1
⸀Ἐπειδὴ ἐπλήρωσεν πάντα τὰ ῥήματα αὐτοῦ εἰς τὰς ἀκοὰς τοῦ λαοῦ, εἰσῆλθεν εἰς Καφαρναούμ.
When he had completed all his words in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.
In the hearing of the people — the writer marks the end of the sermon, as Matthew 7:28 does.
first here Capernaum Καφαρναούμ Kapharnaoum
pronoun he = Jesus — both times
pronoun his = Jesus
2
Ἑκατοντάρχου δέ τινος δοῦλος κακῶς ἔχων ἤμελλεν τελευτᾶν, ὃς ἦν αὐτῷ ἔντιμος.
And a certain commander of a hundred had a slave who was ill and about to die, who was held in honour by him.
Commander of a hundred renders ἑκατοντάρχης (hekatontarchēs), a Greek word built from “hundred” and “rule”; Mark 15:39 uses the Latin word instead, and this edition keeps them apart.
pronoun who = a slave
pronoun him = the commander
Why this rendering
Luke.7.2 Observation
Syntactic observation
There are three words for a centurion in the four Gospels. ἑκατόνταρχος stands three times in Matthew (8:5, 8; 27:54); ἑκατοντάρχης once in Matthew (8:13) and three times in Luke (7:2, 6; 23:47); κεντυρίων, Latin centurio, three times in Mark (15:39, 44, 45). So Matthew mixes two forms within one story (-ος at 8:5, 8 and -ης at 8:13), Luke uses only -ης, and Mark only the Latin. At Matthew 27:65 we noted that Matthew has only the Greek and Mark only the Latin; with Luke in the four Gospels that Greek side divides in two. And the story itself differs from Matthew 8:5-13: in Matthew the centurion comes himself and speaks; in Luke he sends twice — first the elders of the Jews (v.3), then friends (v.6). So in Luke he never meets Jesus face to face. What the elders say of him is Luke's alone: he loves our nation and built us our synagogue (v.5). ἔντιμος, held in honour, occurs twice in Luke (7:2, 14:8) and nowhere else.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “a commander of a hundred” — as for Matthew's Greek words, kept apart from Mark's centurion
Basis -ος and -ης are two forms of one word, and dividing the renderings would invent a distinction; the distinction from Latin κεντυρίων is kept as fixed at Matthew 8:5 and Mark 15:39, and the two forms are recorded in the analysis.
Render as “centurion”, as in Mark
Basis It names the same rank.
Rejected Luke uses the Greek word and Mark the Latin; matching erases that the two lists miss each other exactly — Matthew 27:54 and Luke 23:47 stand at the same point with different words.
Lost in translation
ἑκατόνταρχος against ἑκατοντάρχης Two forms of one word cannot be divided in English, nor is there reason to; but that Matthew mixes both within one story is invisible in translation.
this edition — none of the nine carries it (measured)
3
ἀκούσας δὲ περὶ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἀπέστειλεν πρὸς αὐτὸν πρεσβυτέρους τῶν Ἰουδαίων, ἐρωτῶν αὐτὸν ὅπως ἐλθὼν διασώσῃ τὸν δοῦλον αὐτοῦ.
And hearing about Jesus he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and save his slave.
He sent elders of the Jews — only this book has go-betweens; Matthew 8:5 has the man come himself.
first here Jesus Ἰησοῦς Iēsous
first here Jews Ἰουδαῖος Ioudaios
pronoun he = the commander
pronoun him = Jesus — both times
pronoun his = the commander
4
οἱ δὲ παραγενόμενοι πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν παρεκάλουν αὐτὸν σπουδαίως λέγοντες ὅτι Ἄξιός ἐστιν ᾧ ⸀παρέξῃ τοῦτο,
And coming to Jesus they begged him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy that you should grant him this,
He is worthy — the elders argue from desert; the man himself will not, in verse 6.
pronoun they = the elders
pronoun him = Jesus — “grant him this” is the commander
pronoun He = the commander
pronoun you = Jesus
pronoun this = the healing
5
ἀγαπᾷ γὰρ τὸ ἔθνος ἡμῶν καὶ τὴν συναγωγὴν αὐτὸς ᾠκοδόμησεν ἡμῖν.
for he loves our nation, and he himself built us our synagogue.”
