OET interlinear LUKE 20:17

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: translate-symaction

ὁ δὲ ἐμβλέψας αὐτοῖς εἶπεν

he but /having/_focused_in ˱on˲_them said

Jesus looked at the people to hold them accountable for understanding what he was saying. Alternate translation: “But Jesus looked straight at them and said”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes

τί οὖν ἐστιν τὸ γεγραμμένον τοῦτο, λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας

what therefore is the_‹word› /having_been/_written this /the/_stone which rejected the_‹ones› building this /was/_become for /the/_head ˱of˲_/the/_corner

If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: “What then does Scripture mean when it says that a stone that the builders rejected became the cornerstone”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

τί οὖν ἐστιν τὸ γεγραμμένον τοῦτο, λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας?

what therefore is the_‹word› /having_been/_written this /the/_stone which rejected the_‹ones› building this /was/_become for /the/_head ˱of˲_/the/_corner

Jesus does not expect the people to explain the meaning of the scripture he is quoting. Rather, he is using the question form to get them to consider its implications carefully. Alternate translation: “Think carefully about what this scripture is saying: ‘A stone that the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner’!”

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

τὸ γεγραμμένον τοῦτο

the_‹word› /having_been/_written this

If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this passive verbal form with a noun. Alternate translation: “this scripture”

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, οὗτος ἐγενήθη εἰς κεφαλὴν γωνίας

/the/_stone which rejected the_‹ones› building this /was/_become for /the/_head ˱of˲_/the/_corner

This is a quotation from Psalm 118, and it is a metaphor. It refers to the Messiah as if he were a stone that builders chose not to use. This means that people will reject him. When the psalm says that this stone became the cornerstone, this means that God will nevertheless make the Messiah the ruler of these people. However, since this is a quotation from Scripture, translate the words directly rather than providing a plain explanation of them, even if your language does not customarily use such figures of speech. If you want to explain the meaning of the metaphor, we recommend that you do that in a footnote rather than in the Bible text.

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες

/the/_stone which rejected the_‹ones› building

The psalm refers implicitly to the way people in this culture used stones to build the walls of houses and other buildings. Alternate translation: “A stone that the builders thought was not good enough to use for building”

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

κεφαλὴν γωνίας

/the/_head ˱of˲_/the/_corner

The phrase the head of the corner is an idiom that refers to a large stone with straight edges that builders would place down first and use as a reference to make sure that the walls of a stone building were straight and that the building was oriented in the right direction. Your language may have its own term for such a stone. You could also use a general expression. Alternate translation: “the cornerstone” or “the reference stone for the whole building”