Luke 12.13-21 Translation Notes 13 Εἶπεν δέ τις ἐκ τοῦ ὄχλου αὐτῷ διδάσκαλε, εἰπὲ τῷ ἀδελφῷ μου μερίσασθαι μετ ἐμοῦ τὴν κληρονομίαν. Now someone from the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me!" And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And one of the multitude said to him: Master, speak to my brother that he divide the inheritance with me. a Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." Then someone from the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." T Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." A man in the crowd said to him, 'Master, tell my brother to give me a share of our inheritance.' Then someone called from the crowd, "Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father's estate with me." Someone out of the crowd said, "Teacher, order my brother to give me a fair share of the family inheritance." What additional information would you want to make sense of what is going on here? The person addresses Jesus as διδάσκαλε. (Teacher or Master?) Where else is someone addressed in this way? Is it always used as a respectful form of address?
14 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ἄνθρωπε, τίς με κατέστησεν κριτὴν ἢ μεριστὴν ἐφ ὑμᾶς; But he said to him, "Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?" And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? But he said to him: Man, who hath appointed me judge, or divider, over you? But he said to him, a "Man, b who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?" But Jesus said to him, "Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator between you two?" But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?" Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" T Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" He said to him, 'My friend, who appointed me your judge, or the arbitrator of your claims?' Jesus replied, "Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?" He replied, "Mister, what makes you think it's any of my business to be a judge or mediator for you?" Jesus addresses the person as ἄνθρωπε. Is this a negative, neutral, or positive form of address? Though it makes little difference in translation, note the text critical issues with κριτὴν ἢ μεριστὴν. What is the correct answer to Jesus' question?
15 εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτούς ὁρᾶτε καὶ φυλάσσεσθε ἀπὸ πάσης πλεονεξίας, ὅτι οὐκ ἐν τῷ περισσεύειν τινὶ ἡ ζωὴ αὐτοῦ ἐστιν ἐκ τῶν ὑπαρχόντων αὐτῷ. And he said to them, "Watch out and guard yourselves from all greediness, because not even when someone has an abundance «does» his life consist of his possessions." And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. And he said to them: Take heed and beware of all covetousness; for a man's life doth not consist in the abundance of things which he possesseth. And he said to them, a "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Then he said to them, "Watch out and guard yourself from all types of greed, because one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." And he said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." a T Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions." a Then he said to them, 'Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for life does not consist in possessions, even when someone has more than he needs.' Then he said, "Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own." Speaking to the people, he went on, "Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot." What voice is φυλάσσεσθε? What is its force here? What is πλεονεξίας? Is this vice more of a Hebraic (Old Testament) or Greco-Roman one? ἐν τῷ περισσεύειν: Note its emphatic position. What kind of construction is this? In the last half of the verse, what idea is included in the,, and that is not in the other versions? Is it an appropriate rendering of the Greek? Note how the V and manage inclusive language in this verse.
16 Εἶπεν δὲ παραβολὴν πρὸς αὐτοὺς λέγων ἀνθρώπου τινὸς πλουσίου εὐφόρησεν ἡ χώρα. And he told a parable to them, saying, "The land of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he spoke a similitude to them, saying: The land of a certain rich man brought forth plenty of fruits. And he told them a parable, saying, a "The land of a rich man produced plentifully, He then told them a parable: "The land of a certain rich man produced an abundant crop, Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. T And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. Then he told them a parable, 'There was once a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his land, Then he told them a story: "A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. Then he told them this story: "The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop. Note the construction: Εἶπεν (δὲ)... λέγων. Where else in the Bible is this used? What does this indicate? Note the emphatic position of ἀνθρώπου τινὸς πλουσίου. 17 καὶ διελογίζετο ἐν ἑαυτῷ λέγων τί ποιήσω, ὅτι οὐκ ἔχω ποῦ συνάξω τοὺς καρπούς μου; And he reasoned to himself, saying, 'What should I do? For I do not have anywhere I can gather in my crops.' And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he thought within himself, saying: What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? and he thought to himself, a 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' so he thought to himself, 'What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' And he thought to himself, 'What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?' He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' T He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' thought to himself, "What am I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops." He said to himself, 'What should I do? I don't have room for all my crops.' He talked to himself: "What can I do? My barn isn't big enough for this harvest.' Note the tense of διελογίζετο and what it implies. Note that the form of ποιήσω could either be an Aorist Subjunctive or a Future Indicative. Which is the better choice here, and what difference does it make?