He built us our synagogue — only this book gives the reason.
pronoun he = the commander
pronoun himself = the commander
pronoun our = the elders
pronoun us = the elders
6
ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἐπορεύετο σὺν αὐτοῖς. ἤδη δὲ αὐτοῦ οὐ μακρὰν ἀπέχοντος ἀπὸ τῆς οἰκίας ἔπεμψεν ⸂φίλους ὁ ἑκατοντάρχης⸃ λέγων αὐτῷ· Κύριε, μὴ σκύλλου, οὐ γὰρ ⸂ἱκανός εἰμι⸃ ἵνα ὑπὸ τὴν στέγην μου εἰσέλθῃς·
And Jesus went with them. And when he was already not far from the house, the commander of a hundred sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not fit that you should come under my roof;
Sent friends — a second embassy, and again the man does not come.
pronoun them = the elders
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun yourself = Jesus
pronoun I = the commander
pronoun you = Jesus
pronoun my = the commander
7
διὸ οὐδὲ ἐμαυτὸν ἠξίωσα πρὸς σὲ ἐλθεῖν· ἀλλὰ εἰπὲ λόγῳ, καὶ ⸀ἰαθήτω ὁ παῖς μου·
therefore I did not count myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and let my boy be healed.
My boy renders παῖς (pais), which can mean boy or servant — Greek does not settle which.
pronoun I = the commander — both times
pronoun myself = the commander
pronoun you = Jesus
pronoun my = the commander
8
καὶ γὰρ ἐγὼ ἄνθρωπός εἰμι ὑπὸ ἐξουσίαν τασσόμενος, ἔχων ὑπ’ ἐμαυτὸν στρατιώτας, καὶ λέγω τούτῳ· Πορεύθητι, καὶ πορεύεται, καὶ ἄλλῳ· Ἔρχου, καὶ ἔρχεται, καὶ τῷ δούλῳ μου· Ποίησον τοῦτο, καὶ ποιεῖ.
For I too am a man set under authority, having soldiers under myself; and I say to this one, ‘Go,' and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,' and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this,' and he does it.”
Set under authority — the argument is from the chain of command, not from position at its top.
pronoun I = the commander — both times
pronoun myself = the commander
pronoun this one = one of the soldiers
pronoun he = the soldier — every “he” here is one under him
pronoun my = the commander
pronoun it = what is commanded
9
ἀκούσας δὲ ταῦτα ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐθαύμασεν αὐτόν, καὶ στραφεὶς τῷ ἀκολουθοῦντι αὐτῷ ὄχλῳ εἶπεν· Λέγω ὑμῖν, ⸀οὐδὲ ἐν τῷ Ἰσραὴλ τοσαύτην πίστιν εὗρον.
And hearing this Jesus marvelled at him, and turning to the crowd following him he said, “I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.”
Jesus marvelled — the amazement runs the other way here.
first here Israel Ἰσραήλ Israēl
pronoun this = what the friends said
pronoun him = the commander — “the crowd following him” is Jesus
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun I = Jesus — both times
pronoun you = the crowd
10
καὶ ὑποστρέψαντες ⸂εἰς τὸν οἶκον οἱ πεμφθέντες⸃ εὗρον ⸀τὸν δοῦλον ὑγιαίνοντα.
And those who had been sent returned to the house and found the slave in health.
Found the slave in health — the friends, not the commander, find him.
11
Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ ἑξῆς ⸀ἐπορεύθη εἰς πόλιν καλουμένην Ναΐν, καὶ συνεπορεύοντο αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ ⸀αὐτοῦ καὶ ὄχλος πολύς.
And afterward he went to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him.
Nain — this raising stands only in this book, and the city is named once in the four Gospels.
first here Nain Ναΐν Nain
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun his = Jesus
pronoun him = Jesus
12
ὡς δὲ ἤγγισεν τῇ πύλῃ τῆς πόλεως, καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐξεκομίζετο τεθνηκὼς ⸂μονογενὴς υἱὸς⸃ τῇ μητρὶ αὐτοῦ, καὶ αὐτὴ ⸀ἦν χήρα, καὶ ὄχλος τῆς πόλεως ἱκανὸς ⸁ἦν σὺν αὐτῇ.
