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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
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OET (OET-LV) of_whom the winnowing_fork is in the hand of_him to_clear_out the threshing_floor of_him, and to_gather_together the wheat into the barn of_him, and he_will_be_burning_up the the_chaff with_ inextinguishable _fire.
OET (OET-RV) He’ll hold the winnowing fork so he can clear out the threshing floor, gathering the wheat into his barn and burning up the chaff with a fire that never goes out.”
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.
The people who listened to John began to think that John himself might be the Christ/Messiah. But John made it clear that the Messiah was a different person who would come after him. The Messiah would have much greater authority and power than John had.
In this verse, John illustrated the actions of the Christ by talking about a farmer harvesting his grain. After farmers harvested grain in that culture, they “threshed” it by dragging or rolling something heavy over the grain. This caused the seeds to separate from the stalk and the husks.
Then the farmer “winnowed” the grain by using a large fork to throw the whole grain into the air. The wind would blow away the lightweight straw and husks so that only the grain seed was left. The farmer would then put the grain seed into bags. He gathered the straw and husks to burn them.
John used threshing and winnowing as metaphors to describe how the Christ would separate people who repented from people who did not repent. If the meaning of this metaphor is not clear in your language, you may need to use a simile. For example:
He is like a farmer who is already holding his winnowing fork to separate the chaff from the wheat and then clean up his threshing area. He will separate people who repent from other people, and he will value them like the wheat a farmer gathers into his barn. But he will punish the other people with never-ending fire like a farmer burns up the useless husks of the grain.
His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor
He is holding a winnowing fork, ready to clear/clean out his threshing floor
He has picked up his thing/implement for separating grain from straw, and is ready to clear the place where he threshes the grain.
He is ready to separate people who have repented from others, like a man separates wheat seeds from the useless husks and straw.
His winnowing fork is in His hand: This part of the verse describes a person who is about to winnow grain. When he has his winnowing fork in his hand, he is ready to begin to winnow the grain. In this context, this illustration is a metaphor. It indicates that the Christ was ready to act quickly. Other ways to translate this are:
He is like a farmer holding a winnowing fork
He has picked up his winnowing fork and is ready
winnowing fork: The Greek word that the BSB translates as winnowing fork refers to a big implement that looks something like a fork. People used it to throw grain into the air so that the wind would separate the grain from the chaff that is useless as food. The winnowing fork represents the Messiah’s authority to separate people who repent from those who refuse to repent.
If people in your area are not familiar with a winnowing fork, you can describe the action of winnowing and not mention the instrument. For example:
He is ready to separate the grain from the chaff
to clear His threshing floor: There are two ways to interpret the Greek phrase that the BSB translates as to clear His threshing floor:
It means to clear/clean the threshing floor. For example:
to clean out his threshing floor (NET) (BSB, NIV, REB, KJV, NASB, NJB, NET, GW, NLT)
It means to thresh out all the grain. For example:
he is ready to separate the wheat from the husks (CEV) (GNT, CEV, NCV)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). The farmer would clear/clean his threshing floor by letting the wind blow the chaff to the side and then gathering and storing the grain. The chaff would then be gathered and burned.
threshing floor: A threshing floor was a flat area outdoors where the grains of wheat were separated from the chaff.
and to gather the wheat into His barn;
and collect the grain/wheat into his barn/granary.
He will be like a man who saves/puts the wheat into his storehouse,
gather the wheat into His barn: The farmer put the grain in a safe place where he stored it. This represents the Christ/Messiah saving people who believe in him.
wheat: The word wheat refers to a certain type of grain plant and to the grain that the plant produces. Wheat plants have a stalk. On top of the stalk there are clusters of seeds, which are the wheat grains.
In some areas wheat may not be known. If that is true in your area, other ways to translate it are:
Use a more general term. For example:
grain
Use a different type of grain that is grown in your area and is similar to wheat. For example:
barley
You may want to include a footnote in your translation to give information about wheat.
His barn: The Greek word that the BSB translates as barn refers to a storage area for grain. It can also be translated as:
storehouse (NET)
granary (NRSV)
but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
But the useless chaff/husks/straw he will destroy/burn in the fire that never ends.”
but throws the wheat husks and straw into a fire to burn. No one can put out the fire that he will kindle/use.”
