LUKE 23:45 Interlinear View

1. Greek word
2. Greek lemma
3. OET-LV words
4. OET-RV words
5. Strongs
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. καί
2. kai
3. -
4. -
5. 25320
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. -
11. 61016
1. ἐσκοτίσθη
2. skotizō
3. -
4. -
5. 46540
6. VIAP3··S
7. ˓was˒ darkened
8. ˓was˒ darkened
9. -
10. -
11. 61017
1. δέ
2. de
3. -
4. -
5. 11610
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. -
11. 61018
1. ὁ
2. ho
3. -
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····NMS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. -
11. 61019
1. Τοῦ
2. ho
3. Of the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····GMS
7. ˱of˲ the
8. ˱of˲ the
9. S
10. Y33
11. 61020
1. ἥλιος
2. ēlios
3. -
4. -
5. 22460
6. N····NMS
7. sun
8. sun
9. -
10. -
11. 61021
1. ἡλίου
2. ēlios
3. sun
4. sun
5. 22460
6. N····GMS
7. sun
8. sun
9. -
10. Y33
11. 61022
1. ἐκλιπόντος
2. ekleipō
3. having darkened
4. -
5. 15870
6. VPAA·GMS
7. ˓having˒ darkened
8. ˓having˒ darkened
9. -
10. Y33
11. 61023
1. ἐκλείποντος
2. ekleipō
3. -
4. -
5. 15870
6. VPPA·GMS
7. darkening
8. darkening
9. -
10. -
11. 61024
1. καί
2. kai
3. -
4. -
5. 25320
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. -
11. 61025
1. ἐσχίσθη
2. sχizō
3. was torn
4. -
5. 49770
6. VIAP3··S
7. ˓was˒ torn
8. ˓was˒ torn
9. -
10. Y33
11. 61026
1. δέ
2. de
3. and
4. -
5. 11610
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. Y33
11. 61027
1. τό
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····NNS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y33
11. 61028
1. καταπέτασμα
2. katapetasma
3. curtain
4. curtain
5. 26650
6. N····NNS
7. curtain
8. curtain
9. -
10. Y33
11. 61029
1. τοῦ
2. ho
3. of the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····GMS
7. ˱of˲ the
8. ˱of˲ the
9. -
10. Y33
11. 61030
1. ναοῦ
2. naos
3. temple
4. temple
5. 34850
6. N····GMS
7. temple
8. temple
9. -
10. Y33
11. 61031
1. μέσον
2. mesos
3. in +the middle
4. middle
5. 33190
6. S····ANS
7. ˱in˲ ˓the˒ middle
8. ˱in˲ ˓the˒ middle
9. -
10. Y33
11. 61032

23:45 Although the Greek word ‘ἐκλιπόντος’ (eklipontos, a different word from what was used in the previous verse) might suggest a natural eclipse, this is impossible for a few reasons, particularly that these events occurred around Passover which coincides with the full moon when an eclipse is physically impossible, and also because an eclipse only lasts a few minutes, not hours.

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 23:44–49: Jesus died

While Jesus was on the cross, it became dark. The curtain in the temple ripped into two pieces. Jesus gave his spirit up to God his Father and died. One of the Roman soldiers saw and heard all that happened. As a result, he believed that Jesus was a righteous man. When the people saw that, they were sorry that Jesus was crucified. The way Jesus lived and the way he died showed many people that he was an innocent man. Examples of other headings for this section are:

The Death of Jesus (GNT)

Jesus died

Parallel passages for this section are in Matthew 27:45–56, Mark 15:33–41, and John 19:28–30.

23:45a

The sun was darkened,

because the sun failed to shine.
because the sun had stopped shining where they were.
for the sun did not shine.

The sun was darkened: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as The sun was darkened is literally “the sun’s light having failed.” This clause gives the reason or cause for the darkness in 23:44. It became dark because the sun stopped shining. Some other ways to translate the clause are:

because the sun did not shine (NCV)

The light from the sun was gone. (NLT)

In some languages it may be more natural to put this reason clause before the result in 23:44. You may also decide to include this clause in 23:44, as some English versions do. See the General Comment on 23:44–45 below for examples.

This phrase not necessarily mean that the sun had no light at all during that time. God may have caused something to block the light of the sun so that it could not shine on part of the earth. Then the land became dark. However, this was not an eclipse. Bible scholars do not know what caused this darkness.When the moon comes between the earth and the sun, it hides the light of the sun for a short time and causes the land to become dark. People call this an eclipse of the sun. But a true eclipse of the sun could not have happened at that time of the month, because the moon was on the opposite side of the earth from the sun. The Passover was at the time of the full moon. Also, an eclipse of the sun would last only a few minutes, but this darkness lasted for three hours.