And as he drew near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a considerable crowd of the city was with her.
The only son of his mother — the Greek word for “only” is the one used of the unique Son at John 1:14.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun his = the dead man
pronoun she = the mother
pronoun her = the mother
13
καὶ ἰδὼν αὐτὴν ὁ κύριος ἐσπλαγχνίσθη ἐπ’ αὐτῇ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ· Μὴ κλαῖε.
And seeing her the Lord was moved with compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
The Lord — this book calls him “the Lord” in the telling, which the other books rarely do. Moved with compassion is built on the word for the inward parts.
pronoun her = the mother — every “her” here is the mother
14
καὶ προσελθὼν ἥψατο τῆς σοροῦ, οἱ δὲ βαστάζοντες ἔστησαν, καὶ εἶπεν· Νεανίσκε, σοὶ λέγω, ἐγέρθητι.
And coming forward he touched the bier, and the bearers stood still; and he said, “Young man, I say to you, rise.”
The bier (σορός, soros) is used once in the four Gospels.
pronoun he = Jesus — both times
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun you = the young man
Why this rendering
Luke.7.14 Observation
Syntactic observation
The widow of Nain (vv.11-17) is Luke's alone. σορός, a bier, is unique in the four Gospels, and so is Ναΐν. The passage gathers words Luke uses repeatedly: μονογενής, only-begotten, three times in Luke (7:12, 8:42, 9:38) and four in John (1:14, 18; 3:16, 18) — John's four are all of Jesus, and Luke's three are all of a child dying or dead. σπλαγχνίζομαι, to be moved with compassion, occurs three times in Luke (7:13; 10:33, the good Samaritan; 15:20, the father seeing his son return), and all three passages are Luke's own. ἐπισκέπτομαι, to look upon, comes at v.16, and two of Luke's three are in Zechariah's song (1:68, 78), where God has looked upon his people — and here the crowd says the same thing. At v.14 Jesus touches the bier: in the four Gospels the only places where a corpse or bier is touched are here and Matthew 9:25, Mark 5:41 (taking the hand of Jairus's daughter).
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “the bier” and “only son” — one word with John's μονογενής
Basis One rendering with John lets the reader see that one word names different things in the two books.
Vary it — “her one and only son”, apart from John
Basis It reads differently from John's only-begotten.
Rejected That it seems different is precisely the point at which the two books use one word differently; dividing the renderings hides the place.
15
καὶ ἀνεκάθισεν ὁ νεκρὸς καὶ ἤρξατο λαλεῖν, καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτὸν τῇ μητρὶ αὐτοῦ.
And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and he gave him to his mother.
He gave him to his mother — the same words as 1 Kings 17:23 of Elijah.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun him = the dead man
pronoun his = the dead man
16
ἔλαβεν δὲ φόβος πάντας, καὶ ἐδόξαζον τὸν θεὸν λέγοντες ὅτι Προφήτης μέγας ⸀ἠγέρθη ἐν ἡμῖν, καὶ ὅτι Ἐπεσκέψατο ὁ θεὸς τὸν λαὸν αὐτοῦ.
And fear took hold of all, and they were glorifying God, saying, “A great prophet has risen among us,” and, “God has looked upon his people.”
God has looked upon his people — the verb of 1:68 and 1:78.
pronoun they = all present
pronoun us = the people
pronoun his = God
17
καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ λόγος οὗτος ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ περὶ αὐτοῦ ⸀καὶ πάσῃ τῇ περιχώρῳ.
And this word about him went out in the whole of Judea and all the surrounding region.
This word renders λόγος (logos) — here it is a report, and the Greek word carries both.
first here Judea Ἰουδαία Ioudaia
pronoun this = the report
pronoun him = Jesus
18
Καὶ ἀπήγγειλαν Ἰωάννῃ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ περὶ πάντων τούτων. καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος δύο τινὰς τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ ὁ Ἰωάννης
And John's disciples reported all these things to him. And calling two of his disciples John
Two of his disciples — only this book counts them.
first here John Ἰωάννης Iōannēs
pronoun him = John
pronoun his = John
19
ἔπεμψεν πρὸς τὸν ⸀κύριον λέγων· Σὺ εἶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἢ ⸀ἄλλον προσδοκῶμεν;
sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for another?”
