LUKE 10:15 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 10:1–24: Jesus sent out seventy-two disciples

In Section 9:1–6 Jesus sent out the twelve apostles to preach and to heal. Here in Section 10:1–24 he sent out a larger group of disciples to different towns. Jesus told this larger group of disciples to visit many towns. They would visit the towns to find out which people and towns would receive Jesus and which would not receive him. Jesus ended his instructions to these disciples by telling them that God would punish the towns where the people did not welcome him.

Notice that in Luke 10:1 there is a textual issue concerning the number of disciples Jesus sent. You should make a decision about this textual issue before you decide on the heading for this section.

Another possible heading for this section is:

Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples to preach and to heal people

Luke is the only gospel writer who wrote about this event. However, there are parallel passages for some of the verses in this section in Matthew 9:37–38, 10:7–16, and 11:21–23.Marshall, p. 412.

Paragraph 10:13–16

Jesus had just been talking to his disciples about how God would punish the people who rejected the message that his disciples preached (10:10–12). Here in 10:13–16 Jesus expressed his sorrow at the terrible punishment that awaited the people. These people had already heard him and had seen him do miracles, but they still refused to repent and believe him.

10:15a

And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No,

And as for the people of/in the town of Capernaum, should they think that they will receive great honor in heaven? They will not!
As for you people from Capernaum, do not think that God will honor/exalt you^(plur) in heaven more than other people!

In this verse Jesus addressed the people of the town of Capernaum. These people were not actually present.

And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No: This is a rhetorical question. It probably expresses in question form what the people of Capernaum believed about themselves: that they would be lifted up to heaven. Jesus used the question ironically to imply that they certainly would not be lifted up heaven. His words also imply a rebuke to the people of Capernaum.

In the Greek text there is no explicit answer, No. The BSB has supplied the answer that is implied by the rhetorical question.

Some ways to translate this question are:

As a rhetorical question. For example:
As for you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? (REB)
And you, Capernaum, do you really think you will be raised to a position of great honor in heaven?
As a statement. For example:
And you, Capernaum, are certainly not going to be exalted to heaven.
And you, Capernaum, should not think that you will be honored in heaven more than other people.

Translate this in a way that is natural in your language.

And you, Capernaum: The phrase And you, Capernaum emphasizes that Jesus had finished talking about Chorazin and Bethsaida at the end of 10:14. Here in 10:15 he was beginning to talk about Capernaum. Consider how to show this change in subject. For example:

And as for you, Capernaum! (GNT)

Capernaum: Jesus often stayed in the town of Capernaum during his Galilean ministry. Although he did many miracles in this town, most of the people there still did not believe in him. In some languages it may not be natural to speak to a town as though it were a person. In those languages you may need to translate this as:

people of Capernaum

will you be lifted up to heaven?: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as will…be lifted up is passive. Some ways to translate this clause are:

As a passive clause. For example:
Do you think that you will be given great honor in heaven?
As an active clause. If you need to make the subject explicit, the implied subject is God. For example:
…will you receive great honor in heaven?
…will God lift you up to the highest place in heaven?

Translate this in the way that is most natural in your language.

lifted up to heaven: The phrase lifted up to heaven probably refers to receiving great honor in heaven, where God dwells.Some scholars believe that the word “heaven” does not refer here to God’s dwelling place. They believe that the word is used simply in a figurative way to refer to great honor or to the place of highest honor. However in the context of the final judgment (10:13–14), it is likely that Jesus was speaking literally of heaven where God dwells and of whether the people of Capernaum would be allowed to go there. He implied that they would not receive honor in heaven but they would be sent instead to the place of punishment. For example:

honored in heaven (CEV)

This phrase may imply that the people in Capernaum thought that they would receive more honor in heaven than any other people.The Greek word that the BSB translates as “heaven” can also be translated as “the skies.” The meaning has to be determined by the context. Of the 15 English versions consulted, only the NIV translated this word as “skies.”

10:15b

you will be brought down to Hades!

Instead, you^(plur) will be thrown down to Hades/hell!
Instead, he will cause you^(plur) to go down to the place of the evil dead people, where you will be punished.”

you will be brought down to Hades!: There is a textual issue here:

Most Greek manuscripts have a verb that means “you will be brought/thrown down.” This verb implies the use of force. For example:
you will be brought down to Hades (REB) (BSB, REB, RSV, ESV, GNT, NJB, KJV, NASB, NCV, NLT96, NET)
Other Greek manuscripts have a verb that means “you will go down.” For example:
you will go down to the place of the dead (NLT) (NIV, NLT, GW, CEV)

It is recommended that you follow option (1), which corresponds to the passive clause used in 10:15a. You may want to put the other option in a footnote.

This clause is a direct contrast with 10:15a. Instead of being honored, the people of Capernaum will be brought down to a place of humiliation and punishment. Other ways to translate this are:

You will be thrown down to hell! (GNT)

You will be brought down to Hades/hell, where you will be punished.