18 καὶ εἶπεν τοῦτο ποιήσω, καθελῶ μου τὰς ἀποθήκας καὶ μείζονας οἰκοδομήσω καὶ συνάξω ἐκεῖ πάντα τὸν σῖτον καὶ τὰ ἀγαθά μου And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will gather in there all my grain and possessions. And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And he said: This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and will build greater; and into them will I gather all things that are grown to me, and my goods. And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my a barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. Then he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. Then he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. T "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. Then he said, "This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them, Then he said, 'I know! I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I'll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. Then he said, "Here's what I'll do: I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I'll gather in all my grain and goods, Note that the form of ποιήζω could either be an Aorist Subjunctive or a Future Indicative. Which is the better choice here, and what difference does it make? 19 καὶ ἐρῶ τῇ ψυχῇ μου, ψυχή, ἔχεις πολλὰ ἀγαθὰ κείμενα εἰς ἔτη πολλά ἀναπαύου, φάγε, πίε, εὐφραίνου. And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many possessions stored up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, celebrate!" ' And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. And I will say to my soul: Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years take thy rest; eat, drink, make good cheer. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up a for many years; relax, b eat, drink, be merry.' And I will say to myself, "You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!"' And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."' T And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time." And I'll sit back and say to myself, "My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!" ' and I'll say to myself, Self, you've done well! You've got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life!' What are the tenses of the four imperatives? Is there a logic for why each is the tense it is? o ἀναπαύου o φάγε o πίε o εὐφραίνου In Luke-Acts, is it a good or bad thing to "celebrate" / εσθραινω? EXTRA if you have time: Find other instances where imperative forms of εζθιω and πινω occur together in a verse. Any interesting ones? Remember that another way to express a command is with the use of the 1 st person plural hortatory subjunctive. Where else do the two words occur in this form? You should find a reference to a verse in 1 Corinthians. Check the footnote in the Bible at this verse to find other OT references.
20 εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ θεός ἄφρων, ταύτῃ τῇ νυκτὶ τὴν ψυχήν σου ἀπαιτοῦσιν ἀπὸ σοῦ ἃ δὲ ἡτοίμασας, τίνι ἔσται; But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your life is demanded from you, and the things which you have prepared--whose will they be?' But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? But God said to him: Thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee: and whose shall those things be which thou hast provided? But God said to him, a 'Fool! y This night d your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, b whose will they be?' But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' "But God said to him, 'You fool! a This very night your life will be demanded from you. b Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' c T "But God said to him, 'You fool! a This very night your life will be demanded from you. b Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' c But God said to him, "Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?" "But God said to him, 'You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?' "Just then God showed up and said, "Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods--who gets it?' There is a rich biblical vocabulary for talking about foolishness. Where would you look to find synonyms? How do you deal with this verse alongside Matthew 5.22? How do you want to deal with ψυχή in this verse and the previous one? Note carefully the voice and person and number of ἀπαιτοῦσιν. What exactly is the subject? (What is the nearest antecedent?) Note the emphatic position of ἃ δὲ ἡηοίμαζας. 21 οὕτως ὁ θησαυρίζων ἑαυτῷ καὶ μὴ εἰς θεὸν πλουτῶν. So is the one who stores up treasure for himself, and who is not rich toward God!" So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God. So is the one a who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God." So it is with the one who stores up riches for himself, but is not rich toward God." So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God." "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." a T "This is how it will be with those who store up things for themselves but are not rich toward God." a So it is when someone stores up treasure for himself instead of becoming rich in the sight of God.' "Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God." "That's what happens when you fill your barn with Self and not with God." What exactly does it mean to be εἰς θεὸν πλουτῶν? Note that verse 21 is omitted in Codex Bezae (D). Some regard it to be an example of a "Western non-interpolation." Look it up!