The one who is coming — the phrase John used at 3:16.
pronoun them = the two disciples
pronoun you = Jesus
pronoun we = John and his disciples
20
παραγενόμενοι δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν οἱ ἄνδρες εἶπαν· Ἰωάννης ὁ βαπτιστὴς ⸀ἀπέστειλεν ἡμᾶς πρὸς σὲ λέγων· Σὺ εἶ ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἢ ἄλλον προσδοκῶμεν;
And coming to him the men said, “John the Baptist sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for another?'”
The question is repeated word for word — the writer will not summarise the errand away.
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun us = the two disciples
pronoun you = Jesus
pronoun we = John and his disciples
21
ἐν ⸀ἐκείνῃ τῇ ὥρᾳ ἐθεράπευσεν πολλοὺς ἀπὸ νόσων καὶ μαστίγων καὶ πνευμάτων πονηρῶν, καὶ τυφλοῖς πολλοῖς ⸀ἐχαρίσατο βλέπειν.
In that hour he healed many of diseases and scourges and evil spirits, and to many who were blind he freely gave sight.
In that hour — only this book has him heal before answering, so the answer points at what the messengers just saw.
pronoun he = Jesus
22
καὶ ⸀ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Πορευθέντες ἀπαγγείλατε Ἰωάννῃ ἃ εἴδετε καὶ ἠκούσατε· ⸀τυφλοὶ ἀναβλέπουσιν, χωλοὶ περιπατοῦσιν, λεπροὶ καθαρίζονται, ⸀κωφοὶ ἀκούουσιν, νεκροὶ ἐγείρονται, πτωχοὶ εὐαγγελίζονται·
And answering he said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind see again, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them.
See again (ἀναβλέπω, anablepō) says they had seen once. The list is built from Isaiah 35 and 61.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun them = the two disciples
pronoun you = the two disciples
23
καὶ μακάριός ἐστιν ὃς ἐὰν μὴ σκανδαλισθῇ ἐν ἐμοί.
And blessed is the one who is not made to stumble because of me.”
Made to stumble renders σκανδαλίζω (skandalizō), from the stick of a trap.
pronoun me = Jesus
24
Ἀπελθόντων δὲ τῶν ἀγγέλων Ἰωάννου ἤρξατο λέγειν ⸂πρὸς τοὺς ὄχλους⸃ περὶ Ἰωάννου· Τί ⸀ἐξήλθατε εἰς τὴν ἔρημον θεάσασθαι; κάλαμον ὑπὸ ἀνέμου σαλευόμενον;
And when John's messengers had gone, he began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
A reed shaken by the wind — the first of three questions, each answered by another.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun you = the crowds
25
ἀλλὰ τί ⸀ἐξήλθατε ἰδεῖν; ἄνθρωπον ἐν μαλακοῖς ἱματίοις ἠμφιεσμένον; ἰδοὺ οἱ ἐν ἱματισμῷ ἐνδόξῳ καὶ τρυφῇ ὑπάρχοντες ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις εἰσίν.
But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Behold, those in splendid clothing and living in luxury are in royal palaces.
Living in luxury — only this book adds it.
pronoun you = the crowds
26
ἀλλὰ τί ⸀ἐξήλθατε ἰδεῖν; προφήτην; ναί, λέγω ὑμῖν, καὶ περισσότερον προφήτου.
But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and more than a prophet.
More than a prophet — the Greek says “more excessive than a prophet”.
pronoun you = the crowds
pronoun I = Jesus
27
οὗτός ἐστιν περὶ οὗ γέγραπται· ⸀Ἰδοὺ ἀποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου πρὸ προσώπου σου, ὃς κατασκευάσει τὴν ὁδόν σου ἔμπροσθέν σου.
This is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.'
