Lukas 9:37-50
Konteks9:37 Now on 1 the next day, when they had come down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 9:38 Then 2 a man from the crowd cried out, 3 “Teacher, I beg you to look at 4 my son – he is my only child! 9:39 A 5 spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams; 6 it throws him into convulsions 7 and causes him to foam at the mouth. It hardly ever leaves him alone, torturing 8 him severely. 9:40 I 9 begged 10 your disciples to cast it out, but 11 they could not do so.” 12 9:41 Jesus answered, 13 “You 14 unbelieving 15 and perverse generation! How much longer 16 must I be with you and endure 17 you? 18 Bring your son here.” 9:42 As 19 the boy 20 was approaching, the demon threw him to the ground 21 and shook him with convulsions. 22 But Jesus rebuked 23 the unclean 24 spirit, healed the boy, and gave him back to his father. 9:43 Then 25 they were all astonished at the mighty power 26 of God.
But while the entire crowd 27 was amazed at everything Jesus 28 was doing, he said to his disciples, 9:44 “Take these words to heart, 29 for the Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.” 30 9:45 But they did not understand this statement; its meaning 31 had been concealed 32 from them, so that they could not grasp it. Yet 33 they were afraid to ask him about this statement.
9:46 Now an argument started among the disciples 34 as to which of them might be 35 the greatest. 9:47 But when Jesus discerned their innermost thoughts, 36 he took a child, had him stand by 37 his side, 9:48 and said to them, “Whoever welcomes 38 this child 39 in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me, for the one who is least among you all is the one who is great.” 40
9:49 John answered, 41 “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop 42 him because he is not a disciple 43 along with us.” 9:50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for whoever is not against you is for you.”
[9:37] 1 tn Grk “Now it happened that on.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
[9:38] 2 tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the somewhat unexpected appearance of the man. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
[9:38] 3 tn Grk “cried out, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
[9:38] 4 tn This verb means “to have regard for”; see Luke 1:48.
[9:39] 5 tn Grk “and behold, a.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, καί (kai) has not been translated here; instead a new sentence was started in the translation. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
[9:39] 6 tn The Greek here is slightly ambiguous; the subject of the verb “screams” could be either the son or the spirit.
[9:39] 7 sn The reaction is like an epileptic fit (see L&N 14.27). See the parallel in Matt 17:14-20.
[9:39] 8 tn Or “bruising,” or “crushing.” This verb appears to allude to the damage caused when it throws him to the ground. According to L&N 19.46 it is difficult to know from this verb precisely what the symptoms caused by the demon were, but it is clear they must have involved severe pain. The multiple details given in the account show how gruesome the condition of the boy was.
[9:40] 9 tn Grk “And I.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, καί (kai) has not been translated here; instead a new sentence was started in the translation.
[9:40] 10 sn Note the repetition of the verb from v. 38, an indication of the father’s desperation.
[9:40] 11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
[9:40] 12 tn The words “do so” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity and stylistic reasons.
[9:41] 13 tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “Jesus answered.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[9:41] 14 tn Grk “O.” The marker of direct address, ὦ (w), is functionally equivalent to a vocative and is represented in the translation by “you.”
[9:41] sn The rebuke for lack of faith has OT roots: Num 14:27; Deut 32:5, 30; Isa 59:8.
[9:41] 17 tn Or “and put up with.” See Num 11:12; Isa 46:4.
[9:41] 18 sn The pronouns you…you are plural, indicating that Jesus is speaking to a group rather than an individual.
[9:42] 19 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[9:42] 20 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the boy) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:42] 21 sn At this point the boy was thrown down in another convulsion by the demon. See L&N 23.168.
[9:42] 22 tn See L&N 23.167-68, where the second verb συσπαράσσω (susparassw) is taken to mean the violent shaking associated with the convulsions, thus the translation here “and shook him with convulsions.”
[9:42] 23 tn Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).
[9:42] 24 sn This is a reference to an evil spirit. See Luke 4:33.
[9:43] 25 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the response at the conclusion of the account.
[9:43] 26 sn The revelation of the mighty power of God was the manifestation of God’s power shown through Jesus. See Acts 10:38.
[9:43] 27 tn Grk “all”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:43] 28 tc Most
[9:43] tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some
[9:44] 29 tn Grk “Place these words into your ears,” an idiom. The meaning is either “do not forget these words” (L&N 29.5) or “Listen carefully to these words” (L&N 24.64). See also Exod 17:14. For a variation of this expression, see Luke 8:8.
[9:44] 30 tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is considered by some to be used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NRSV, “into human hands”; TEV, “to the power of human beings”). However, because this can be taken as a specific reference to the group responsible for Jesus’ arrest, where it is unlikely women were present (cf. Matt 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:2-12), the word “men” has been retained in the translation. There may also be a slight wordplay with “the Son of Man” earlier in the verse.
[9:45] 31 tn Grk “it”; the referent (the meaning of the statement) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:45] 32 sn The passive verb had been concealed probably indicates that some force was preventing them from responding. It is debated whether God or Satan is meant here. By 24:25 it is clear that their lack of response is their own responsibility. The only way to reverse this is to pay careful attention as v. 44a urges.
[9:45] 33 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate that in spite of their lack of understanding, the disciples were afraid to ask about it. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
[9:46] 34 tn Grk “among them”; the referent (the disciples) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:46] 35 tn The use of the optative mood means the answer is not clear (BDF §§267.2.3; 385.2.2).
[9:47] 36 tn Grk “knowing the thoughts of their hearts” (an idiom).
[9:47] 37 tn On this use of παρά (para), see BDF §239.1.1.
[9:48] 38 tn This verb, δέχομαι (decomai), is a term of hospitality (L&N 34.53).
[9:48] 39 sn Children were very insignificant in ancient culture, so this child would be the perfect object lesson to counter the disciples’ selfish ambitions.
[9:48] 40 tn Grk “among you all, this one is great.” The absence of a comparative term here makes the point that comparison should not be done.
[9:49] 41 tn Grk “And answering, John said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “John answered.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[9:49] 42 tc The translation follows the reading that has Luke’s normal imperfect here (ἐκωλύομεν, ekwluomen; found in Ì75vid א B L Ξ 579 892 1241). Most
[9:49] 43 tn Grk “does not follow with us.” BDAG 36 s.v. ἀκολουθέω 2 indicates that the pronoun σοι (soi, “you”) is to be supplied after the verb in this particular instance; the translation in the text best represents this nuance.
