InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEUT JOB YEHO (JOS) HERO (JDG) RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG YOEL (JOEL) MIC ISA ZEP HAB YIR (JER) LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBAD DAN EZEK EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL 2 PS WIS TOB MAN BAR G DAN G ESD L ESD ESG JDT 3 MAC SIR 1 MAC 2 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL LAOD 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
InterlinearVerse Luke C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24
Luke 14 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28 V30 V31 V32 V33 V34 V35
Used in these topics: Following Yeshua/Jesus and obeying him
OET-LV In_order_that lest having_laid a_foundation of_it and not being_able to_finish it, all which observing it may_begin to_be_mocking at_him
OET (OET-RV) Otherwise you might lay the foundation and not be able to finish it. Then everyone watching might begin to mock
In the previous section, Jesus warned people about the danger of rejecting God’s invitation to join his kingdom. In this section he told them two parables to advise them that they should not underestimate the suffering and difficulties which they would face if they decided to truly be his disciples.
Some other possible headings for this section are:
The Cost of Being a Disciple (NIV)
Do not underestimate the hardship of being a disciple
In Greek, this paragraph (14:28–30) begins with a conjunction that many versions, such as the RSV, translate as “For.” It introduces an example that illustrates what Jesus said in the previous paragraph. Jesus taught that becoming his disciple was a serious commitment. The illustration shows that a person should think carefully about the difficulties and cost before making such a serious commitment.
The BSB does not translate this connection explicitly. In some languages you may need to make the connection more explicit. This may be done in different ways. For example:
But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building…? (NLT)
You must think first about this before you become my disciple. Just as…
Otherwise, if he lays the foundation and is unable to finish the work,
Otherwise, he may finish building only the foundation/bottom, and/but he will not be able to build the rest/top of the tower.
For if you do not wait until you have enough money, you(plur) will set up the supports/posts, but you will not be able to finish the other parts of the house.
Otherwise: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as Otherwise is literally “lest,” as in versions such as the KJV. It introduces a situation the builder should wish to avoid. Consider how to express this situation in a natural way in your language.
if he lays the foundation and is unable to finish the work: This verse part contains some implied reasoning. The steps in the reasoning are:
If he does not calculate the cost, and
if he does not have enough money,
then he will lay and foundation, and
he will not be able to finish the rest of the building.
In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit one or more of the implied steps in the reasoning.
lays the foundation: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as lays the foundation is literally “places/puts the foundation.” The foundation supports the tower. It could also be called the “base” or the “support” of the tower.
If building methods are different in your region, you could adapt this illustration to fit your culture. Describe here what a man would do to build a house that was sturdy and strong. For example, where houses are built of wood and supported by posts, you could say:
he sets the house posts in place
An almost identical phrase “laid the foundation” occurs in 6:48b.
unable to finish the work: The word work refers to the rest of the building—everything besides the foundation. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
not able to continue building the rest of it
not able to finish the building
everyone who sees it will ridicule him,
Then all the people who see it will make fun of him,
Then everyone who sees what has happened will laugh at you(plur).
ridicule: The word ridicule means to laugh at or make fun of someone, to try to say something that will make him ashamed.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἵνα μήποτε
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἵνα μήποτε θέντος αὐτοῦ θεμέλιον καί μή ἰσχύοντος ἐκτελέσαι πάντες οἱ θεωροῦντες ἄρξωνται αὐτῷ ἐμπαίζειν)
If it would be helpful to your readers, you could express the implicit meaning here. Alternate translation: [If he does not first calculate the cost]
Note 2 topic: translate-unknown
θέντος αὐτοῦ θεμέλιον
˓having˒_laid ˱of˲_it ˓a˒_foundation
See how you translated the word foundation in 6:48. Alternate translation: [once he has built a base] or [once he has completed the lower part of the building]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
καὶ μὴ ἰσχύοντος ἐκτελέσαι
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Ἵνα μήποτε θέντος αὐτοῦ θεμέλιον καί μή ἰσχύοντος ἐκτελέσαι πάντες οἱ θεωροῦντες ἄρξωνται αὐτῷ ἐμπαίζειν)
The implication is that this person was not able to finish the building because he did not have enough money. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: [but does not have enough money to finish the whole building]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole
πάντες οἱ θεωροῦντες
all ¬which observing_‹it›
This is a generalization that describes what the common reaction would be. Alternate translation: [those who see it]
OET-LV In_order_that lest having_laid a_foundation of_it and not being_able to_finish it, all which observing it may_begin to_be_mocking at_him
OET (OET-RV) Otherwise you might lay the foundation and not be able to finish it. Then everyone watching might begin to mock
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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