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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT ESA WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Luke C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24
Luke 11 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49 V51 V53
OET (OET-LV) Therefore if the whole body of_you is bright, not having any dark part, it_will_ all _be bright, as whenever the lamp may_be_illuminating you the with_shining.
OET (OET-RV) Therefore if your whole body is bright without any dark areas, it will be bright all over, like when a lamp shines on you to illuminate you.”
In this section, Jesus used the metaphors of a lamp, light, darkness, eye, and body. The lamp and the light are illustrations of Jesus and his teaching. Both Jesus’ life and teaching revealed God to the people. People whose spiritual eyesight was good were able to understand and accept his message. They were like someone whose mind or body was full of light. People who rejected his message were like a person who was full of darkness.
Jesus used these metaphors to tell the people (in 11:29–32) that their spiritual eyes were diseased. They could not receive the light of his message. If they had been willing to accept his message, then their minds would have been full of light. They would not have asked for another miracle to prove that God had sent him.
Some other possible headings for this section are:
Jesus’ message is like a lamp and like light
The light of the body (GNT)
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 5:15 and 6:22–23.
There are two sayings about a lamp in this paragraph: one in 11:33 and another in 11:34–36. In 11:33 Jesus compared himself and his teaching to a lamp. People put a lamp where its light will be seen. In the same way, Jesus taught in public where everyone could hear and see him.
In 11:34 the topic is different. Here a person’s eye (his attitude toward Jesus’ message) is compared to a lamp. This lamp provides him with light (spiritual illumination or understanding).A number of commentators say that in this context the eye represents a person’s attitude toward Jesus, his willingness or unwillingness to accept Jesus’ message. Evans (p. 188) uses the term “moral disposition,” referring to a person’s inclination to receive Jesus’ message or to reject him. Marshall (p. 489) speaks of a person being “single-mindedly receptive to the light of the gospel,” and Liefeld (p. 954) says that the body receives light through the eye “subject to the individual’s will.” Morris (p. 221) also speaks of a person’s attention being focused on good (in the case of a healthy eye) or on evil (in the case of a bad eye). Nolland (p. 657) agrees that the eye here is a metaphor for “moral and spiritual readiness to see.”
So if your whole body is full of light,
So if your(sing/plur) whole self/body is full of light,
If God’s light fills every part of you(sing/plur),
If your(sing/plur) entire mind/self is illuminated
So, if you completely understand the truth
So: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as So introduces a conclusion. This is the conclusion that Jesus drew from what he had said in 11:34b (“your whole body also is full of light”). Since it does not directly relate to Jesus’ command in 11:35, several English versions (CEV, GNT, NCV, NLT) do not translate this conjunction. Use a natural way to translate a conclusion like this in your language.
if your whole body is full of light: See the note on 11:34c, which is almost identical. In the context of the warning in 11:35, there may be an implication here of truly having light (as opposed to being in darkness). Another way to translate this clause is:
if God’s light fills every part of you
if your entire mind is illuminated
As in 11:34c, some languages may have to translate the direct meaning instead of the figure. See the examples there.
with no part of it in darkness,
instead of darkness,
and no part of you(sing/plur) remains dark,
so that there is absolutely no darkness in you(sing/plur),
and there is no error in your understanding,
with no part of it in darkness: In this context the phrase with no part of it in darkness means “no part of your body is without light.” Some other ways to translate this phrase are:
and no part of it dark (NIV)
with no dark corners (NLT)
If you need to translate this meaning more explicitly, you can say:
and there is no error in your understanding
you will be radiant,
then every part of you(sing/plur) will be totally illuminated
your(sing/plur) whole life/being will be light/bright
then your(sing/plur) mind will truly be bright
it will be as if all of you is completely lighted,
you will be radiant: The clause that the BSB translates as you will be radiant is literally “the whole will be full of light,” which is almost the same expression as in 11:36a, “if your whole body is full of light.” The BSB varies the language in order to avoid a translation that is merely repeating itself. To do the same in your translation, you may:
Use different wording (see the meaning lines in the Display of 11:36c).
Emphasize that the entire person or every part of the person is illuminated.
Emphasize the comparison between inner, spiritual light in 11:36c and a literal bright lamp in 11:36d. For example:
your whole life will be light as if you were close to a bright lamp
your mind will truly be bright like a person who is shined on by a strong light
as though a lamp were shining on you.”
as if a lamp were shining brightly on you(sing/plur).”
as if you(sing/plur) were close to a bright lamp.”
like a person who is shined on by a strong/bright light/lamp.”
as though a lamp were shining on you: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as as though a lamp were shining on you is more literally “as the lamp in its brightness/brilliance shines on you.” This clause compares the inner illumination of God’s truth in a person’s life (11:36a–c) to a bright lamp that shines on a person. Another way to translate this is:
as when a lamp shines on you with its brightness (GNT)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / simile
ἔσται φωτεινὸν ὅλον, ὡς ὅταν ὁ λύχνος τῇ ἀστραπῇ φωτίζῃ σε
˱it˲_will_be (Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἰ Οὖν τό σῶμα σοῦ ὅλον φωτεινόν μή ἔχον μέρος τὶ σκοτεινόν ἔσται φωτεινόν ὅλον ὡς ὅταν ὁ λύχνος τῇ ἀστραπῇ φωτίζῃ σέ)
Jesus now uses a simile to connect the illustration of the lamp with the extended metaphor of the eye. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could explain the meaning of the simile. Alternate translation: [light will come into your whole body. In the same way, if you are willing to obey God, you will be able to understand his message and live by it completely, just as a lamp shines a bright light that allows you to see yourself and everything around you clearly]
OET (OET-LV) Therefore if the whole body of_you is bright, not having any dark part, it_will_ all _be bright, as whenever the lamp may_be_illuminating you the with_shining.
OET (OET-RV) Therefore if your whole body is bright without any dark areas, it will be bright all over, like when a lamp shines on you to illuminate you.”
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.
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