LUKE 22:44 Interlinear View

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 22:39–46: Jesus prayed in a garden called Gethsemane

Jesus then went out to the Mount of Olives with his disciples. There he prayed to God about his coming suffering, and there his enemies, whom Judas was leading, arrested him.

Jesus knew that his enemies would soon arrest him. So during this last time that he had with his disciples, he prayed to God and encouraged them to pray to God. He told his disciples to pray that they would not be overcome by temptation. Jesus also prayed that he himself would do what his heavenly Father wanted rather than what he himself wanted.

Other examples of headings for this section are:

Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives (GNT)

Jesus Prays Alone (NCV)

The Garden of Gethsemane

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 26:36–46 and Mark 14:32–42.

22:44a

And in His anguish,

He/Jesus was in great distress/agony,
Then as Jesus agonized/grieved intensely,

And: The Greek word that the BSB translates as And is a common conjunction that is often translated as “and,” “but,” or “then.” In some languages it may be natural to indicate a contrast here. Even though the angel gave Jesus strength in 22:43, Jesus was still in great distress. In some languages a conjunction will not be needed. Connect 22:43 and 22:44 in a natural way in your language.

in His anguish: The Greek word that the BSB translates as anguish refers here to the agony that Jesus felt as he thought about the terrible torment that he must endure.This word is used only here in the NT. However, a very similar word is used in Hebrews 12:1, where the BSB translates it as “race.” To understand this passage better, it is also helpful to read Hebrews 5:7–10 and 6:20.The word that the BSB translates as “anguish” is used in other literature, and scholars indicate that it often refers to a feeling of agony that occurs before a person faces a very difficult experience. See Fitzmyer, p. 1444. In 2 Maccabees 3:16–17 the high priest felt this type of agony, and it caused him to tremble physically. This agony affects a person physically, as well as emotionally and mentally. He knew that he would be punished for the sins of mankind. These thoughts caused him overwhelming grief. The suffering that he felt caused both mental and physical pain.

Some other ways to translate the phrase in His anguish are:

he felt great suffering/agony

in this exceeding hardship of hisKankanaey back translation on TW.

In some languages there may be an idiom to describe this. For example:

his liver was very grievedYakan back translation on TW.

he was filled with anguish/grief

22:44b

He prayed more earnestly,

and he prayed more fervently than before.
he spoke to God with such intense feeling

He prayed more earnestly: This clause is a comparison. Jesus was already praying in 23:41–42. After the angel strengthened him in 22:43, he prayed more fervently and urgently. He put much strength, effort, and longing into his prayer. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

Jesus prayed even harder (NCV)

he prayed more intensely/fervently

In some languages it may be more natural to translate without using a comparison. For example:

He was praying very fervently (NASB)

He prayed so urgently that

In some languages there may be an idiom to express this. For example:

He poured out his soul in prayer

prayed more earnestly: As 22:42 indicates, Jesus prayed to God, his Father. In some languages it is necessary to make this clear. For example:

spoke more earnestly to God

begged his father God more urgently

he prayed all the harder to GodWestern Bukidnon Manobo back translation on TW.

22:44c

and His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.

His sweat was like clots of blood falling to the ground.
that sweat fell from him like blood dripping on the ground.

His sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground: This clause is a simile. There are two ways to interpret it:

It indicates that Jesus’ sweat was like blood falling to the ground. It implies that he was sweating so much that drops of sweat fell to the ground as blood does when a person is bleeding. For example:
…his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. (NLT) (BSB, NLT, CEV, NJB)
It indicates that Jesus’ sweat became bloody. Some scholars believe that Jesus began to bleed and that blood mixed with his sweat and fell to the ground. For example:
…His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. (NASB) (NASB)

Most English versions are ambiguous.Even the English versions that are listed here under the interpretations are actually somewhat ambiguous. The wording of the NASB is similar to other versions like the NRSV, but the comma after the word “blood” seems to imply that the modifier “falling upon the ground” is more purely descriptive, thus seeming to imply that the sweat became like actual blood, rather than referring to the manner of it falling to the ground. If it is natural in your language, you can translate it so that either interpretation may be understood. If you need to be specific, it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).

drops of blood: The Greek word that the BSB translates as drops occurs only here in the New Testament. It refers to very small amounts of a liquid. Blood or sweat often form drops and sit on the skin like little separate bits of liquid. In English these bits are called drops or “beads” (“beads of sweat”). Languages have different words to describe very small amounts of blood. Use a natural word in your language to describe this.

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: translate-textvariants

Καὶ γενόμενος ἐν ἀγωνίᾳ ἐκτενέστερον προσηύχετο καὶ Ἐγένετο ὁ ἱδρὼς αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ θρόμβοι αἵματος καταβαίνοντες ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν

(Kai genomenos en agōnia ektenesteron prosaʸuⱪeto kai Egeneto ho hidrōs autou hōsei thromboi haimatos katabainontes epi taʸn gaʸn)

See the discussion of textual issues at the end of the General Notes to this chapter to decide whether to include this verse in your translation. The two notes below discusses translation issues in this verse, for those who decide to include it.

ἐκτενέστερον προσηύχετο

(ektenesteron prosaʸuⱪeto)

This could mean: (1) Luke is using the comparative form of the adjective earnest, which has an adverbial sense here, with a superlative meaning. Alternate translation: [he was praying most earnestly] or [he was praying very fervently] (2) the word has an actual comparative sense. Alternate translation: [he began to pray even more earnestly than he had been praying before]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / simile

Ἐγένετο ὁ ἱδρὼς αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ θρόμβοι αἵματος καταβαίνοντες ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν

(Egeneto ho hidrōs autou hōsei thromboi haimatos katabainontes epi taʸn gaʸn)

This could mean one of two things. The first is more likely. (1) It could describe the appearance of the drops. This would mean that Jesus had been under such stress that the small blood vessels that fed his sweat glands ruptured, and his sweat became mixed with blood. (This is a rare but well-document medical condition known as hematohidrosis.) Alternate translation: [his sweat became mixed with blood and it fell to the ground in drops] (2) It could describe the way in which the drops of sweat fell to the ground. Alternate translation: [he began to sweat so intensely that the sweat formed drops and fell to the ground as blood drops do]

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 22:44

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

Section 22:39–46: Jesus prayed in a garden called Gethsemane

22:44a

22:44b

22:44c

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