The quotation joins Malachi 3:1 to Exodus 23:20, as at Matthew 11:10.
pronoun This = John
pronoun whom = John
pronoun I = the one speaking in the quotation
pronoun my = the same
pronoun your = the one addressed — both times
pronoun who = my messenger
pronoun you = the one addressed
28
⸀λέγω ὑμῖν, μείζων ἐν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν ⸀Ἰωάννου οὐδείς ἐστιν· ὁ δὲ μικρότερος ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ μείζων αὐτοῦ ἐστιν.
I say to you, among those born of women no one is greater than John; yet the lesser in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”
Born of women is a Semitic turn for human beings.
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun you = the crowds
pronoun he = John
29
(καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ἀκούσας καὶ οἱ τελῶναι ἐδικαίωσαν τὸν θεόν, βαπτισθέντες τὸ βάπτισμα Ἰωάννου·
And all the people, hearing it, and the tax collectors, justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John;
Justified God — the Greek says they declared God right. Whether verses 29 and 30 are the writer's own words or part of the speech is undecided — Greek has no quotation marks, and all nine locales of this edition had to choose. This edition reads them as the writer's.
pronoun it = what he said
30
οἱ δὲ Φαρισαῖοι καὶ οἱ νομικοὶ τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ θεοῦ ἠθέτησαν εἰς ἑαυτούς, μὴ βαπτισθέντες ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ.)
but the Pharisees and the lawyers set aside God's purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by him.
Set aside (ἀθετέω, atheteō) is to make void. Lawyers (νομικοί, nomikoi) are those learned in the law.
first here Pharisee Φαρισαῖος Pharisaios
pronoun themselves = the Pharisees and lawyers
pronoun him = John
Why this rendering
Luke.7.30 Observation
Syntactic observation
Verses 29-30 are Luke's alone. Matthew 11:16-19 continues at the same point, but has no statement that the people and tax collectors justified God, nor that the Pharisees set aside God's purpose. The two verses read as narration the author inserts, and since Greek uses no quotation marks the text does not settle where Jesus' words end. βουλή, purpose, occurs twice in Luke (7:30; 23:51, Joseph of Arimathea had not consented to their purpose) and not in Matthew or Mark. ἀθετέω, to set aside, occurs five times in Luke, four of them crowded into 10:16. δικαιόω, to justify, five times in Luke and twice in Matthew — and at v.29 people justify God, the direction reversed from where it usually runs. And at v.34 he is called φάγος καὶ οἰνοπότης, a glutton and a drinker; οἰνοπότης occurs twice in the four Gospels, the other Matthew 11:19 — the same slur once in each book.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted Render vv.29-30 outside the quotation, as narration
Basis It is third-person narration in the aorist, which fits the author's voice; but the Greek does not settle it, and the choice is recorded here.
Keep them inside Jesus' words
Basis The words before and after are his, so it is not broken.
Rejected A possible reading; but either way the translation must place quotation marks, settling what the text leaves open — which is recorded.
Lost in translation
the absence of quotation marks Greek marks no boundary of quotation, so whether vv.29-30 are Jesus' words or the author's stays open; English cannot hold that openness — with or without marks, the translation decides.
this edition — none of the nine carries it (measured)
31
Τίνι οὖν ὁμοιώσω τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης, καὶ τίνι εἰσὶν ὅμοιοι;
“To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?
To what shall I compare — the speech resumes here.
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun they = the people of this generation
32
ὅμοιοί εἰσιν παιδίοις τοῖς ἐν ἀγορᾷ καθημένοις καὶ προσφωνοῦσιν ἀλλήλοις, ⸂ἃ λέγει⸃· Ηὐλήσαμεν ὑμῖν καὶ οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε· ⸀ἐθρηνήσαμεν καὶ οὐκ ἐκλαύσατε·
They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying, ‘We played the flute for you and you did not dance; we sang a lament and you did not weep.'
You did not weep — this book says weep where Matthew 11:17 says beat the breast.
pronoun They = the people of this generation
pronoun We = the children in the marketplace — both times
pronoun you = the other children — both times
33
ἐλήλυθεν γὰρ Ἰωάννης ὁ βαπτιστὴς ⸀μὴ ⸂ἐσθίων ἄρτον μήτε πίνων οἶνον⸃, καὶ λέγετε· Δαιμόνιον ἔχει·
For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.'
