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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Luke C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24
Luke 6 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49
OET (OET-LV) However be_loving the enemies of_you_all, and be_doing_good, and be_lending expecting_ nothing _back, and the reward of_you_all will_be great, and you_all_will_be sons of_the_highest, because he is good to the ungrateful and evil.
OET (OET-RV) Instead, you all should love your enemies and do good and lend out even when you expect to get nothing back. Then your reward will be large and you’ll all be children of the highest God because he is good to ungrateful and evil people.
In this section, Jesus spoke about how his true disciples should think and act. He spoke about this immediately after he had chosen twelve of his disciples to be his apostles. Jesus said many things about this topic in his speech, so that people have often called this particular speech of Jesus a “sermon.”
In this sermon, Jesus asked those who heard him to be different from other people in the world and to think differently. He encouraged his disciples to obey his authority and live as people of God. They should be generous and merciful even to their enemies, as God is generous to everyone. Jesus assured his disciples that they would be blessed and rewarded for their obedience and for suffering for him. He concluded his speech by telling parables to motivate his disciples to obey his teaching.
Another possible heading for this section is:
The Sermon on the Plain (NET)
Some English versions divide 6:17–49 into several sections. Here is one way that might be done:
6:17–26 Blessings and woes
6:27–36 Love your enemies
6:37–42 Do not judge
6:43–45 A tree and its fruit
6:46–49 Two foundations
The sermon in 6:17–49 is similar to the sermon commonly referred to as “The Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew chapters 5–7.
In this paragraph, Jesus stated that some people respond kindly only to those who treat them well. These people are just like the “sinners” whom they despise. He illustrated this with three examples. Each example is a rhetorical question that emphasizes that people like that will get no credit for such behavior.
Jesus then restated the three situations with commands. He said that God would reward them if they followed these commands.
But love your enemies,
Rather, love your(plur) enemies, (GW)
Instead, love your(plur) enemies.
But, unlike sinners, you(plur) must love your(plur) enemies,
But: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as But introduces a contrast. The contrast is between the way sinners behave and the way that the disciples should behave.
Some other ways to translate this contrast are:
Rather (GW)
Instead (NJB)
Show this contrast in a natural way in your language. In some languages, no conjunction is necessary.
love your enemies: This is the same phrase as in 6:27b.
do good to them,
do(plur) good to them,
help them, (GW)
Treat(plur) them well.
do good to them: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as do good is the same word as in 6:33a. In Greek, the word “them” does not occur. It is implied that the object is “your enemies,” just as in 6:35a. The BSB has made this explicit by supplying the pronoun them. Some other ways to translate this are:
be good to them (CEV)
help them (GW)
and lend to them,
and lend(plur) to them
Lend(plur) money to them,
lend to them: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as lend is the same word as in 6:34a. In Greek, the word “them” does not occur. It is implied that the object is “your enemies” just as in 6:35a. The BSB has made this explicit by supplying the pronoun them.
In some languages, it may be necessary to supply a direct object and make explicit what the disciples were to lend. For example:
lend money to them
expecting nothing in return.
even when you do not expect to get anything back.
even when there is little hope that they will return anything to you(plur).
and do not hope/expect that they will repay any of it.
expecting nothing in return: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as expecting…in return also means “hoping to receive from.” This verb has the same root as the verb “expect” in 6:34a. Disciples should lend money even when they do not hope/expect that the money will be returned.
Some other ways to translate this are:
without expecting to be paid back (CEV)
without hoping to get anything back (NCV)
and expect nothing back (GNT)
Then your reward will be great,
If you(plur) do this, then you will receive a great reward,
As a result, God will reward you(plur) greatly,
Then: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as Then here introduces the result or consequence of obeying Jesus’ commands. Some other ways to introduce 6:35e are:
If you do this, then
As a result
Some English versions (such as the NJB) do not translate this conjunction. Connect 6:35e to 6:35a–d in way that is natural in your language to express a result.
your reward will be great: This is a passive clause. God is the one who will reward the disciples. Some other ways to translate this are:
you will get a great reward (CEV)
God will give you a great reward
reward: A reward is normally something good that people receive because of something that they have done. In this verse, the meaning of reward focuses on being honored for following Jesus faithfully. Some other ways to translate the word reward are:
you will be greatly honored
you will receive great honor
This same word occurs in 6:23b.
and you will be sons of the Most High;
and you(plur) will be like children of the Most High,
and this will show/prove that you(plur) are truly children of God, the Highest One.
This is the second result of obeying the commands of 6:35a–d. Connect this second result in a natural way in your language.
you will be sons of the Most High: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as sons of the Most High is an idiom. It implies a relationship with God. Jesus was saying that when his disciples love their enemies, they are acting the way their Father, God, acts. They are acting the way people/children worthy of God’s name should act.
Some other ways to translate the phrase sons of the Most High are:
you will be like the Most High
you will show/prove that you are sons/children of the Most High
you will be the true children of God in heaven (CEV)
you will truly be acting as children of the Most High (NLT)
sons: Here the word sons refers to both men and women. It does not refer only to men or boys. It also includes Jesus’ disciples who were women. It does not refer to a physical relationship. Another way to translate sons is:
children (NLT)
the Most High: The phrase the Most High is a title for God. Jesus followed the Jews’ custom of not speaking the name of God. This showed that they respected God’s name.
Some ways to translate this title are:
the Most High God (GNT)
God, the One who is the Most High
God in heaven (CEV)
This title does not refer to literal height or size.
for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
because he is kind to people who are not thankful and who are evil.