He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire: The chaff was the husk and the stalk (or straw). A farmer burned the chaff because it was not good to eat. This illustrates the fact that the Christ will punish those who do not repent. The unquenchable fire is a fire that people cannot put out and that never stops burning. The fire that a farmer uses to burn chaff does not burn forever, but the unquenchable fire represents eternal punishment for people who do not repent.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
οὗ τὸ πτύον ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ
˱of˲_whom (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὗ τό πτύον ἐν τῇ χειρί αὐτοῦ διακαθᾶραι τήν ἅλωνα αὐτοῦ καί συναγαγεῖν τόν σῖτον εἰς τήν ἀποθήκην αὐτοῦ τό δέ ἄχυρον κατακαύσει πυρί ἀσβέστῳ)
John is saying that the Messiah will come prepared to judge people right away. You could express this metaphor as a simile in your translation. It may be helpful to begin a new sentence here in your translation. Alternate translation: [He will already be prepared to judge people, just like a farmer who is ready to thresh grain]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
οὗ τὸ πτύον ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ
˱of˲_whom (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὗ τό πτύον ἐν τῇ χειρί αὐτοῦ διακαθᾶραι τήν ἅλωνα αὐτοῦ καί συναγαγεῖν τόν σῖτον εἰς τήν ἀποθήκην αὐτοῦ τό δέ ἄχυρον κατακαύσει πυρί ἀσβέστῳ)
The phrase in his hand is an idiom that means he has the tool all ready to use. Alternate translation: [He has his winnowing fork ready to use]
Note 3 topic: translate-unknown
πτύον
winnowing_fork_‹is›
This is a tool for tossing wheat into the air to separate the wheat grain from the chaff. The heavier grain falls back down, and the wind blows away the unwanted chaff. This tool is similar to a pitchfork. If you have a similar tool in your culture, you could use the word for it here. Otherwise, you could use a phrase that would express the meaning. Alternate translation: [tool for threshing grain]
Note 4 topic: translate-unknown
διακαθᾶραι τὴν ἅλωνα αὐτοῦ
˓to˒_clear_out (Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὗ τό πτύον ἐν τῇ χειρί αὐτοῦ διακαθᾶραι τήν ἅλωνα αὐτοῦ καί συναγαγεῖν τόν σῖτον εἰς τήν ἀποθήκην αὐτοῦ τό δέ ἄχυρον κατακαύσει πυρί ἀσβέστῳ)
The threshing floor was the place where wheat was stacked in preparation for threshing. To clear off the floor is to finish threshing all the grain. Alternate translation: [to completely thresh all of his grain]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / exmetaphor
καὶ συναγαγεῖν τὸν σῖτον εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην αὐτοῦ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὗ τό πτύον ἐν τῇ χειρί αὐτοῦ διακαθᾶραι τήν ἅλωνα αὐτοῦ καί συναγαγεῖν τόν σῖτον εἰς τήν ἀποθήκην αὐτοῦ τό δέ ἄχυρον κατακαύσει πυρί ἀσβέστῳ)
John continues to speak to describe how the coming Messiah will judge people. The wheat is the part of the crop that is useful. It represents people who are obedient to God, who will be welcomed into his presence. You could express this metaphor as a simile in your translation. It may be helpful to begin a new sentence here. Alternate translation: [He will welcome those who are obedient to God, just as a farmer stores good grain in his barn]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / exmetaphor
τὸ δὲ ἄχυρον κατακαύσει πυρὶ ἀσβέστῳ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: οὗ τό πτύον ἐν τῇ χειρί αὐτοῦ διακαθᾶραι τήν ἅλωνα αὐτοῦ καί συναγαγεῖν τόν σῖτον εἰς τήν ἀποθήκην αὐτοῦ τό δέ ἄχυρον κατακαύσει πυρί ἀσβέστῳ)
John continues to speak to describe how the coming Messiah will judge people. The chaff is the husk that surrounds the grain. It is not useful for anything, so people burn it up. You could express this metaphor as a simile in your translation. Alternate translation: [but he will punish those who are disobedient to God, just as a farmer burns up the useless chaff]
3:17 After being harvested, the kernels of wheat would be beaten off the stalks and then tossed in the air with a winnowing fork to separate them from the chaff. The heavy grain would fall to the ground as the lighter chaff blew away. This is an image of separation for judgment.
• never-ending fire: See Isa 66:24.
OET (OET-LV) of_whom the winnowing_fork is in the hand of_him to_clear_out the threshing_floor of_him, and to_gather_together the wheat into the barn of_him, and he_will_be_burning_up the the_chaff with_ inextinguishable _fire.
OET (OET-RV) He’ll hold the winnowing fork so he can clear out the threshing floor, gathering the wheat into his barn and burning up the chaff with a fire that never goes out.”
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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