Eating no bread and drinking no wine — only this book names what he did not eat.
pronoun you = the people of this generation
pronoun He = John
34
ἐλήλυθεν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐσθίων καὶ πίνων, καὶ λέγετε· Ἰδοὺ ἄνθρωπος φάγος καὶ οἰνοπότης, φίλος τελωνῶν καὶ ἁμαρτωλῶν.
The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a glutton and a drinker, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.'
A drinker — the Greek word is coarser than “drunkard”.
pronoun you = the people of this generation
35
καὶ ἐδικαιώθη ἡ σοφία ἀπὸ ⸂πάντων τῶν τέκνων αὐτῆς⸃.
Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.”
By all her children — this book says children; Matthew 11:19 says works.
pronoun her = wisdom
36
Ἠρώτα δέ τις αὐτὸν τῶν Φαρισαίων ἵνα φάγῃ μετ’ αὐτοῦ· καὶ εἰσελθὼν εἰς ⸂τὸν οἶκον⸃ τοῦ Φαρισαίου ⸀κατεκλίθη.
And one of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him; and entering the Pharisee's house he reclined at table.
This anointing stands only in this book, and it is not the one at Mark 14:3 — the place, the woman and the words all differ.
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun he = Jesus
37
καὶ ἰδοὺ γυνὴ ⸂ἥτις ἦν ἐν τῇ πόλει⸃ ἁμαρτωλός, ⸀καὶ ἐπιγνοῦσα ὅτι ⸀κατάκειται ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ τοῦ Φαρισαίου, κομίσασα ἀλάβαστρον μύρου
And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, learning that he was reclining in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment,
Alabaster flask (ἀλάβαστρον, alabastron) stands at four places in the four Gospels; only Mark 14:3 breaks it.
pronoun he = Jesus
38
καὶ στᾶσα ⸂ὀπίσω παρὰ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ⸃ κλαίουσα, ⸂τοῖς δάκρυσιν ἤρξατο βρέχειν τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ⸃ καὶ ταῖς θριξὶν τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτῆς ἐξέμασσεν, καὶ κατεφίλει τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ καὶ ἤλειφεν τῷ μύρῳ.
and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
Kissed here is καταφιλέω (kataphileō), a strengthened form — this book never uses it of Judas, though the other books do.
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun his = Jesus — every “his” here is Jesus
pronoun she = the woman
pronoun her = the woman — both times
pronoun them = his feet — the second “them” is his feet as well
Why this rendering
Luke.7.38 Observation
Syntactic observation
This passage (vv.36-50) is Luke's alone, and yet its vocabulary overlaps John 12:3. In John, Mary anoints Jesus' feet with ointment and wipes them with her hair (ἤλειψεν … ἐξέμαξεν ταῖς θριξίν); in Luke a woman called a sinner wets his feet with tears, wipes them with her hair, and anoints them with ointment. Four words are shared — μύρον, ointment; ἀλείφω, to anoint; θρίξ, hair; ἐκμάσσω, to wipe. ἐκμάσσω occurs five times in the four Gospels: three in John (11:2; 12:3; 13:5, the washing of feet) and two in Luke (7:38, 44). Matthew 26:7 and Mark 14:3 pour it on the head and have no hair — head in Matthew and Mark, feet in Luke and John. And the ἀλάβαστρον, alabaster flask, of Matthew 26:7 stands also at Luke 7:37. Mark 14:3 has it too, in a different form — the base text's lemma is the neuter ἀλάβαστρον in Matthew and Luke and ἀλάβαστρος in Mark, who uses it twice in the one verse. So the flask is in all three synoptics and only John lacks it. Only Mark breaks it (συντρίψασα τὴν ἀλάβαστρον). And the νάρδος πιστική, pure nard, of Mark 14:3 is shared with John 12:3 and absent from Matthew and Luke — so the kind of ointment joins Mark to John, and the name of the vessel joins Mark to Matthew and Luke. βρέχω, to wet, catches the eye here: it is the word of Matthew 5:45, where God sends rain, and in Luke tears wet the feet.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “wet his feet with her tears … wiped them with her hair” — one word with John
Basis Four words are shared with John and the renderings must be too, so the two stories can be set side by side. βρέχω could not be: its four places in the four Gospels are Matthew 5:45 (God sending rain), Luke 7:38, 44 (tears wetting the feet) and Luke 17:29 (fire and brimstone raining down), and six of the nine divide it by sense — rain on one side (비, rain, chover, 降雨), wetting on the other (적시다, wet, molhar, 湿). No language has one word that takes both rain and tears. The division falls at the same place and in the same direction in six locales; German (benetzen), French (arroser) and Spanish (regar) cover all four sites with one word, so in those three God wets the just and the unjust, the woman wets his feet with her tears, and heaven wets Sodom with fire and brimstone. That is recorded here.
