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OET (OET-LV) And the Farisaios_party_member, the one having_invited him having_seen, he_spoke by himself saying:
This one if he_was a_prophet, would was_knowing who and what_kind_of the woman, who is_touching against_him, because she_is a_sinner.
OET (OET-RV) When the Pharisee who had invited Yeshua saw this, he said to himself, “If that man was a prophet, he’d know who she is and what kind of woman it is that’s touching him, because she breaks God’s laws.”
In this section a Pharisee named Simon invited Jesus to be the guest of honor at a dinner in his home. While Jesus was there, a sinful woman came and washed his feet with her tears. She dried them with her hair, kissed them, and poured scented oil on them. By these unusual actions, the woman honored Jesus and showed that she loved him.
By contrast, Simon neglected common ways to honor a guest. He did not greet Jesus with a kiss or give him water to wash his feet or put oil on his head. Jesus said that the woman’s acts of love showed that her sins had been forgiven. Simon’s failure to show love showed that his sins had not been forgiven.
Certain Jewish customs help to explain some of the actions in this story:
For special meals, the Jews usually ate at low tables and reclined on couches or cushions with their feet extended away from the table. This made it easier for the woman to kiss Jesus’ feet and pour perfume on them. (See the notes at 7:36b.)
When a religious teacher such as Jesus was invited to a feast, he ate with the host and the other invited guests. People who had not been invited were allowed to come in quietly and listen to what the teacher said. They were not supposed to join the invited guests.
Often a slave washed the feet of the guests. People considered feet to be dirty. When the woman washed Jesus’ feet and kissed them, she humbled herself and honored Jesus.
This section is not explicitly connected to the preceding one, but it does illustrate some of the statements in 7:29–35. The woman was a person who “acknowledged God’s justice” (7:29). Simon the Pharisee was one of those who “rejected God’s purpose for themselves” (7:30).
Some other possible headings for this section are:
A sinful woman washes Jesus’ feet at the home of a Pharisee named Simon
Jesus compares a Pharisee and a sinful woman
When the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this, he said to himself,
¶ The Pharisee who had asked Jesus to dinner saw this and thought to himself,
¶ When the Pharisee who was the host saw what the woman did, he concluded in his mind:
When the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as saw this is literally “seeing.” It refers to seeing what the woman did for Jesus in 7:38.
he said to himself: The phrase he said to himself refers to what the Pharisee thought. He did not speak his thoughts aloud. In many languages it may be more natural to translate this as:
he thought
he said in his head/mind/heart
If this man were a prophet, He would know…she is a sinner: The thoughts that the Pharisee had in 7:39b–d imply that before the woman came, he thought that Jesus might be a prophet. However, after Jesus allowed the woman to touch him in 7:38, the Pharisee thought that Jesus could not really be a prophet. The Pharisee thought this because of certain ideas that he had about prophets:
He believed that God would reveal to a prophet what the prophet needed to know. As a prophet, Jesus would know that the woman was immoral.
He believed that a prophet would never let an immoral woman touch him because that would cause him to be ritually “unclean.”
So the Pharisee believed that Jesus must not know anything about this woman. That caused the Pharisee to wrongly conclude that Jesus was not a prophet.
Another way to translate this is:
This man must not be a prophet because a prophet would know about this woman who is touching him. He would know what kind of woman she is. A prophet would know that she is a sinner. A prophet would never let such a woman touch him, but this man has allowed it.
“If this man were a prophet,
“If this man were really a prophet,
“This man cannot be a prophet. If he were a prophet,
If this man were a prophet: The Greek word that the BSB translates as this man is literally “this (one).” It probably expresses disrespect for Jesus. The whole clause indicates serious doubt that Jesus was a prophet. Here is another way to express this doubt:
If this man really were a prophet (GNT)
prophet: A prophet was a person who spoke on behalf of God. He told people what God revealed to him. God gave some prophets power to work miracles. Some ways to translate this are:
a spokesman for God
a man who speaks God’s words
God’s message-speaker
It is good to use a general term that does not focus only on foretelling the future. Although prophets did foretell the future, they also gave people other messages from God. They especially told people to stop sinning and to obey God.
When choosing a term for prophet, consider how you will distinguish prophet from other words which are similar in meaning such as “angel,” “apostle,” and “preacher.”
See also the note on “prophet” at 1:70 and prophet in the Glossary.
He would know who this is
he would know about who is touching him
he would know about this woman is who is touching him. He would know who she is,
and what kind of woman is touching Him—
and what sort of person she is.
and he would know her reputation/character.
