἐκ τοῦ ὄχλου εἶπεν αὐτῷ Μακαρία ἡ κοιλία ἡ βαστάσασα σέ καί μαστοί οὕς ἐθήλασας)
The woman who is shouting out to Jesus is using some of a woman’s body to refer to the whole woman. Alternate translation: [How good it is for the woman who gave birth to you and nursed you] or [How happy the woman must be who gave birth to you and nursed you]
μακαρία ἡ κοιλία ἡ βαστάσασά σε, καὶ μαστοὶ οὓς ἐθήλασας
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἐγένετο Δέ ἐν τῷ λέγειν αὐτόν ταῦτα ἐπάρασα τὶς φωνήν γυνή ἐκ τοῦ ὄχλου εἶπεν αὐτῷ Μακαρία ἡ κοιλία ἡ βαστάσασα σέ καί μαστοί οὕς ἐθήλασας)
While this woman is speaking about the mother of Jesus, she is actually pronouncing a blessing on him. Alternate translation: [I bless you, because this world is a better place because your mother brought you into it]
OET (OET-LV) And it_became at the time him to_be_saying these things, a_certain woman from the crowd having_lifted_up a_voice, said to_him:
Blessed is the womb which having_borne you, and the_breasts which you_nursed.
OET (OET-RV) While Yeshua was teaching these things, a woman in the crowd shouted out, “Blessed is the mother who bore you and the one who raised you.”
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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