LUKE 11:41 Interlinear View

1. Greek word
2. Greek lemma
3. OET-LV words
4. OET-RV words
5. Strongs
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. Πλήν
2. plēn
3. However
4. However
5. 41330
6. C·······
7. however
8. however
9. S
10. Y33
11. 49818
1. τά
2. ho
3. the things
4. -
5. 35880
6. R····ANP
7. the ‹things›
8. the ‹things›
9. -
10. Y33
11. 49819
1. ἐνόντα
2. eneimi
3. being within
4. -
5. 17510
6. VPPA·ANP
7. being_within
8. being_within
9. -
10. Y33
11. 49820
1. δότε
2. didōmi
3. give
4. give
5. 13250
6. VMAA2··P
7. give
8. give
9. -
10. Y33
11. 49821
1. ἐλεημοσύνην
2. eleēmosunē
3. as alms
4. -
5. 16540
6. N····AFS
7. ˱as˲ alms
8. ˱as˲ alms
9. -
10. Y33
11. 49822
1. καί
2. kai
3. and
4. -
5. 25320
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. Y33
11. 49823
1. ἰδού
2. horaō
3. see
4. -
5. 37080
6. IMAM2··S
7. see
8. behold
9. -
10. Y33
11. 49824
1. ἅπαντα
2. hapas
3. -
4. -
5. 5370
6. S····NNP
7. all ‹things›
8. all ‹things›
9. -
10. -
11. 49825
1. παντᾶ
2. pas
3. all things
4. -
5. 39560
6. S····NNP
7. all ‹things›
8. all ‹things›
9. -
10. Y33
11. 49826
1. καθαρά
2. katharos
3. clean
4. clean
5. 25130
6. S····NNP
7. clean
8. clean
9. -
10. Y33
11. 49827
1. ἔσται
2. eimi
3. -
4. -
5. 15100
6. VIFM3··S
7. will_be
8. will_be
9. -
10. -
11. 49828
1. ὑμῖν
2. su
3. to you all
4. -
5. 47710
6. R···2D·P
7. ˱to˲ you_all
8. ˱to˲ you_all
9. -
10. Y33
11. 49829
1. ἐστίν
2. eimi
3. is
4. -
5. 15100
6. VIPA3··S
7. is
8. is
9. -
10. Y33
11. 49830
1. ἔσται
2. eimi
3. -
4. -
5. 15100
6. VIFM3··S
7. will_be
8. will_be
9. -
10. -
11. 49831

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 11:37–54: Jesus criticized the Pharisees and the teachers of the law

In this section, a Pharisee invited Jesus to his house for a meal. The Pharisee was surprised that Jesus did not ritually wash his hands before he ate. Jesus then criticized the Pharisees because they carefully observed outward rituals but neglected true devotion to God. He specifically warned the Pharisees about three ways in which they displeased God. He then directed three additional warnings to the teachers of the law.

Some other headings for this section are:

Jesus’ Criticism of the Religious Leaders

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 23:1–36 and Mark 12:38–40.

11:41a

But give as alms the things that are within you,

So do not be greedy and wicked. Instead, share^(plur) your possessions with the poor,
So what you^(plur) ought to do instead is to use what you have to help poor people.

But: The Greek word that the BSB translates as But introduces a strong contrast. The contrast is between what the Pharisees were actually doing in 11:39b–c and what they should have been doing instead in 11:41a. They were careful about their ritual cleanness, and at the same time were greedy and wicked. Instead, they should have been concerned about giving alms to the poor.

