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OET (OET-LV) And the ones reclining began to_be_saying by themselves:
Who is this who is_ even _forgiving sins?
OET (OET-RV) The others who were reclining in the room started to ask to each other, “Who does he think he is to be able to even forgive sins?”
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 those at the table began to say to themselves,
Then the other people who were eating with him began to say to/inside themselves,
Hearing this, the other men who were at the table thought,
But: This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Many English versions do not use a conjunction here. Other versions use various conjunctions to connect the verses: “And” (KJV), “Then” (RSV), and “But” (NRSV). This verse tells the reaction of the guests to the statement in 7:48. It comes between two things that Jesus said to the woman in 7:48 and 7:50. Connect these verses in a way that is natural in your language.
those at the table began to say to themselves: This clause introduces the question in 7:49b. There are two ways to interpret the Greek phrase that the BSB translates as say to themselves here:
It refers to thoughts. The guests thought about the question in 7:49b without speaking out loud. For example:
say to themselves (GNT) (BSB, NJB, GNT, NASB, KJV, REB, JBP, GW)
It refers to spoken words. The guests spoke to each another about the question in 7:49b. For example:
saying to one another (CEV) (RSV, NIV, NET, NLT, CEV, NCV)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). This view is favored by the majority of Bible scholars. The same Greek expression is used in 7:39a, where it is clear that the thought was not spoken aloud. Some other ways to translate this are:
asked themselves
thought (GW)
those at the table: The Greek word that the BSB translates as those at the table is literally “the ones who were reclining with (him).” This refers to the other men who were guests at the feast. Refer to them in a way that in natural in your language.
“Who is this who even forgives sins?”
“Who is this who dares to even forgive sins?”
“Who does this man think he is? He claims to have authority to forgive sins which only God can do.”
“This man does not have the authority to forgive people for their sins! Only God does!”
Who is this who even forgives sins?: This is a rhetorical question. It does not imply that the people did not know who Jesus was. It expresses their surprise and disapproval that Jesus declared that the woman’s sins were forgiven. They believed that only God had the authority to forgive sins. There are two ways to translate this:
As a rhetorical question that implies surprise or disapproval. For example:
Who does this man think he is, going around forgiving sins? (NLT96)
Who is this who dares to forgive sins? (CEV)
As an exclamation that implies surprise or disapproval. For example:
This man dares to say that he forgives sins! That is shocking!
I cannot understand why/how this man says that he forgives sins!
The people who said this did not believe that Jesus had authority to forgive sins. You may need to make this explicit in your translation by saying something like:
Who is this man who claims the authority that only God has to forgive sins?
I am amazed/shocked that this man believes that he can even forgive sins!
This man does not have authority to forgive sins! Only God does.
even: The word even emphasizes the greatness of the authority that Jesus was claiming. He claimed to have authority even to forgive sins. The people thought that only God had that authority, and to claim the authority to forgive sins was like claiming to be God. Since they did not believe that Jesus was God, they were offended. Some other ways to say this could be:
Who is this man who claims such divine authority as to forgive sins?
Who is this man who goes so far as to forgive sins?
συνανακείμενοι
reclining
Alternate translation: [who were eating together with him]
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion
τίς οὗτός ἐστιν ὃς καὶ ἁμαρτίας ἀφίησιν?
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἤρξαντο οἱ συνανακείμενοι λέγειν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς Τίς οὗτος ἐστίν ὅς καί ἁμαρτίας ἀφίησιν)
The religious leaders knew that only God could forgive sins. They did not believe that Jesus was God. So they are using the question form to make an accusation. Alternate translation: [This man is not God, so he cannot forgive sins!]
OET (OET-LV) And the ones reclining began to_be_saying by themselves:
Who is this who is_ even _forgiving sins?
OET (OET-RV) The others who were reclining in the room started to ask to each other, “Who does he think he is to be able to even forgive sins?”
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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