You should do these things because he is good to people who do not thank him and to evil people.
for: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as for introduces the reason for the commands in 6:35a–d. We should love our enemies, do good to them, and lend to them because God is also kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
Some other ways to translate this conjunction are:
since
after all
He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked: The word kind here means “to act in a good manner toward someone.” It does not mean that God is merely courteous, friendly, or helpful.
Some ways to translate this are:
He is good (CEV)
He shows grace/mercy
ungrateful: The word ungrateful means “not thankful.” It refers to people who do not thank God for the good things they receive from him. For example:
people who are unthankful (CEV)
wicked: The Greek word that the BSB translates as wicked also means “evil.” For example:
evil people (GW)
full of sin (NCV)
μηδὲν ἀπελπίζοντες
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πλήν ἀγαπᾶτε τούς ἐχθρούς ὑμῶν καί ἀγαθοποιεῖτε καί δανίζετε μηδέν ἀπελπίζοντες καί ἔσται ὁ μισθός ὑμῶν πολύς καί ἔσεσθε υἱοί Ὑψίστου ὅτι αὐτός χρηστός ἐστίν ἐπί τούς ἀχαρίστους καί πονηρούς)
Alternate translation: [without expecting the person to pay you back]
Note 1 topic: grammar-connect-logic-result
(Occurrence 3) καὶ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πλήν ἀγαπᾶτε τούς ἐχθρούς ὑμῶν καί ἀγαθοποιεῖτε καί δανίζετε μηδέν ἀπελπίζοντες καί ἔσται ὁ μισθός ὑμῶν πολύς καί ἔσεσθε υἱοί Ὑψίστου ὅτι αὐτός χρηστός ἐστίν ἐπί τούς ἀχαρίστους καί πονηρούς)
The word and introduces the results of what has been said so far in this verse. It may be helpful to begin a new sentence here. Alternate translation: [Then]
(Occurrence 3) ἔσται ὁ μισθὸς ὑμῶν πολύς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πλήν ἀγαπᾶτε τούς ἐχθρούς ὑμῶν καί ἀγαθοποιεῖτε καί δανίζετε μηδέν ἀπελπίζοντες καί ἔσται ὁ μισθός ὑμῶν πολύς καί ἔσεσθε υἱοί Ὑψίστου ὅτι αὐτός χρηστός ἐστίν ἐπί τούς ἀχαρίστους καί πονηρούς)
Your language may require you to say who will do this action. Alternate translation: [God will reward you greatly]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
υἱοὶ Ὑψίστου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πλήν ἀγαπᾶτε τούς ἐχθρούς ὑμῶν καί ἀγαθοποιεῖτε καί δανίζετε μηδέν ἀπελπίζοντες καί ἔσται ὁ μισθός ὑμῶν πολύς καί ἔσεσθε υἱοί Ὑψίστου ὅτι αὐτός χρηστός ἐστίν ἐπί τούς ἀχαρίστους καί πονηρούς)
This is a figurative expression. Even so, it would probably be best to translate sons with the same word that your language would naturally use to refer to a human son or child.
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations
υἱοὶ Ὑψίστου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πλήν ἀγαπᾶτε τούς ἐχθρούς ὑμῶν καί ἀγαθοποιεῖτε καί δανίζετε μηδέν ἀπελπίζοντες καί ἔσται ὁ μισθός ὑμῶν πολύς καί ἔσεσθε υἱοί Ὑψίστου ὅτι αὐτός χρηστός ἐστίν ἐπί τούς ἀχαρίστους καί πονηρούς)
Jesus is using the word sons in a generic sense that includes all people. Alternate translation: [children of the Most High]
υἱοὶ Ὑψίστου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πλήν ἀγαπᾶτε τούς ἐχθρούς ὑμῶν καί ἀγαθοποιεῖτε καί δανίζετε μηδέν ἀπελπίζοντες καί ἔσται ὁ μισθός ὑμῶν πολύς καί ἔσεσθε υἱοί Ὑψίστου ὅτι αὐτός χρηστός ἐστίν ἐπί τούς ἀχαρίστους καί πονηρούς)
Make sure that the word sons or “children” in your translation is plural and not capitalized, if your language uses that convention for titles, so that readers do not confuse this expression with the title for Jesus, “the Son of the Most High,” which occurs in [1:32](../01/32.md) and [8:28](../08/28.md).
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
Ὑψίστου
˱of˲_˓the˒_Highest
See how you translated the expression the Most High in [1:32](../01/32.md). Review the note there if that would be helpful. Alternate translation: [of the Most High God]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj
τοὺς ἀχαρίστους καὶ πονηρούς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Πλήν ἀγαπᾶτε τούς ἐχθρούς ὑμῶν καί ἀγαθοποιεῖτε καί δανίζετε μηδέν ἀπελπίζοντες καί ἔσται ὁ μισθός ὑμῶν πολύς καί ἔσεσθε υἱοί Ὑψίστου ὅτι αὐτός χρηστός ἐστίν ἐπί τούς ἀχαρίστους καί πονηρούς)
Here Jesus is using the adjectives ungrateful and evil as nouns in order to indicate groups of people. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you could translate this pair of words with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: [people who are ungrateful and evil] or [people who do not thank God and who do wrong things]
6:17-49 The central theme of Jesus’ great sermon is that an authentic life of righteousness accompanies repentance and acceptance into God’s Kingdom.
OET (OET-LV) However be_loving the enemies of_you_all, and be_doing_good, and be_lending expecting_ nothing _back, and the reward of_you_all will_be great, and you_all_will_be sons of_the_highest, because he is good to the ungrateful and evil.
OET (OET-RV) Instead, you all should love your enemies and do good and lend out even when you expect to get nothing back. Then your reward will be large and you’ll all be children of the highest God because he is good to ungrateful and evil people.
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.