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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
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OET (OET-LV) And the master said to the slave:
Come_out into the roads and fences, and compel them to_come_in, in_order_that the house of_me may_be_filled,
OET (OET-RV) So the master instructed him, ‘Well go along the roads and fences and force them to come so that my house will fill up,
Jesus next told a parable about a feast that a man invited many people to attend. When they refused to come, he invited other people instead. This parable teaches that it is very important to accept God’s invitation to be a part of his kingdom. The people who refused the invitation represent people who are not interested in being part of God’s kingdom. Those who accepted the invitation represent people who are glad to be part of God’s kingdom.
Luke 14:16–24 is all one speech by Jesus. Check to be sure that this is clear in your translation.
Some other possible headings for this section are:
The parable of the excuses
The guests who refused the invitation to attend a banquet
There is a similar parable in Matthew 22:1–10. However, many details are different, so be careful not to translate both parables in the same way.
So the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges
Then the master told his servant, ‘Go(sing) out to the rural/country roads and hedges/fences between the fields
So the master said to him, ‘Go to places outside the town where there are other people
So the master told his servant: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as So introduces the master’s response to what his servant had just said. Another way to translate this is:
Then (NIV)
Go out to the highways and hedges: The phrase the highways and hedges refers to places outside the town where the servant would probably be able to find other people. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
into the country lanes and behind the hedges (NLT)
along the back roads and fence rows (CEV)
highways: The Greek word that the BSB translates as highways refers to roads that lie outside of towns in the rural areas. However, it does not refer to a major highway in the sense of a wide road with much traffic. Some English versions translate this word as “roads.”
hedges: The Greek word that the BSB translates literally as hedges refers to the rows of bushes that acted as fences in the countryside. They were planted along the country paths and divided the fields from each other. In your culture hedges may not have this purpose. If that is true, you may wish to use a general word such as “lanes” or “paths,” since there would have been narrow walkways alongside these hedges and that may be what the master was referring to by using the word “hedges.”
and compel them to come in,
and urge/persuade(sing) the people there to come,
and speak earnestly to them. Make it clear that I really want them to come!
compel them to come in: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as compel in this context means to urge or persuade strongly. It does not imply that the servant should threaten the people or force them to do something that they did not want to do. The master wanted his servant to convince the people to come.
them: Make sure that the pronoun them refers to the people in the rural areas, not to the highways and hedges. Many English versions make this explicit. For example:
compel people to come in (RSV)
so that my house will be full.
so that people/guests will fill my house!
Every place/seat at my feast must be filled!
I do not want any empty places at my feast.
so that my house will be full: This is a purpose clause. It is also a hyperbole (deliberate exaggeration for emphasis). The master wanted every seat in the dining area to have a person sitting in it. He did not literally want his entire house to be full of people. In many languages the hyperbole will be clear and natural. In other languages it may be necessary to state the meaning more directly. For example:
so that there will be people sitting in every seat at my feast
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes
εἶπεν ὁ κύριος πρὸς τὸν δοῦλον, ἔξελθε εἰς τὰς ὁδοὺς καὶ φραγμοὺς, καὶ ἀνάγκασον εἰσελθεῖν, ἵνα γεμισθῇ μου ὁ οἶκος
said the master (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἶπεν ὁ κύριος πρός τόν δοῦλον Ἔξελθε εἰς τάς ὁδούς καί φραγμούς καί ἀνάγκασον εἰσελθεῖν ἵνα γεμισθῇ μού ὁ οἶκος)
If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: [the master told the servant to go out into the roads and hedges and compel people to come in so that his house would be filled]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
φραγμοὺς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἶπεν ὁ κύριος πρός τόν δοῦλον Ἔξελθε εἰς τάς ὁδούς καί φραγμούς καί ἀνάγκασον εἰσελθεῖν ἵνα γεμισθῇ μού ὁ οἶκος)
The word hedges describes boundary fences that enclose and protect fields and buildings. They may be made of bushes and shrubs growing closely together, or they may be made of wood or stone or similar building materials. This could mean: (1) actual hedges. In that case, you could use the equivalent term in your language or a general expression. Alternate translation: [boundary fences] (2) since the term is paired with roads, it may mean the footpaths that run along hedges at the borders of fields. Alternate translation: [paths]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ἵνα γεμισθῇ μου ὁ οἶκος
in_order_that ˓may_be˒_filled (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἶπεν ὁ κύριος πρός τόν δοῦλον Ἔξελθε εἰς τάς ὁδούς καί φραγμούς καί ἀνάγκασον εἰσελθεῖν ἵνα γεμισθῇ μού ὁ οἶκος)
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: [so that guests may fill my house]
OET (OET-LV) And the master said to the slave:
Come_out into the roads and fences, and compel them to_come_in, in_order_that the house of_me may_be_filled,
OET (OET-RV) So the master instructed him, ‘Well go along the roads and fences and force them to come so that my house will fill up,
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.