Since the contrast is not with the preceding verse (11:40), it may be necessary to make the connection explicit. For example:

Instead of acting like that

11:41a is also advice that concludes this paragraph. So in some languages it may be more natural to introduce this verse as a conclusion. For example:

So what you should do instead is to…

So do not be greedy and wicked. Instead…

So remove wickedness from your hearts. Instead…

give as alms: The Greek word that the BSB translates literally as give as alms means “give as charity” or “give to the poor.” For example:

Give…as a gift to the poor (GW)

the things that are within you: The Greek expression that the BSB translates as the things that are within you is literally “the-(things) being-inside.” There are several ways to interpret this phrase:

It refers figuratively to a person’s possessions. For example:
give what you have to the poor (CEV) (NJB, NLT, CEV, KJV)
It refers to the inside of a person. Specifically, it refers to giving “inwardly” or “from an inner motivation.” For example:
give from your heart to those in need (NET) (BSB, NET)
It refers to food that is inside the dishes. For example:
So give what is in your dishes to the poor (NCV) (NIV, GNT, NCV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) or a combination of interpretations (1) and (2). These two interpretations fit well together and are supported by a majority of scholars. See the General Comment on 11:41a–b at the end of 11:41b for another way to express the relationship between these verse parts.

11:41b

and you will see that everything is clean for you.

and then, I tell you, both your^(plur) heart/mind and your body will be clean.
If you^(plur) do this, I assure you that you^(plur) will be completely/truly clean in God’s sight and acceptable to him.”

and: The Greek text here is literally “and behold.” Some English versions, such as the ESV, translate it that way. This phrase calls attention to the next statement. It indicates that the next statement is something important. It introduces what will happen if the Pharisees give generously to poor people. Most English versions do not translate this phrase. Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

I tell you

I assure you

everything is clean for you: There are at least two ways to interpret the clause everything is clean for you:

Your entire being will be truly clean in God’s sight and will be acceptable to him. For example:
and you will be clean all over (NLT)
and then you will be fully clean (NCV) (NLT, NCV, CEV, JBP)
Everything that needs ceremonial cleansing will be ritually clean and acceptable for you to use. For example:
everything will be ritually clean for you (GNT) (BSB, GNT)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). It is consistent with Jesus’ overall teaching that God emphasizes inner purity more than ritual purity.

clean: The word clean here means something like “acceptable to God.” Jesus was saying that washing bowls and cups and hands made them ceremonially clean. But in order for the people eating at the feast to be truly clean before God, they had to be clean inside.

One way to be clean inside was to be generous to the poor. If they did that, God would be pleased with them, whether or not they washed their hands.

General Comment on 11:41a–b

Verse 11:41a (giving alms to the poor) may be regarded as a means to achieving the result in 11:41b (becoming truly clean). In some languages, it may be more natural to make this explicit. For example:

So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over. (NLT)

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

τὰ ἐνόντα δότε ἐλεημοσύνην

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πλήν τά ἐνόντα δότε ἐλεημοσύνην καί ἰδού παντᾶ καθαρά ὑμῖν ἐστίν)

Jesus assumes that the Pharisees will know that he is now referring literally to the cups and bowls because he wants to speak about what they contain. So in this saying, they no longer represent the Pharisees. Alternate translation: [give to the poor what is in your cups and bowls]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy

τὰ ἐνόντα δότε ἐλεημοσύνην

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πλήν τά ἐνόντα δότε ἐλεημοσύνην καί ἰδού παντᾶ καθαρά ὑμῖν ἐστίν)

Jesus is referring to food by association with the cups and bowls that the food is inside. Alternate translation: [share your food with the poor]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἰδοὺ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πλήν τά ἐνόντα δότε ἐλεημοσύνην καί ἰδού παντᾶ καθαρά ὑμῖν ἐστίν)

Jesus uses the term behold to get the Pharisees to focus their attention on what he is about to say. Alternate translation: [indeed]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

πάντα καθαρὰ ὑμῖν ἐστιν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πλήν τά ἐνόντα δότε ἐλεημοσύνην καί ἰδού παντᾶ καθαρά ὑμῖν ἐστίν)

The implication is that if the Pharisees devote themselves to what is most important, helping people in need, then they will recognize that ceremonial cleansing is less important and less worthy of their attention. Alternate translation: [you will not have to be so concerned about ritually washing cups and bowls]

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 11:41

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

Section 11:37–54: Jesus criticized the Pharisees and the teachers of the law

11:41a

11:41b

General Comment on 11:41a–b

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