LUKE 21:38 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 21:5–38: Jesus taught about what would happen in the future

After the events of the preceding section, some of Jesus’ disciples were admiring the beautiful stones and gifts that people used to adorn the Temple. Jesus told them that one day the Temple would be completely destroyed. Enemies would attack Jerusalem and destroy the Temple.In A.D. 70, the Jews rebelled against the Romans, and the Roman destroyed the temple. Jesus also told them about other things that would happen in the future. He told them that after these things happened, he would return to earth in power and great glory. He warned his disciples to pray so that they would be able to endure the future troubles and be ready to meet him when he comes again.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some examples of other headings are:

The Jerusalem temple would soon be destroyed

The destruction of the temple and the coming times of trouble

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 24:1–35 and Mark 13:1–31.

Paragraph 21:37–38

This paragraph is a summary and conclusion to Division 19:28–21:38, “Jesus ministered in Jerusalem.” In some languages there may be a special way to introduce a conclusion such as this. In Greek the paragraph begins with a common conjunction. Some English versions have a conjunction like “Now” or “So.”The NET has “So” with the following note: “Here δέ…has been translated as “so” since vv. 37–38 serve as something of a summary or transition from the discourse preceding to the passion narrative that follows.” The NASB has “Now,” which is often used in English to introduce background information. In this context it does introduce information that does not tell the next event but summarizes actions over a period of time. Introduce the paragraph in a natural way in your language.

21:38

And early in the morning all the people would come to hear Him at the temple.

In the morning people came early to the temple to hear him teach.
Early every morning the people who had been listening to his teaching returned to the temple area to hear him teach.

And early in the morning all the people would come to hear Him at the temple: As in 21:37, this verse refers to an action that was repeated each morning in the last days before Jesus died. The people came to the temple early every morning to hear Jesus teach them. Some other ways to translate this are:

Early each morning all the people went to the Temple to listen to him. (GNT)

Every morning all the people got up early to go to the Temple to listen to him. (NCV)

Translate this repeated action in a natural way in your language.

early in the morning: The phrase early in the morning probably refers here to daybreak, as soon as it was light enough to see. Use an appropriate word or phrase in your language.

all the people: all the people refers to all the many people who had been listening to Jesus teaching at the temple. It does not include every person in Jerusalem.

temple: The word temple occurred in 21:37. Refer back to it here in a natural way in your language.

This division in the Gospel of Luke tells what happened during the last few days that Jesus lived on earth before he rose from the dead. During that time he ate his last meal with his disciples, he was arrested, and the Jewish and Roman leaders tried him in court. Then the Roman soldiers crucified him, he died on the cross, and his disciples buried him.

There are different ways to divide this division into sections. The Notes divides the division into sixteen sections. The section breaks are the same as those of the GNT, except that the GNT makes two additional breaks (at 22:4 and 22:35). The Notes have these sections:

22:1–6	Judas told the Jewish leaders that he would betray Jesus to them
22:7–13	Jesus sent two disciples to prepare for the Passover celebration
22:14–23	Jesus gave his disciples bread and wine with a special meaning
22:24–30	Jesus taught his apostles about greatness
22:31–38	Jesus predicted that Peter would deny him
22:39–46	Jesus prayed in a garden called Gethsemane
22:47–53	Judas helped Jesus’ enemies to find him and arrest him
22:54–62	Jesus’ enemies arrested him, and Peter denied him
22:63–65	The guards mocked Jesus
22:66–71	The Jewish leaders questioned Jesus
23:1–5	The Jewish leaders accused Jesus to Governor Pilate
23:6–12	Pilate sent Jesus to Ruler Herod
23:13–25	Jesus was sentenced to death
23:26–43	Soldiers nailed Jesus to a cross
23:44–49	Jesus died
23:50–56	Jesus was buried

The NIV has longer sections. It has the following section headings:

22:1–6	Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus
22:7–38	The Last Supper
22:39–46	Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives
22:47–53	Jesus Arrested
22:54–62	Peter Disowns Jesus
22:63–65	The Guards Mock Jesus
22:66–23:25	Jesus Before Pilate and Herod
23:26–43	The Crucifixion
23:44–49	Jesus’ Death
23:50–56	Jesus’ Burial

Consider how to divide this division into sections in the most helpful way for your language.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole

πᾶς ὁ λαὸς

all the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί πᾶς ὁ λαός ὤρθριζεν πρός αὐτόν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ ἀκούειν αὐτοῦ)

The word all is a generalization that emphasizes how many people came to hear Jesus teach each morning. Alternate translation: [large numbers of people]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis

ὤρθριζεν πρὸς αὐτὸν

˓was˒_coming_at_dawn (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί πᾶς ὁ λαός ὤρθριζεν πρός αὐτόν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ ἀκούειν αὐτοῦ)

Here Luke is leaving out some words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. Alternate translation: [were getting up early to come to him] or [were coming to him starting early each morning]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἀκούειν αὐτοῦ

˓to_be˒_hearing ˱from˲_him

The implication is that the people wanted to hear Jesus teach. Alternate translation: [to listen to him teach]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche

ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ

in the temple

Only priests were allowed to enter the temple building, so Luke means the temple courtyard. Alternate translation: [in the temple courtyard]

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 21:38

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)

Section 21:5–38: Jesus taught about what would happen in the future

Paragraph 21:37–38

21:38

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)