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Luke 7 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49
OET (OET-LV) And them having no money to_give_back, he_forgave to_both.
Therefore which of_them, will_be_loving him more?
OET (OET-RV) But neither of them was able to repay him, so he wrote-off both of their debts. Now after that, which one of them do you think would appreciate him more?”
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 they were unable to repay him,
Neither man had enough money to pay the moneylender what they owed him,
When both of the two men were unable to pay the money back to the lender,
he forgave both of them.
so he generously told them both that they did not have to pay him back.
he was very gracious and forgave both the debts.
When they were unable to repay him, he forgave both of them: The moneylender forgave the debts of the two men because they could not pay him back. Some ways to translate this connection in English are:
When they could not pay, he canceled the debts of both. (NET)
And since they were unable to pay, he generously cancelled both of their debts. (JBP)
But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. (NLT)
Translate the connection in a natural way in your language.
he forgave both of them: The phrase he forgave both of them means that the moneylender said that neither of the men had to pay him back. In this context, the word forgave does not mean that the men had done something wrong to the moneylender and he forgave them for that. Another way to translate this is:
the banker told both of them they did not have to pay him (NCV)
In some languages it may be more natural to indicate that the moneylender’s action actually applied to the money that they owed, rather than to say that he forgave them. For example:
he forgave the debts of both (NIV)
forgave: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as forgave can refer to showing any kind of kindness to a person who did nothing to deserve it. Examples of such kindness include giving a gracious gift or generously forgiving an offense. So some English versions translate in a way that fits well with forgiving sins, as well as debts (7:47). For example:
graciously forgave them both (NASB)
If it is possible in your language to use the same word for canceling debts and forgiving sins, consider using that word here and also in 7:43a, 7:47a, and 7:47c.
Which one, then, will love him more?”
As a result of this, which of the two men will love the moneylender more than the other?”
And now, Simon, I ask you, which borrower will feel more grateful love toward him?”
Which one, then, will love him more?: This is the sort of question that a teacher asks to help his students to think about something. Jesus expected an answer and received one.
then: The Greek word oun that the BSB translates as then is literally “therefore.” It means “as a result of this.” It introduces a question that Jesus asked Simon. He asked what Simon concluded about the two people who owed money. Many English versions introduce this question with “now.” (“Now” is not used as a time word here.) Others introduce the question with “therefore” (KJV), “so” (NASB), or “then” (GNT), and some do not use a connector (NJB). Connect the question to the illustration in 7:41–42b in a natural way in your language.
Which one…him: The phrase that the BSB translates as Which one is literally “which of them” in Greek. The pronoun “them” refers to the two men who borrowed money from the moneylender. The word him refers to the moneylender. Some other English versions also do not translate the word “them.” Other ways to translate this are:
who do you think will love him the most? (GW)
Who do you suppose loved him more after that? (NLT)
love: In this context love refers to the devotion and affection that a person has for someone who has helped him. This love and affection is based on being grateful to that person.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
μὴ ἐχόντων αὐτῶν ἀποδοῦναι
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: μή ἐχόντων Δέ αὐτῶν ἀποδοῦναι ἀμφοτέροις ἐχαρίσατο τίς Οὖν αὐτῶν πλεῖον ἀγαπήσει αὐτόν)
Jesus is leaving out some of the words that a sentence would need in many languages in order to be complete. He is not saying that the men no longer needed to repay these debts. Rather, he is saying that they did not have enough money to repay the lender what they owed him. Alternate translation: [When they were not able to repay their debts]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ἀμφοτέροις ἐχαρίσατο
˱to˲_both ˱he˲_forgave
This does not mean literally that the lender decided he would not hold their failure to repay against them. Rather, it is an idiom that means that he told them they did not have to repay the money. Alternate translation: [he canceled both of their debts]
OET (OET-LV) And them having no money to_give_back, he_forgave to_both.
Therefore which of_them, will_be_loving him more?
OET (OET-RV) But neither of them was able to repay him, so he wrote-off both of their debts. Now after that, which one of them do you think would appreciate him more?”
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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