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OET (OET-LV) And answering he_was_saying to_them:
The one having two tunics, let_share to_the one not having, and the one having foods, likewise let_be_doing.
OET (OET-RV) “If you’ve got two jackets, give one to someone who doesn’t have one,” he replied, “and similarly if you’ve got food.”
The last event in Luke 2 describes Jesus’ trip to Jerusalem when he was twelve years old. This section begins about eighteen years later. At the beginning of chapter 3, both Jesus and John the Baptizer were about thirty years old. Both men were ready to begin public ministry.
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some other possible headings for this section are:
The Preaching of John (NCV)
John the Baptist and Jesus (REB)
John the Baptizer tells people to prepare themselves for the Messiah
Parts of Luke 3:1–20 are basically the same as verses in Matthew 3:1–12. But Luke 3:1–2, 10–14, and 19–20 are not in Matthew.
In 3:10–14, three groups of people asked John the same question. They asked him what they should do. The three groups are:
the crowd (3:10);
tax collectors (3:12);
soldiers (3:14).
John replied, “Whoever has two tunics should share with him who has none,
John answered them, “Whoever has two shirts should give one to someone who has no shirt.
John said to them, “If you(plur) have two shirts, you should give one to someone who does not have even one shirt..
John told them that if they had two tunics, they should give one to someone who did not have one.
John replied: John answered the crowd.
Whoever has two tunics should share with him who has none: John meant that a person who had two tunics should give one of them to someone who does not have any tunic. John did not imply that the two people should share the tunics and wear them at different times. Another way to translate this is:
The man who has two tunics should give one of them to a man who has none.
Whoever has two tunics: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as Whoever has two tunics is more literally “the (one/person) having two tunics.” It can refer to any person, either male or female. Some other ways to translate this are:
Whoever has two shirts (GW)
If you have two shirts (NLT)
tunics: The word tunics describes an item of clothing that both men and women wore next to the skin. The closest modern English word may be “shirt.” Use a word in your language that refers to a basic item of clothing that everyone needs.
him who has none: The phrase him who has none refers to anyone who does not have a tunic. Another way to say this is:
a person who does not have even one tunic
and whoever has food should do the same.”
And whoever has food should share it with someone who has none.”
If you(plur) have enough food, you should give some of it to a person who does not have enough.”
He also said that if they had food, they should give some of it to a person who did not have any.
In some languages, it may be more natural to start a new sentence here. For example:
If you have food
Whoever has food (GW)
and whoever has food: The phrase whoever has food means “anyone who has food.” The phrase is parallel to “whoever has two tunics” in the previous verse. This suggests that John was talking about anyone who had more food than one person needed.
Other ways to translate this are:
If you have extra food (LB)
and the person who has food
and anyone with something to eat (NJB)
should do the same: The phrase should do the same refers to giving something to someone in need, as the person with two tunics did. That is, the person who has more food than he needs should give food to the person who does not have enough food.
Other ways to say this are:
should share his food with a person who has none
should give some of it away to a hungry person
The people had asked John what they should do. Therefore it may be natural for John to answer them using a plural form such as “you.” For example:
11aIf you(plur) have two tunics, you(plur) should give one of them to someone who does not have one. 11bIf you(plur) have more than enough food, you should give some of that away too.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / hendiadys
ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀποκριθείς Δέ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς Ὁ ἔχων δύο χιτῶνας μεταδότω τῷ μή ἔχοντι καί ὁ ἔχων βρώματα ὁμοίως ποιείτω)
Together the words answering and said mean that John responded to the question that the crowds asked. Alternate translation: [So he responded to them]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ὁ ἔχων βρώματα, ὁμοίως ποιείτω
the_‹one› having foods likewise ˓let_be˒_doing
The implication is that anyone who has extra food should share it, just as a person with an extra tunic should share that. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: [if anyone has extra food, he should share that as well]
3:11 two shirts: The Greek word refers to a long shirt worn next to the skin. Even the smallest surplus should be shared with others in need.
OET (OET-LV) And answering he_was_saying to_them:
The one having two tunics, let_share to_the one not having, and the one having foods, likewise let_be_doing.
OET (OET-RV) “If you’ve got two jackets, give one to someone who doesn’t have one,” he replied, “and similarly if you’ve got food.”
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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