LUKE 18:8 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 18:1–8: Jesus told a story to teach his disciples to pray persistently

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.

Paragraph 18:6–8

In this paragraph Jesus told his disciples what he wanted them to learn from the parable in 18:1–5. Jesus contrasted God and his people with the judge and the widow. God is not like the unfair judge. God loves to help his people. The judge helped the widow because she asked him many times. God will certainly be much more willing to help his people get justice when they continue to pray to him. He will quickly help them.Keener (p. 238) says, “This parable is a standard Jewish ‘how much more’…argument: if an unjust judge who cared not for widows can dispense justice, how much more will the righteous judge of all the earth, who was known as the defender of widows and orphans?”

18:8a

I tell you, He will promptly carry out justice on their behalf.

I tell you^(plur) this, God will quickly do what is just for them.
He will certainly make sure that they receive what is fair/right.
I assure you^(plur) that God will be swift to give them justice.

I tell you: Jesus often used the words I tell you to begin a statement that he wanted to emphasize. It indicates that the statement was important and that people should listen carefully to it. Some other ways to show this emphasis are:

Use a phrase before Jesus’ statement. For example:
Let me tell you this
I can guarantee that GW)
I assure you
Use an emphatic word within Jesus’ statement. For example:
He will certainly see that they get justice.

If you have another way in your language to emphasize an important statement, consider using it here.

He will promptly carry out justice on their behalf: The Greek expression that the BSB translates as He will promptly carry out justice on their behalf means “God will quickly give/provide justice for his people.” The Greek expression carry out justice is very similar to the expression “bring about justice” (literally, “do…justice”) in 18:7a. It is good to translate in a similar way here. For example:

^7bgive his chosen people justice…^8ahe will give them justice quickly (GW)

^7awill…see justice done…^ahe will not delay in seeing justice done (JBP)

In some languages it may be more natural to translate this without using a noun such as justice. For example:

he will quickly do what is right for his people

he will judge in their favor and do it quickly (GNT)

promptly: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as promptly means “in/after a short period of time.”Some scholars think that the phrase means “suddenly” here, indicating that when the right time comes, God will give his people justice suddenly. Of the fourteen English versions consulted, no version follows this interpretation. Some other ways to translate this are:

speedily

soon

without delay

18:8b

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes,

But when the Son of Man returns
But when I, the Son of Man, come,
Although that is true, when I, the Son of Man, come,

Nevertheless: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as Nevertheless introduces a strong contrast between 18:8a and 18:8c. Even though God will quickly give justice to his people (18:8a), some of his people may doubt that he will ever do it (18:8c). The clause in 18:8b is a time clause. Use a natural way in your language to connect 18:8a and 18:8b–c. Some other ways to translate the connection in English are:

But will the Son of Man find faith on earth when he comes? (GNT)

And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? (NRSV)

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of the clauses in this verse. See the General Comment on 18:8a–c at the end of 18:8c for a suggestion.

when the Son of Man comes: The clause when the Son of Man comes refers to the time in the future when Jesus will return to earth. Other ways to translate it are:

When the Son of Man will return

when the Son of Man comes back to earth

the Son of Man: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as the Son of Man is literally “the Son of the human/person.” Jesus used this title to imply that:

he was a true human being, and he represented all people.
he came from God and had authority from God.

Try to use an expression that implies both meanings. Some expressions that translators have used are:

the Man whom God Sent

the True Man from God/Heaven

the Representative of Mankind

The Older Brother of All People

In some languages it may be necessary to use a form like “I” or “me” to indicate that Jesus was referring to himself. For example:

me, the Son of Man

I who became man/human

This term first occurs in Luke at 5:24a. See also “Son of Man” in KBT.

18:8c

will He find faith on earth?”

to earth, will he meet/see people who have faith?”
will I discover/see that people on earth trust me/God?”
will I find any people in this world who believe that?”

will He find faith on earth?: This is a rhetorical question. Jesus knew that his disciples did not know the answer to this question. The question implies that the Son of ManIn Greek the word for “faith” is preceded by “the” (“the faith”). Here “the faith” probably refers to the faith that is specifically mentioned in this context, that is, faith in God, in the Son of Man, or specifically that God will speedily give his chosen people justice. Most scholars do not interpret it to mean “Christian teaching” in this context, though that later became a common meaning of the phrase “the faith.” may not find faith on the earth when he returns. Jesus probably asked this question to motivate his disciples to be people with that faith.

