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Luke 18 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43
OET (OET-LV) And he_was_speaking a_parable to_them, because/for the way it_to_be_fitting always them to_be_praying and to_be_ not _losing_heart
OET (OET-RV) Then he told them another parable about how it’s good to always be praying and not to become discouraged:
At the end of chapter 17, Jesus told his disciples about the coming of the Son of Man. In this section, he concluded this teaching by telling them a parable about praying persistently.Bock (p. 1444) says: “The parable of the nagging widow and the consenting judge is linked to the previous eschatological discourse by the reference in Luke 18:8 to the Son of Man’s return. Its plea that believers ask God for justice looks back to the vindication of the saints described in 17:22–37.” He used the parable to teach them that they should continue to trust God and pray to him. They should not become discouraged when they suffer unjustly, because Jesus will return, and God will give them justice.
Justice is an important theme in this parable. Phrases about justice occur four times. Each phrase uses a form of the same Greek word, so you will probably want to translate the phrases in a similar way:
Grant me justice (18:3)
see that she gets justice (18:5)
will not God bring about justice (18:7)
he will see that they get justice (18:8)
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some examples of headings for this section are:
The Parable of the Persistent Widow (NIV)
Jesus told a parable about a widow coming repeatedly to an unjust judge
The parable of the unjust judge
God Will Answer His People (NCV)
Luke is the only gospel that has this story. It is similar in some ways to the parable in 11:5–10.
This verse tells the purpose and meaning of the parable in 18:2–8. In some languages it may be natural to use two sentences to do this. For example:
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable. He wanted to teach them that they must continue to pray and not become discouraged.
See the General Comment on 18:1a–c for a suggestion about using direct speech in this verse.
Then Jesus told them
¶ And he told them
¶ Then Jesus used
¶ Then Jesus told his disciples
Then Jesus told them: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as Then Jesus told them is literally “And he told them.” The RSV and several other English versions translate it that way. Jesus continued to speak to the same people that he spoke to in the previous section. The BSB has supplied the word Jesus to make the meaning clear at the beginning of this new section. Introduce the section in a natural way in your language.
them: Versions such as the CEV, GW, GNT, NIV, and NLT say “his disciples” rather than them. If you decide to say “his disciples” in your translation, for help in translating that term, see the note at 17:1a.
a parable about their need to pray at all times
a parable/illustration to teach that it is necessary to continue to pray
a story to teach them that they must persist in their prayers to God.
a story. It showed that they needed to ask/beg God often to help them.
and not lose heart:
and not stop.
They must not become discouraged and quit trusting/hoping that he will help them.
They should not get tired and stop asking/begging him.
a parable about their need to: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as a parable about their need to is more literally “a parable that it is necessary to.” This phrase introduces the purpose and meaning of the parable. Other ways to introduce it are:
a parable, teaching his disciples so that they would…Uma Back Translation on TW.
a story to tell them that it is necessary to…
a story. Its meaning was that they must…
used this story to teach his followers that they should… (NCV)
parable: The Greek word that the BSB translates as parable is literally “comparison.” A parable teaches a lesson or truth by showing how it is like something that people already know. Jesus used several types of parables including symbolic stories, metaphors, proverbs, illustrations, and wise sayings.
Some ways to translate parable are:
Use a general term in your language that can be used to describe the different types of parables. Some English examples are:
illustration
metaphor
Use a descriptive term. For example:
symbolic saying/word/story
comparison
See also parable, Type 3, in the Glossary.
to pray at all times and not lose heart: The clause to pray at all times and not lose heart indicates that it is necessary for them to pray often. They must pray until they receive the help that they need from God. It implies that they should not become discouraged and then decide that they will not pray again about their need. Some ways to translate this clause are:
it is necessary to pray persistently and not become discouraged
they must continue to pray. They must not get tired and quit praying.
they need to pray many times without despairing
pray at all times: In this context the phrase pray at all times indicates that Jesus’ disciples should pray often and persistently. It probably does not imply that they should literally be praying all the time. In the parable Jesus applied this instruction to making a specific request. They must persist in asking God to do what they need him to do. Some ways to translate this are:
they should keep on praying (CEV)
it is necessary to persist in praying
pray: The Greek word that the BSB translates as pray refers to speaking to God. It is a general word that includes different types of prayer, such as requests, thanks, and praise. If you need to use a more specific expression here, you should use one that refers to making requests.
In some languages it may be necessary to indicate what is prayed for. If that is true in your language, you should use a general word that can apply to most requests. For example:
ask/beg God for help
Avoid a term that may imply magical or meaningless words.
not lose heart: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as not lose heart means “not become discouraged.”In other contexts it is used in a more general way to mean “not act badly” (TDNT III, p. 486) or, as Green says, “to behave remissly.” He says, “‘Lose heart’ may be too passive a way to understand Jesus’ concern that his followers not begin to behave remissly….” (p. 638). This implies a neglect of prayer that comes out of discouragement, weariness, or wavering in their faith in God. Jesus warns against giving up their trust that God will grant their request. It implies here that they should not be discouraged when God does not quickly do what they ask him to do. They should not stop praying, and they should not stop believing that God will help them. Other ways to translate this are:
never become discouraged (GNT)
never lose hope (NCV)
In some languages it may be more natural to use direct speech to tell the purpose of the parable. For example:
Then Jesus told them a story to teach them saying, “You must always continue to pray and not give up.”
The words “not lose heart” may also be expressed as direct speech. For example:
Then Jesus told them a parable. He said, “It is necessary to keep on praying. You should never say, ‘I am tired of praying. I will stop.’”
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / parables
ἔλεγεν δὲ παραβολὴν αὐτοῖς, πρὸς τὸ
˱he˲_˓was˒_speaking (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἔλεγεν Δέ παραβολήν αὐτοῖς πρός τό δεῖν πάντοτε προσεύχεσθαι αὐτούς καί μή ἐγκακεῖν)
Alternate translation: [Then Jesus told his disciples this story to help them understand that it was necessary]
OET (OET-LV) And he_was_speaking a_parable to_them, because/for the way it_to_be_fitting always them to_be_praying and to_be_ not _losing_heart
OET (OET-RV) Then he told them another parable about how it’s good to always be praying and not to become discouraged:
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.