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OET (OET-LV) And the Yaʸsous/(Yəhōshūˊa) answering said to him:
Simōn, I_am_having something to_say to_you.
And he, is_saying.
Teacher say it,
OET (OET-RV) “Simon,” Yeshua asked him, “I need to tell you something.”
¶ “Tell me, teacher,” he replied.
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
But Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
¶ Jesus said to the Pharisee, “I want to tell you something, Simon.”
¶ Then Jesus said to his host, whose name was Simon, “Simon, there is something that I want to say to you.”
But: This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Because Jesus responded here to the Pharisee’s thoughts (7:39), some English versions translate this as “Then” (NJB, NLT) or “So” (NET). The NIV and some other English versions do not translate this Greek conjunction. However, since Jesus speaks to correct the Pharisee’s conclusions about him, to indicate a contrast, the BSB translates the conjunction as But. Connect this verse to 7:39 in a way that is natural in your language.
Jesus answered him: The Pharisee had not asked a question out loud. Jesus knew what he was thinking and responded to that. In some languages, it may not be natural to use the word answered when a question has not been asked. If that is true in your language, you may be able to say:
Jesus said to the Pharisee (CEV)
Jesus answered his thoughts (NLT)
Jesus responded to his thoughts and said
Simon: Here Jesus addressed the Pharisee by his name. This is the first time that his name is mentioned in this story. If it is not natural in your language to introduce the name here, you may need to mention the Pharisee’s name in 7:36a or 7:39a.
I have something to tell you: The phrase I have something to tell you means “I want to tell you something.”Bailey (Through Peasant Eyes, p. 12) seems alone but may be correct in suggesting that this was a strong statement: “This exact phrase in contemporary villages…is used all across the Middle East to introduce a blunt speech that the listener may not want to hear. This is precisely what develops in this scene….” In this case Jesus wanted to use a parable and explain it in order to tell Simon something that might be difficult for Simon to accept. Some languages may have a natural expression that people use to introduce something like this that they want to say. Use a natural expression in your language.
“Tell me, Teacher,” he said.
Simon said, “Teacher, I am listening.”
“What do you want to say, teacher?” the host/Pharisee asked.
Tell me: The Pharisee invited Jesus to tell him whatever it was that he wanted to say. Use a phrase that is natural in this context in your language. For example:
What is it…? (REB)
I am listening.
Teacher: The Greek word that the BSB translates as Teacher was a polite form of address for a religious teacher.This is the first time in Luke that Jesus is addressed as “Teacher.” In Luke, this form of address is always found on the lips of the Jewish leaders and others who do not have faith. Jesus’ disciples and those with faith address him as επιστατα or κυριε. This does not mean that the term “teacher” should be thought of as hostile or impolite. But Luke uses this distinction to indicate the degree of understanding of who Jesus was on the part of those addressing him. It was a title of respect for a Jewish man who had authority to teach things about God. The same word was used to address John the Baptizer at 3:12b.
In some languages the appropriate way to address a religious teacher may be:
Sir Teacher
Sir
Master
In some languages there may be a polite term of address for religious teachers that has a different meaning from “Teacher.” If that is true in your language, you may consider using it here.
he said: The phrase he said means “the Pharisee said.” Place this phrase where it is natural in your language.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / hendiadys
ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτόν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἀποκριθείς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν πρός αὐτόν Σίμων ἔχω σοί τὶ εἰπεῖν ὁ Δέ Διδάσκαλε εἰπέ φησίν)
Together the words answering and said mean that Jesus responded to what the Pharisee was thinking. Alternate translation: [Jesus responded to him]
Note 2 topic: translate-names
Σίμων
Simon
Simon was the name of the Pharisee who invited Jesus into his home. This was not Simon Peter.
Note 3 topic: translate-tense
ὁ δέ, Διδάσκαλε, εἰπέ, φησίν
¬the he (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἀποκριθείς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν πρός αὐτόν Σίμων ἔχω σοί τὶ εἰπεῖν ὁ Δέ Διδάσκαλε εἰπέ φησίν)
To call attention to a development in the story, Luke uses the present tense in past narration. If it would not be natural to do that in your language, you could use the past tense in your translation. Alternate translation: [And he said,“Say it, Teacher!”]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / imperative
Διδάσκαλε, εἰπέ
Teacher say_‹it›
Simon is inviting Jesus to speak, not ordering him to speak. If it would be helpful to your readers, you could translate his words as more of an invitation. You could also translate them as a question, as UST does. Alternate translation: [Go ahead and say it.]
Διδάσκαλε
Teacher
This was a respectful title. You can translate it with an equivalent term that your language and culture would use.
7:40 Then Jesus answered his thoughts: See study note on 5:22.
OET (OET-LV) And the Yaʸsous/(Yəhōshūˊa) answering said to him:
Simōn, I_am_having something to_say to_you.
And he, is_saying.
Teacher say it,
OET (OET-RV) “Simon,” Yeshua asked him, “I need to tell you something.”
¶ “Tell me, teacher,” he replied.
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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