Lukas 17:6-9

17:6 So ¹  the Lord replied, ²  “If ³  you had faith the size of ⁴  a mustard seed, you could say to this black mulberry ⁵  tree, ‘Be pulled out by the roots and planted in the sea,’ ⁶  and it would obey ⁷  you.

17:7 “Would any one of you say ⁸  to your slave ⁹  who comes in from the field after plowing or shepherding sheep, ‘Come at once and sit down for a meal’? ¹⁰  17:8 Won’t ¹¹  the master ¹²  instead say to him, ‘Get my dinner ready, and make yourself ready ¹³  to serve me while ¹⁴  I eat and drink. Then ¹⁵  you may eat and drink’? 17:9 He won’t thank the slave because he did what he was told, ¹⁶  will he? ¹⁷ 

[17:6]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[17:6]  ² tn Grk “said.”

[17:6]  ³ tn This is a mixed condition, with ἄν (an) in the apodosis.

[17:6]  ⁴ tn Grk “faith as,” “faith like.”

[17:6]  ⁵ sn A black mulberry tree is a deciduous fruit tree that grows about 20 ft (6 m) tall and has black juicy berries. This tree has an extensive root system, so to pull it up would be a major operation.

[17:6]  ⁶ tn The passives here (ἐκριζώθητι and φυτεύθητι, ekrizwqhti and futeuqhti) are probably a circumlocution for God performing the action (the so-called divine passive, see ExSyn 437-38). The issue is not the amount of faith (which in the example is only very tiny), but its presence, which can accomplish impossible things. To cause a tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea is impossible. The expression is a rhetorical idiom. It is like saying a camel can go through the eye of a needle (Luke 18:25).

[17:6]  ⁷ tn The verb is aorist, though it looks at a future event, another rhetorical touch to communicate certainty of the effect of faith.

[17:7]  ⁸ tn Grk “Who among you, having a slave… would say to him.”

[17:7]  ⁹ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[17:7]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “and recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away. See BDAG 70 s.v. ἀναπίπτω 1.

[17:8]  ¹¹ tn The question includes a Greek particle, οὐχί (ouci), that expects a positive reply. The slave is expected to prepare a meal before eating himself.

[17:8]  ¹² tn Grk “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:8]  ¹³ tn Grk “and gird yourself” (with an apron or towel, in preparation for service).

[17:8]  ¹⁴ tn BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 2.b, “to denote contemporaneousness as long as, while… w. subjunctive… Lk 17:8.”

[17:8]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “after these things.”

[17:9]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “did what was commanded.”

[17:9]  ¹⁷ tn The Greek construction anticipates a negative reply which is indicated in the translation by the ‘tag’ at the end, “will he?” Thanks are not required.