Some ways to translate this question are:

As a rhetorical question. For example:
…will he find people on earth with faith?
…whom will he find on earth who trusts him/God?
As a statement. For example:
He may not find people on earth with faith.
He may not find/see that there are people on earth who have faith.

Translate this rhetorical question in a natural way in your language.

will He find faith: In this context the question will He find faith implies that people may not have faith at that time. It does not imply that the Son of Man will not be able to find the people who have faith.

This question probably also does not imply that there will be no people who believe in Jesus. It may imply that there may not be many people who have confidence in him.

Some other ways to translate this are:

will he see that people have faith

will he discover that people believe/trust him/God

will he find that no one trusts God/him

faith: In this context faith refers to people trusting God or Jesus, the Son of Man. It may refer specifically to people having confidence that when they pray, God will bring about justice for them, as Jesus said in 18:8a. If you translate faith as a verb here, you may need to supply an object. For example:

trust him

have confidence in him/God

believe/trust that God will do this

See believe, Meaning 2, in the Glossary.

on earth: Here the phrase on earth refers to the whole earth in contrast to heaven. It does not refer to any particular part of the earth.

General Comment on 18:8a–c

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of clauses in this verse. For example:

^8aI tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. ^8cHowever, will the Son of Man find faith on the earth ^8bwhen he returns?

uW Translation Notes:

λέγω ὑμῖν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ποιήσει τήν ἐκδίκησιν αὐτῶν ἐν τάχει Πλήν ὁ Υἱός τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου ἐλθών ἆρα εὑρήσει τήν πίστιν ἐπί τῆς γῆς)

Jesus says this to emphasize what he is about to tell his disciples. Alternate translation: [I can assure you]

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ποιήσει τὴν ἐκδίκησιν αὐτῶν ἐν τάχει

˱he˲_˓will_be˒_executing (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ποιήσει τήν ἐκδίκησιν αὐτῶν ἐν τάχει Πλήν ὁ Υἱός τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου ἐλθών ἆρα εὑρήσει τήν πίστιν ἐπί τῆς γῆς)

The point of the parable and of this teaching is that people should continue to pray even if God does not answer right away. So this statement might seem contradictory, since it suggests that God will answer right away. The implication may be that God is concerned for his people and will begin to act immediately to help them, even if his actions do not become apparent for some time. If you think your readers would be puzzled or troubled by the apparent contradiction, you could state that explicitly. Alternate translation: [he will start to answer their prayers right away] or [he will begin to send them help right away]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

πλὴν ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου ἐλθὼν, ἆρα εὑρήσει τὴν πίστιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς?

Jesus is using the question form as a teaching tool. This particular question uses a word that anticipates a negative answer. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this as a statement. Alternate translation: [Nevertheless, it is doubtful that the Son of Man will find faith on the earth when he returns.]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

πλὴν

The reference of the word Nevertheless is implied in the context. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could make it explicit. Alternate translation: [Even though God readily answers prayer]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person

ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου ἐλθὼν

the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ποιήσει τήν ἐκδίκησιν αὐτῶν ἐν τάχει Πλήν ὁ Υἱός τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου ἐλθών ἆρα εὑρήσει τήν πίστιν ἐπί τῆς γῆς)

Jesus is speaking about himself in the third person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this in the first person. Alternate translation: [when I, the Son of Man, come]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου ἐλθὼν

See how you translated the title Son of Man in [5:24](../05/24.md). Alternate translation: [when I, the Messiah, come]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

τὴν πίστιν

When Jesus asks whether he will find faith on the earth, he may be referring implicitly to the kind of persevering trust in God that would lead a person to continue praying even when the answer was delayed. (UST offers another possible interpretation of this word.) Alternate translation: [this kind of persevering faith] or [this kind of persevering trust in God]

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 18:8