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In the previous section Jesus told the crowd a parable to teach them not to be greedy. In this section he turned again to his disciples and taught them not to worry about the things they needed. Instead, they should think about the things that were important to God and share their possessions with the poor. God would provide what they needed.
Some other possible headings for this section are:
God’s Care For Those Who Trust In Him
Trust in God (GNT)
Do not Worry (NIV)
There is a parallel passage for this section in Matthew 6:25–34.
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
Can worrying help any of you(plur) add even a little time to how long you live?
Besides that, if you(plur) worry, will that lengthen your life by even one hour/minute/day? Of course not!
Yes, do not worry, because you(plur) can worry continuously and it will not cause you to live one minute longer.
In Greek, this verse begins with a conjunction that many English versions translate as “and.” This conjunction introduces a third reason why the disciples should not worry. The reason is that worry does not accomplish anything. Some ways to introduce this third reason are:
Besides that (TRT)
As for worrying
You also should not worry because…
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?: This is a rhetorical question. It emphasizes that no one can add a single hour to the length of his life by worrying about it.
Some ways to translate this emphasis are:
As a rhetorical question. For example:
Can worry make you live longer? (CEV)
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? Of course not! (NLT96)
As a statement. For example:
You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it. (NCV)
Translate this emphasis in a way that is natural in your language.
a single hour: The Greek word that the BSB translates as a single hour literally means “a cubit.” Many English versions translate it that way. The cubit was a measure of length, about eighteen inches. Here it probably refers to a short time. Use an expression in your language that is commonly used for a short period of time. For example:
a day (REB)
a single moment (NLT)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
τίς & ἐξ ὑμῶν μεριμνῶν, δύναται ἐπὶ τὴν ἡλικίαν αὐτοῦ προσθεῖναι πῆχυν?
which & of you_all worrying ˓is˒_able (Some words not found in SR-GNT: τίς Δέ ἐξ ὑμῶν μεριμνῶν δύναται ἐπί τήν ἡλικίαν αὐτοῦ προσθεῖναι πῆχυν)
Jesus is using the question form to teach his disciples. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate his words as a statement or an exclamation. Alternate translation: [no one can make his life any longer by being anxious!]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἐπὶ τὴν ἡλικίαν αὐτοῦ προσθεῖναι πῆχυν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: τίς Δέ ἐξ ὑμῶν μεριμνῶν δύναται ἐπί τήν ἡλικίαν αὐτοῦ προσθεῖναι πῆχυν)
Jesus is speaking of the lifespan as if it were measured in length rather than in time. Alternate translation: [make his life any longer]
Note 3 topic: translate-unknown
πῆχυν
˓an˒_hour
A cubit is a measure of length equal to about half a meter or about a foot and a half. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could express this length using the measure that is customary your culture.
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
πῆχυν
˓an˒_hour
The implication may be that since a cubit is a relatively short distance, it represents only a short time. Alternate translation: [even a little bit] or [even a short time]
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.