General Comment on 23:44–45

There is a close connection between 23:44b and 23:45a. The sun stopped shining (23:45a), and that caused the land to become dark (23:44b). Some languages may need to change the order of clauses so that the cause in 23:45 comes before the result in 23:44. For example:

^44aIt was now about the sixth hour ^45aand the sun’s light failed, ^44bso that darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. (NJB)

In some languages it may be helpful to combine 23:44–45. For example:

^44–45It was about twelve o’clock when the sun stopped shining and darkness covered the whole country until three o’clock…. (GNT)

In some other languages it may be better to include 23:45a in 23:44 without changing the verse numbers. For example:

⁴⁴When it was about twelve o’clock, the sun suddenly-stopped shining and the entire country became dark until three o’clock.Kankanaey back translation on TW.

You should order 23:44b–45a in a way that is natural in your language.

23:45b

and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle.

And the curtain in the temple was split/torn into two pieces.
During that time, the cloth door/divider in the temple tore/ripped down the middle into two parts.

and: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as and connects the tearing of the veil/curtain of the temple into two parts with the darkness that came upon the land in 23:44–45a. At some time during this darkness the veil/curtain in the temple was torn in two. In some languages a conjunction is not necessary. Connect the events in a natural way in your language.

the veil of the temple: The phrase the veil of the temple refers to the large, thick curtain that hung in the temple. It divided a very holy place from the rest of the temple. It either hung at the entrance to the temple building or between two rooms in the temple building. (These two rooms are called “The Holy Place” and “The Holy of Holies.”)In the commentaries there is much discussion of which of these two curtains is intended. Some scholars favor the outer curtain because of its more public aspect. The inner curtain is favored by others because of references to it in Hebrews (6:19, 9:3; 10:19–20) and because the Greek word used here is more consistently used of the inner curtain. In the end, the choice of curtain does not greatly affect the sense. The tearing of either curtain would speak of the destruction of the temple and OT system and symbolically show that a new way has been opened for man to approach God. This curtain was possibly as much as twenty-five meters tall.

Some other ways to translate this are:

heavy cloth door

cloth divider

the thick cloth that makes/acts-as a wall in the templeYakan back translation on TW.

temple: Here the word temple refers to the main building of the temple. See temple, Meaning 2, in the Glossary.

was torn down the middle: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as was torn down the middle indicates that the curtain was split down the middle into two parts. According to Matthew 27:51 and Mark 15:38 this curtain split apart from top to bottom.

The verb was torn is passive. The text probably implies that God caused the curtain to tear like that. In some languages it may be more natural to translate the clause without a passive verb. For example:

tore into two parts

ripped down the middle

uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / personification

τοῦ ἡλίου ἐκλειπόντος

˱of˲_the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τοῦ ἡλίου ἐκλιπόντος ἐσχίσθη δέ τό καταπέτασμα τοῦ ναοῦ μέσον)

This means that the sun, as if it were an active agent, failed to give its light. Luke is speaking from an observational perspective. The sun was still shining above the darkness, but its light could not be seen through the darkness. Alternate translation: [It was too dark even to see the light of the sun]

Note 2 topic: translate-symaction

ἐσχίσθη δὲ τὸ καταπέτασμα τοῦ ναοῦ μέσον

˓was˒_torn (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τοῦ ἡλίου ἐκλιπόντος ἐσχίσθη δέ τό καταπέτασμα τοῦ ναοῦ μέσον)

See the General Notes to this chapter for an explanation of the symbolic significance of this action.

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

τὸ καταπέτασμα τοῦ ναοῦ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τοῦ ἡλίου ἐκλιπόντος ἐσχίσθη δέ τό καταπέτασμα τοῦ ναοῦ μέσον)

Luke assumes that his readers will know that he is referring to the curtain that separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the temple. Alternate translation: [the curtain in front of the Most Holy Place]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

ἐσχίσθη & τὸ καταπέτασμα τοῦ ναοῦ

˓was˒_torn & (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τοῦ ἡλίου ἐκλιπόντος ἐσχίσθη δέ τό καταπέτασμα τοῦ ναοῦ μέσον)

If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this with an active form, and you could state who did the action. Alternate translation: [God split the curtain of the temple]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

μέσον

˱in˲_˓the˒_middle

The implication, as the General Notes to this chapter explain, is that God tearing the curtain opened the way into the Most Holy Place. And so in the middle means not “across the middle,” from side to side, but “down through the middle,” from top to bottom. Alternate translation: [into two pieces, from top to bottom]

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 23:45

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

Section 23:44–49: Jesus died

23:45a

General Comment on 23:44–45

23:45b

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