OET interlinear LUKE 23:34

23:34a–b

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”: There is a textual issue here. Some Greek manuscripts do not include 23:34a–b. However, all English versions include it.Most of these versions (NIV, GNT, ESV, NASB, NLT, CEV, GW, REB) include it without brackets. Only NRSV and NET use brackets. All the preceding versions include a footnote. BSB, RSV, KJV, and JBP do not use brackets or include a footnote. Most English versions also add a footnote. For example, the CEV has this note:

These words are not in some manuscripts. (CEV)

It is recommended that you include 23:34a–b in your translation. You may also want to include a footnote. In some languages it may be helpful to include your translation of 23:34a–b in the footnote. For example:

Some Greek manuscripts do not have the words, “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’”

23:34a

Then: In Greek, 23:34 begins with a conjunction that is often translated as “and” or “but.” The BSB translates this word as Then. It introduces what Jesus prayed when the soldiers crucified him. Connect these events in a way that is natural in your language.

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them…”: Here Jesus prayed for the people who crucified him. This may include the Roman soldiers, the Jewish people and the Roman leaders, and even the crowd in general. The word them does not refer back to the criminals who were crucified with him.

Some ways to indicate who Jesus referred to here are:

Jesus said, “Father, forgive these people!…” (CEV)

Jesus prayed for those who crucified him, saying, “Father, forgive them…”

Father: Here Jesus addressed God as Father. If it is not clear that Jesus was referring to God, you may need to make it explicit. For example:

Father God

In some languages, it may be more natural to supply a pronoun here. For example:

My Father

forgive them: The phrase forgive them is a prayer for God to forgive them for crucifying Jesus. In some languages it may be necessary to say what God should forgive. For example:

forgive them for what they are doing to me

forgive: Here the Greek word that the BSB translates as forgive means “pardon.” When someone pardons people who have sinned against him, he decides not to punish them or seek revenge against them. He also decides that he will not continue to be angry or resentful toward them.

Some possible ways to translate forgive are:

pardon

free…from the sin/punishment

forget/cancel…wrongdoing

The word was also used of God forgiving sins in 11:4. See how you translated it there.

23:34b

for they do not know what they are doing: This clause gives the reason that God should forgive the people who crucified Jesus. God should forgive them because they did not realize that they sinned by crucifying Jesus. They knew that they were crucifying him, but they did not know that it was a terrible sin. Another way to translate this reason is:

because they don’t know what they are doing (NCV)

know: In this context the word know means “understand, realize the meaning of” an action.Definition based on oida meaning 4, BDAG, p. 694. The people did not realize that they were crucifying the Son of God. Some other ways to translate know in this context are:

understand

realize

what they are doing: The clause what they are doing refers to the sin of crucifying Jesus. In some languages it may be necessary to make this more explicit. For example:

the sin that they are doing

23:34c

And: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as And introduces another event that happened after soldiers put Jesus on the cross. The event was not part of what Jesus said in 23:34b. Some other ways to introduce the event are:

Meanwhile (GW)

While the crowd stood there watching (CEV)

As for the soldiersKankanaey back translation on TW.

Introduce this event in a natural way in your language.

they divided up His garments by casting lots: The phrase they divided up His garments indicates that the soldiers did a certain action to decide who would get the different items of Jesus’ clothing. It does not imply that they tore his clothes into pieces and distributed the pieces among themselves.

The Romans had a custom that the soldiers who crucified a criminal had the right to take his clothes for themselves.Marshall (p. 868) says that “the executioners proceeded, according to custom…to divide out the clothes of Jesus among themselves by casting lots for them.” Jesus’ clothing probably included an outer robe, a tunic (a shirt worn under the robe), and perhaps also a belt and sandals. Jesus’ clothing included an outer robe, a tunic (a shirt worn under the robe), and probably also a belt and sandals. The soldiers decided which of them would get each piece of clothing by casting lots. See the next note for more information.

Some other ways to translate this part of the verse are:

they threw lots to decide who would get his clothes (NCV)

they drew lots for Jesus’ clothes in order to share them outKankanaey back translation on TW.

This action fulfilled the prophecy in Psalm 22:18. You made want to include a footnote or cross reference to this verse.

casting lots: The phrase casting lots tells what the soldiers did to decide which of them would take various items of clothing. They threw small objects, like dice, pebbles, or sticks, on the ground. Then they looked at the way these things fell. Casting lots was a custom that was used to make difficult decisions. It was a way to decide these things by chance. Another way to translate the phrase is:

throwing dice (GNT)

If you have a similar way to decide something by chance, consider using it here. If not, you may use a general expression. For example:

gambled for his clothes (CEV)

played a game of luck