The Greek clause that the BSB translates as you will be brought down to Hades is passive. The implied subject is God. In some languages it may be more natural to make this explicit. For example:

God will cause you to go down to Hades

to Hades: The word Hades means “the place of the dead.” In this context it is the opposite of heaven, the place of honor, so it probably refers to hell. It implies a place of humiliation and punishment.

In Greek, the phrase to Hades is in a position of emphasis. One way to translate this emphasis is:

Hades is the place to which you will be thrown down.

In some languages the way to emphasize a phrase is to place it last in the sentence. Consider if there is a natural way in your language to emphasize Hades in contrast to “heaven/skies” in 10:15a.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / apostrophe

σύ, Καφαρναούμ, μὴ ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ?

you Capernaum (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί σύ Καφαρναούμ μή ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ ἕως ᾍδου Καταβήσῃ)

Jesus is speaking to another city that he knows cannot hear him. He is doing this once again to show in a very strong way how he feels about this city. He is actually speaking to the people who can hear him, the disciples whom he is sending out. If your readers might not understand this kind of figurative speech, you could translate Jesus’ words as if he were speaking directly to his disciples. Alternate translation: [The people of Capernaum are wrong to think that God is going to honor them greatly]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / doublenegatives

σύ, Καφαρναούμ, μὴ ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ?

you Capernaum (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί σύ Καφαρναούμ μή ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ ἕως ᾍδου Καταβήσῃ)

In Greek, the first word of the question that Jesus asks Capernaum is a negative word that can be used to turn a negative statement into a question that expects a negative answer. ULT shows this by adding, will you? Your language may have other ways of asking a question that expects a negative answer, for example, by changing the word order of a positive statement. Translate this in the way that would be clearest in your language. Alternate translation: [you people of Capernaum, do you really think that God is going to honor you greatly?]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

σύ, Καφαρναούμ, μὴ ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ?

you Capernaum (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί σύ Καφαρναούμ μή ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ ἕως ᾍδου Καταβήσῃ)

Jesus is using the question form to teach. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate his words as a statement. Alternate translation: [you people of Capernaum are wrong to think that God is going to honor you greatly.]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

σύ, Καφαρναούμ, μὴ ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ?

you Capernaum (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί σύ Καφαρναούμ μή ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ ἕως ᾍδου Καταβήσῃ)

To be exalted or “lifted up” is a spatial metaphor that indicates receiving honor. To be lifted all the way up to heaven (or “to the sky,” another possible meaning) means to receive very great honor. Alternate translation: [you people of Capernaum are wrong to think that God is going to honor you greatly.]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

σύ, Καφαρναούμ

you Capernaum

Jesus uses the name of this city to refer to the people who live there. Alternate translation: [you people of Capernaum]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / you

σύ, Καφαρναούμ

you Capernaum

Jesus is addressing an individual city, so you is singular here and in the rest of this verse. However, if you decide to translate this as “you people of Capernaum,” then you would be plural.

Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

μὴ ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί σύ Καφαρναούμ μή ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ ἕως ᾍδου Καταβήσῃ)

If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this with an active form, and you could state who would do the action. Alternate translation: [God is not going to honor you greatly, is he]

Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

μὴ ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί σύ Καφαρναούμ μή ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ ἕως ᾍδου Καταβήσῃ)

If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state the reason why the people of Capernaum think that God would want to honor them. Alternate translation: [God is not going to honor you greatly because you are such good people and your city is so prosperous, is he]

Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἕως τοῦ ᾍδου καταβήσῃ

to to (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί σύ Καφαρναούμ μή ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ ἕως ᾍδου Καταβήσῃ)

To be brought down is another spatial metaphor. It indicates experiencing punishment and dishonor. To be brought down all the way to Hades, the underworld (that is, the abode of the dead), means to receive very great punishment or dishonor. Alternate translation: [God is going to punish you severely]

Note 10 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

ἕως τοῦ ᾍδου καταβήσῃ

to to (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί σύ Καφαρναούμ μή ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ ἕως ᾍδου Καταβήσῃ)

If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this with an active form, and you could state who would do the action. Alternate translation: [God is going to punish you severely]

Note 11 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἕως τοῦ ᾍδου καταβήσῃ

to to (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί σύ Καφαρναούμ μή ἕως οὐρανοῦ ὑψωθήσῃ ἕως ᾍδου Καταβήσῃ)

It may be helpful to state clearly the reason why God will judge Capernaum. Alternate translation: [God is going to punish you severely because you did not repent and believe in me, even though you saw me do miracles]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.

Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.

OET interlinear LUKE 10:15

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)

Section 10:1–24: Jesus sent out seventy-two disciples

Paragraph 10:13–16

10:15a

10:15b

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)