Smooth it — “washed his feet with her tears”
Basis Wet reads awkwardly.
Rejected Wash renders νίπτω, which stands separately at John 13:5; what is here is βρέχω, and changing it fuses two words into one.
39
ἰδὼν δὲ ὁ Φαρισαῖος ὁ καλέσας αὐτὸν εἶπεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ λέγων· Οὗτος εἰ ⸀ἦν προφήτης, ἐγίνωσκεν ἂν τίς καὶ ποταπὴ ἡ γυνὴ ἥτις ἅπτεται αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἁμαρτωλός ἐστιν.
And seeing it the Pharisee who had invited him said within himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him — that she is a sinner.”
Said within himself — the objection is unspoken, and verse 40 answers it.
pronoun it = the anointing
pronoun who = the Pharisee
pronoun him = Jesus — “who is touching him” is Jesus as well
pronoun himself = the Pharisee
pronoun this man = Jesus
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun this = the woman
pronoun she = the woman
40
καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν· Σίμων, ἔχω σοί τι εἰπεῖν. ὁ δέ· ⸂Διδάσκαλε, εἰπέ, φησίν⸃.
And answering, Jesus said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he says, “Teacher, say it.”
Simon — the Pharisee is named only now, in the address.
first here Simon Σίμων Simōn
pronoun him = the Pharisee
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun you = the Pharisee
pronoun he = the Pharisee
pronoun it = what you have to say
41
δύο χρεοφειλέται ἦσαν δανιστῇ τινι· ὁ εἷς ὤφειλεν δηνάρια πεντακόσια, ὁ δὲ ἕτερος πεντήκοντα.
“A certain moneylender had two borrowers: the one owed five hundred denarii, the other fifty.
Denarii — the coin is kept as sound; a denarius was a day's wage, so the debts are about twenty months and two.
Why this rendering
Luke.7.41 Observation
Syntactic observation
Two words of debt stand in this verse — δανιστής, a moneylender, unique in the four Gospels, and χρεοφειλέτης, a debtor, twice in Luke (7:41; 16:5, the dishonest steward) and nowhere else. The word for a debtor at Matthew 18:24 is ὀφειλέτης, a different word — and Luke has that word too, at 13:4. So Luke could use either and chose χρεοφειλέτης for this parable. The sums invite comparison too: Matthew 18 had ten thousand talents against a hundred denarii; here five hundred denarii against fifty — a tenfold difference, not the uncountable gulf of Matthew's. χαρίζομαι, to forgive freely, comes at vv.42-43 and occurs three times in Luke (7:21, 42, 43) and not in Matthew, Mark or John — Matthew 18:27 has ἀφίημι at the same point. And the parable runs on to v.47, she loved much; what stands between them the Greek does not settle — ὅτι can be read as cause or as ground.
Rendering options · 2
Adopted “a moneylender”, “debtors”, “forgave freely” — kept apart from Matthew 18
Basis Luke chose words different from Matthew's; one set of renderings would make the two parables look built from the same words.
Match Matthew 18's renderings
Basis Both are parables of debt forgiven.
Rejected The words differ and so does the scale of the sums; matching makes the two parables show no difference side by side.
