OET interlinear MAT 7:6

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / infostructure

μὴ δῶτε τὸ ἅγιον τοῖς κυσίν, μηδὲ βάλητε τοὺς μαργαρίτας ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν χοίρων, μήποτε καταπατήσουσιν αὐτοὺς ἐν τοῖς ποσὶν αὐτῶν, καὶ στραφέντες ῥήξωσιν ὑμᾶς.

not ˱you_all˲_/may/_give the holy_‹thing› ˱to˲_the dogs nor ˱you_all˲_/may/_cast the pearls ˱of˲_you_all before the pigs lest ˱they˲_/will_be/_trampling them with the feet ˱of˲_them and /having_been/_turned ˱they˲_/may/_attack you_all

It is likely that Jesus speaks about dogs in the first and last clauses in this verse and about pigs in the middle two clauses. This was a poetic form in his culture. If your readers would not recognize this as poetry and misunderstand which animals Jesus is speaking about in the last two clauses, you could rearrange the clauses. Alternate translation: “You should not give the holy to the dogs. Otherwise, having turned, they will tear you to pieces. Nor should you throw your pearls in front of the pigs. Otherwise they will trample them under their feet”

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

μὴ δῶτε τὸ ἅγιον τοῖς κυσίν, μηδὲ βάλητε τοὺς μαργαρίτας ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν χοίρων, μήποτε καταπατήσουσιν αὐτοὺς ἐν τοῖς ποσὶν αὐτῶν, καὶ στραφέντες ῥήξωσιν ὑμᾶς

not ˱you_all˲_/may/_give the holy_‹thing› ˱to˲_the dogs nor ˱you_all˲_/may/_cast the pearls ˱of˲_you_all before the pigs lest ˱they˲_/will_be/_trampling them with the feet ˱of˲_them and /having_been/_turned ˱they˲_/may/_attack you_all

Here Jesus speaks of how his disciples should behave as if they were interacting with dogs, pearls, and pigs. See the chapter introduction for some possible interpretations of this figure of speech. You should express the idea in a way that allows for many interpretations. If it is necessary for you to indicate that Jesus is using a figure of speech here, you could introduce the verse with a form that usually introduces a saying or proverb. Alternate translation: “Think about what this means for your life: You should neither give the holy to the dogs, nor should you throw your pearls in front of the pigs. Otherwise they will trample them under their feet, and having turned, tear you to pieces”

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj

τὸ ἅγιον

the holy_‹thing›

Jesus is using the adjective holy as a noun to mean anything that is holy. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you could translate this word with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: “holy things”

Note 4 topic: translate-unknown

τοῖς κυσίν

˱to˲_the dogs

A dog is an animal that is considered to be unclean and disgusting by Jews and many cultures of the Ancient Near East. It would be very improper to give the holy to this kind of animal. If dogs are unfamiliar to your culture and you have a different animal that is considered unclean and disgusting, you could use the name of this animal instead.

Note 5 topic: translate-unknown

τοὺς μαργαρίτας

the pearls

The word pearls refers to beautiful and valuable mineral balls that people use as jewelry. If your readers would not be familiar with pearls, you could use the name of something similar in your area or you could use a more general term. Alternate translation: “jewelry” or “valuable beads”

Note 6 topic: writing-pronouns

καταπατήσουσιν αὐτοὺς ἐν τοῖς ποσὶν αὐτῶν, καὶ στραφέντες ῥήξωσιν ὑμᾶς

˱they˲_/will_be/_trampling them with the feet ˱of˲_them and /having_been/_turned ˱they˲_/may/_attack you_all

Here, the phrases they will trample and they will tear could refer to: (1) how the pigs trample and the dogs tear. Alternate translation: “the pigs will trample them under their feet, and having turned, the dogs will tear you to pieces” (2) how the pigs and the gods will together trample and tear. Alternate translation: “the pigs and dogs together will trample them under their feet, and having turned, they will tear you to pieces”

Note 7 topic: writing-pronouns

αὐτοὺς

them

Here, the word them refers to the pearls. If this is not clear for your readers, you could refer directly to pearls. Alternate translation: “the pearls”

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

στραφέντες

/having_been/_turned

Here, the phrase having turned indicates that the animals will stop paying attention to the holy things and pearls and start focusing on you. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this idea more explicit. Alternate translation: “turning to face you” or “focusing on you instead”