He would know who this is and what kind of woman is touching him: The phrase know who this is and what kind of woman is touching him refers to knowing personal information about the woman, such as her name and where she lived. It does not imply that Jesus could not see the woman.
The phrases who this is and what kind of woman is touching him mean the same thing. The Pharisee is using repetition for emphasis. Another way to translate this is:
who this woman is who is touching him (GNT)
what kind of woman is touching Him: The Pharisee assumed that Jesus did not know that this woman had a bad reputation as an immoral person.
touching Him: The phrase touching Him refers specifically to the woman’s actions of kissing Jesus’ feet and anointing them with perfumed oil. Be sure that the expression you use here does not imply any inappropriate action. In some languages you may need to use a more specific expression. For example:
anointing him
for she is a sinner!”
He would know that she is a sinful woman.”
He would know that she is an immoral woman and he would not let her touch him!”
for she is a sinner: There are two ways to interpret the Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as for:
It means that. It introduces something that Jesus would have known if he were a prophet. For example:
that she is a sinner (NET) (NASB, CEV, NCV, NIV, NJB, NET, REB)
It means for or because. It connects with the implied information that a Rabbi would not let a sinful woman touch him: “And he would not let her touch him because she is a sinner.” For example:
for she is a sinner (RSV) (BSB, RSV, KJV; probably GW, NLT)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1).
sinner: The word sinner refers to someone who habitually offends God. The ways a person may offend God include doing and thinking things that God does not approve. A person may also offend God by his attitudes and by not doing what God wants him to do. Some ways to translate sinner are:
person who sins
someone who does not obey God
wrongdoer
In this context the Pharisee used the word sinner to imply that the woman had committed sexual sins. You may be able to translate it in a similar way as you translated “sinful” in 7:37. See the note on “a sinful woman from that town” in 7:37a.
The Pharisee thought that Jesus should have known:
who the woman was;
what kind of woman she was;
that she was a sinner.
These facts are quite similar and there are various ways to combine them. For example:
…he would know who this woman is who is touching him; he would know what kind of sinful life she lives! (GNT)
…he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner! (NLT)
…he would know that the woman touching him is a sinner! (NCV)
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / quotemarks
εἶπεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ λέγων
˱he˲_spoke by himself saying
As noted in [3:10](../03/10.md), Luke often uses the word saying to introduce a quotation. Particularly in cases like this one, if you indicate the quotation in some other way, such as with quotation marks, you do not need to represent this word in your translation.
Note 2 topic: grammar-connect-condition-contrary
οὗτος εἰ ἦν προφήτης, ἐγίνωσκεν ἂν τίς καὶ ποταπὴ ἡ γυνὴ, ἥτις ἅπτεται αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἁμαρτωλός ἐστιν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἰδών Δέ ὁ Φαρισαῖος ὁ καλέσας αὐτόν εἶπεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ λέγων Οὗτος εἰ ἦν προφήτης ἐγίνωσκεν ἄν τίς καί ποταπή ἡ γυνή ἥτις ἅπτεται αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἁμαρτωλός ἐστίν)
This Pharisee is making a conditional statement that sounds hypothetical, but he is already convinced that the condition is not true. He has concluded that Jesus must not be a prophet, because he allowed this sinful woman to touch him, and a prophet would have known she was sinful and not allowed that. Alternate translation: [Jesus must not be a prophet, because if he were, he would know that the woman who is touching him is a sinner]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
τίς καὶ ποταπὴ ἡ γυνὴ, ἥτις ἅπτεται αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἁμαρτωλός ἐστιν
who (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἰδών Δέ ὁ Φαρισαῖος ὁ καλέσας αὐτόν εἶπεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ λέγων Οὗτος εἰ ἦν προφήτης ἐγίνωσκεν ἄν τίς καί ποταπή ἡ γυνή ἥτις ἅπτεται αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἁμαρτωλός ἐστίν)
Simon assumed that a prophet would never allow a sinner to touch him. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could state his assumption explicitly. Alternate translation: [that this woman is a sinner, and he would not allow her to touch him]
OET (OET-LV) And the Farisaios_party_member, the one having_invited him having_seen, he_spoke by himself saying:
This one if he_was a_prophet, would was_knowing who and what_kind_of the woman, who is_touching against_him, because she_is a_sinner.
OET (OET-RV) When the Pharisee who had invited Yeshua saw this, he said to himself, “If that man was a prophet, he’d know who she is and what kind of woman it is that’s touching him, because she breaks God’s laws.”
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.
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