42
μὴ ⸀ἐχόντων αὐτῶν ἀποδοῦναι ἀμφοτέροις ἐχαρίσατο. τίς οὖν ⸀αὐτῶν πλεῖον ⸂ἀγαπήσει αὐτόν⸃;
When they had nothing to repay, he freely forgave them both. Which of them therefore will love him more?”
Freely forgave renders χαρίζομαι (charizomai), built on the grace-word — this edition keeps it apart from the forgiveness-word of verse 47.
pronoun they = the two debtors
pronoun he = the moneylender
pronoun them = the two debtors
pronoun him = the moneylender
43
⸀ἀποκριθεὶς Σίμων εἶπεν· Ὑπολαμβάνω ὅτι ᾧ τὸ πλεῖον ἐχαρίσατο. ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ὀρθῶς ἔκρινας.
Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one to whom he freely forgave more.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
You have judged rightly — the Pharisee answers his own case.
pronoun whom = the debtor forgiven more
pronoun he = the moneylender — “he said to him” is Jesus
pronoun him = Simon
pronoun You = Simon
44
καὶ στραφεὶς πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα τῷ Σίμωνι ἔφη· Βλέπεις ταύτην τὴν γυναῖκα; εἰσῆλθόν σου εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν, ὕδωρ ⸀μοι ἐπὶ ⸀πόδας οὐκ ἔδωκας· αὕτη δὲ τοῖς δάκρυσιν ἔβρεξέν μου τοὺς πόδας καὶ ταῖς ⸀θριξὶν αὐτῆς ἐξέμαξεν.
And turning to the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
Do you see this woman — the writer turns him toward her before the reckoning.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun this = the woman
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun your = Simon
pronoun you = Simon
pronoun me = Jesus
pronoun my = Jesus — both times
pronoun she = the woman
pronoun her = the woman
pronoun them = my feet
45
φίλημά μοι οὐκ ἔδωκας· αὕτη δὲ ἀφ’ ἧς εἰσῆλθον οὐ διέλιπεν καταφιλοῦσά μου τοὺς πόδας.
You gave me no kiss, but she, from the time I came in, has not stopped kissing my feet.
Has not stopped kissing my feet — the strengthened kiss-verb of verse 38.
pronoun You = Simon
pronoun me = Jesus
pronoun she = the woman
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun my = Jesus
46
ἐλαίῳ τὴν κεφαλήν μου οὐκ ἤλειψας· αὕτη δὲ μύρῳ ἤλειψεν ⸂τοὺς πόδας μου⸃.
You did not anoint my head with oil, but she anointed my feet with ointment.
Oil and ointment are two different words, and this edition keeps them apart.
pronoun You = Simon
pronoun my = Jesus — both times
pronoun she = the woman
47
οὗ χάριν, λέγω σοι, ἀφέωνται αἱ ἁμαρτίαι αὐτῆς αἱ πολλαί, ὅτι ἠγάπησεν πολύ· ᾧ δὲ ὀλίγον ἀφίεται, ὀλίγον ἀγαπᾷ.
Therefore I say to you: her many sins have been forgiven, because she loved much; but the one forgiven little loves little.”
Because she loved much — the Greek can be read as the ground of the forgiveness or as its evidence, and the parable of verses 41 to 43 pulls toward the second. It is left open.
pronoun I = Jesus
pronoun you = Simon
pronoun her = the woman
pronoun she = the woman
48
εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῇ· Ἀφέωνταί σου αἱ ἁμαρτίαι.
And he said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”
Your sins have been forgiven — said to her directly, in the perfect.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun her = the woman
pronoun Your = the woman
49
καὶ ἤρξαντο οἱ συνανακείμενοι λέγειν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς· Τίς οὗτός ἐστιν ὃς καὶ ἁμαρτίας ἀφίησιν;
And those reclining with him began to say within themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
Who is this — the question of 5:21, asked at a table.
pronoun him = Jesus
pronoun themselves = those reclining
pronoun this = Jesus
50
εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα· Ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέν σε· πορεύου εἰς εἰρήνην.
And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Go in peace — this book says “into peace”, keeping the Greek preposition, as at 8:48.
pronoun he = Jesus
pronoun Your = the woman
pronoun you = the woman