Luke 9:44-45: “Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of Man shall be delivered into the hands of men.  But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying”

Most of your modern translations will render the phrase “Let these sayings sink down into your ears” as “Listen carefully.”  But if the disciples did not understand it, I doubt that this saying was that simple. Was it some hidden message? Actually it is not the saying let these sayings sink down into your ears that the disciples did not understand but it was the idea of the Son of Man being delivered into the hands of men that they did ot understand.  I quoted from KJV above as the translators of the KJV merely translated this from the Greek word- for-word.  As a result these words are so un-English that it is almost comical.

This is a classic illustration of the difference between 20^th – 21^st Century translations and earlier translations.   Today we use what is known as dynamic translation, which is attempting to give the sense of the original rather than a word-for-word translation.  When the Greek translator translated the original words of  Jesus, which were originally spoken in Aramaic, he was employing a traditional method of translation, ie., word for word.  Almost 1600 years later, the translators commissioned by King James, still using the word for word method, translated the same expression from Greek into English; and thus it was that a beautiful Hebrew and Aramaic idiom was perpetuated in our English translations.

One of the most common questions I am asked is “which is the best translation.” My usual answer is that they are all good translations, but you just have to realize each translation  has a slightly different spin reflecting the translator’s own world view of God.  This is good, because God is an infinite God who has a personal relationship with each one of us and He has infinite ways of relating to each one of us.  A parent may have twelve children but each child is different, an individual and thus that parent will related to each child a little differently to reflect that uniqueness of the child. Some many need constant holding some are satisfied with a quick “luv ya.” Some can be treated sternly and respond to that sternness where if applied to another child will dissolve into tears. Thus, just as a parent will almost automatically adjust the way they related to each of their children so too God has made each one of us differently and he adjust the way He relates to us as we adjust the way we related to His Word.  I mean if there is only one way to translate a passage, then why have so many translations?   The fact is that in a translation one can draw many meanings from one word.  For instance years ago Nikita Khrushehev, the then Prime Minister of the Soviet Union, who was not noted for his tact, was introduced to a very attractive female delegate at the United Nations.  It was noted by those who spoke Russian that the prime minister said something like “Va va voom!!!”  However his translator translated the expression as “You are a very charming woman.”  The options in a translation are not always as pronounced and sometimes they are even more pronounced. This is both good and bad, good because it allows room for God to speak to us personally and bad because when translating for the general public the translators can,  either consciously or unconsciously, add their own little agenda.  It is for this reason that the Jewish people will teach their children from the age of 3 to study Hebrew so they can read the Word of God in the original language and let God reveal Himself to that individual through his pure Word and not through someone’s idea of what a particular word or phrase may mean in their own spoken language.  We Christians just can’t imagine such discipline in our own children or ourselves, when we have so many English translations and all we have to do is just pick the one that we feel suits our needs.

I am often asked which translation I use.  Actually when reading the Bible in English, I often opt for the King James Version.  I choose this because it uses the word-for-word translation rather than the dynamic translation and thus a passage like the above verses retains the beauty of the Hebrew and Aramaic idioms, of which there are many.

This expression sink down into your ears was used only once in the Old Testament, Exodus 7:14.  Moses was commanded by God to record an important promise to Joshua,  “I will thoroughly erase every trace of the people of Amalek” and “sink it in the ears” Joshua. Why did speak this only Joshua?  Because it was Joshua who would later fight against the Amalekites throughout his lifetime and generations to follow.  This promise was a warning as much as a promise. There would be many more battles where Joshua would be severely tested but he must not give up for God promised eventual victory. Hence throughout the ages up to the time of Jesus the phrase: sink down into your ears became associated with a warning of future battles ahead but ultimate victory from God.

Is it any coincidence that Luke 9:44 would using  this same expression which was still spoken in a day when the many of the Jews living in the Land of Israel knew the Hebrew Scriptures almost by heart? It was no accident that Jesus used these words.  The disciples were too fearful to acknowledge what Jesus was saying because they knew in their hearts what that idiomatic expression meant.  For what the disciples heard in their hearts in this ancient Hebrew and Aramaic idiom let these words sink down into your ears was, There will be many battles ahead, but don’t fear, God promises ultimate victory.

Perhaps God asked the writer of Exodus to record this private message to Joshua because He also meant it to be a message for us today and He is telling us today let these words sink into your ears or in our own language and understanding, there are many battle ahead, don’t fear, I promise ultimate victory.