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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 ESA 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 8 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 V51 V53 V55
OET (OET-LV) And he said:
It_has_been_given to_you_all to_know the mysteries of_the kingdom of_ the _god, but to_the rest in parables, in_order_that seeing they_may_ not _be_seeing, and hearing they_may_ not _be_understanding.
OET (OET-RV) “You’re permitted to know the mysteries of God’s kingdom,” responded Yeshua, “but the others get parables so that when they look, they won’t see, and when they listen, they won’t understand.
In 8:9–10 Jesus explained why he taught in parables. Then in 8:11–15 he explained the meaning of the parable in 8:1–8b. The basic meaning of Jesus’ explanation is clear. However, there are questions about the meaning of the seed in this section. In 8:11 the seed refers to the word of God. In 8:12–15 what is sown seems to refer to the people who hear the word. This has led to several interpretations for the seed in 8:12–15.
The interpretation that the Notes follows is that in 8:12–15 the seed continues to represent the word. The introductory expressions such as “those on/beside/in…are…” (RSV) refer generally to four different ways in which people hear and respond to the word.
Many scholars support this interpretation in their commentaries. In some versions the seed appears to refer to the people. However, even in these versions, the text implies that the seed of the word has different results in different kinds of people.
Here is the meaning of the main metaphors in the parable:
The seeds represent the word, which is the message from God.
The sowing of the seed represents telling the message to people.
The different kinds of soil represent the way different people hear the message.
This section heading should be similar to the section heading for 8:1–10. You may use the word “explained” or “Jesus explained” (instead of “Jesus told”).
Some other possible headings for this section are:
Jesus explained the parable of the sower and the soils
The parable/story/illustration about the four soils explained
The explanation of the parable about four kinds of people
The meaning of the parable of a man scattering seed
There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 13:18–23 and Mark 4:13–20.
In this verse Jesus contrasted his disciples with other people who heard his parables. This contrast is emphatic in the Greek text. Some ways to express the contrast in English are:
To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak in parables… (NRSV)
You are allowed to know the secrets of the kingdom of God. For other people, I must use stories to talk about those secrets.
Knowledge about the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been given [directly] to you. But it is given to others in stories. (GW)
Express the contrast in a natural way in your language.
He replied,
Jesus answered,
He said to them,
So he said to them,
He replied: The words He replied introduce the response that Jesus gave his disciples when they asked him to explain the parable. Use a natural phrase in your language. For example:
Jesus answered (GW)
and he replied (REB)
“The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been given to you,
“You(plur) have been allowed to understand the secret things about God’s rule/reign.
“God has revealed to you(plur) things that were not previously known concerning his kingdom.
“God has caused you(plur) disciples to understand the mysteries about the way he rules his people.
The knowledge…has been given to you: This is a passive clause. Some ways to translate it are:
God has given you the knowledge
I have explained…to you (CEV)
You have been given the opportunity to know (NET)
In some languages, knowledge is not something that can be given. Other ways to express this idea are:
God has allowed you to know
God has/I have revealed to you
you: The Greek plural pronoun that the BSB translates as you is plural. It refers to Jesus’ disciples; see the note on 8:10.
The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God refers to understanding the secrets about God’s kingdom.
the mysteries of the kingdom of God: The Greek word that the BSB translates as mysteries refers to truths that were previously hidden or unknown. These truths are known or revealed only to certain people. Here the mysteries were truths about the kingdom of God that people could not understand unless someone revealed the meaning to them. Jesus was now revealing that meaning to his disciples.
Other ways to translate this are:
the mysteries about God’s kingdom/reign
what people have not known before about God’s chieftaincy/reign
hidden truths about how God rules his people
The term the kingdom of God also occurs in 8:1b. See also kingdom of God in KBT.
but to others I speak in parables,
Other people, however, hear them in parables,
But to people who are not my disciples, I speak about these things only in parables.
to others I speak in parables: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as to others I speak in parables is literally “to others in parables.” The BSB has supplied I speak to make a good English sentence. Other English versions have supplied fewer specific words. For example:
for others they are in parables (NET)
the others have only parables (REB)
There is implied information here. The text implies that other people have not been permitted to know the secrets of the kingdom of God. (See Matthew 13:11.) Consider if it would be necessary to include this implied information in your translation. For example:
To others it has not been given to know these secrets. Instead, for them the secrets are hidden in parables
others: The Greek word that the BSB translates as others refers to people who were not Jesus’ disciples. See the note on “His disciples” in 8:9. In this context Jesus indicated that he used parables to speak about the kingdom of God to people who were not his disciples.
parables: The word parables refers here to all the types of comparisons that the Greek word can describe. Some of these comparisons are metaphors, illustrations, symbolic stories, and sayings.
so that, ‘though seeing, they may not see;
so that ‘even though they see, they may not perceive,
so that ‘they will see what I do, but they will not see/understand what it really means.
The words after “so that” in 8:10c–d are a quote from Isaiah 6:9. This is why the BSB uses quotation marks to introduce the saying that follows. It also indents the lines in a special way. If you usually introduce Old Testament Scripture in a particular way, you may want to do so here, as well. For example:
…so that (as the Scriptures say),
‘though seeing, they may not see,
though hearing, they may not
understand.’
so that: The Greek word that the BSB translates as so that here introduces a quotation from Isaiah 6:9. Jesus used this quotation to explain to his followers why he spoke in parables. He did this so that the people who did not want to believe and obey him would not understand the truths that the parables illustrated. Most English versions introduce this quotation with so that (as in the BSB). Some do not use a connector. Translate this connection in a natural way in your language.
though seeing, they may not see: There is a contrast here between seeing and they may not see. The BSB has supplied the word though to indicate that this is an unexpected contrast. Many English versions use the conjunction “but.” For example:
they may look but see nothing (REB)
This clause describes people who see, so we would expect them to also perceive and understand, but they do not.
seeing, they may not see: The Greek words that the BSB translates as seeing and see are different forms of the same verb. However, they are used in different senses here. The first form, seeing, refers literally to seeing something such as a person, object, or event. The second form, see, refers figuratively to understanding the meaning of what is seen. In some languages it may be necessary to use different verbs for these ideas. For example:
they may look but not perceive (NJB)
When they look, they don’t see (GW)
Another possibility is to modify one of the verbs. For example:
even though they are seeing, they are not really/truly seeing
In some languages it may be necessary to supply objects for the two verbs. If this is true in your language you can:
Use a general object such as “things” or “events”:
even though they see things, they do not perceive them
Use an object that refers to Jesus’ actions:
even though they look at what I do, they do not see it
though hearing, they may not understand.’
and even though they hear/listen, they may not comprehend/understand.'"
And they will hear what I say, but they will not understand what I mean.’
though: Here the word though is used in the same way as in 8:10d. See the note on though at 8:10d–e.
hearing, they may not understand: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as hearing refers to the physical act of hearing something. The Greek verb that the BSB translates as understand refers to comprehending what is heard. Here there is a contrast between these two actions.
In some languages it may be necessary to supply objects for hearing and understand. If this is true in your language, you should choose an option that is similar to the one you chose in 8:10c. For example:
Use a general object:
although they hear words, they do not understand them
Use an object that refers specifically to Jesus’ teaching:
although they hear what I teach, they do not understand what it means
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ὑμῖν δέδοται γνῶναι
˱to˲_you_all (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ εἶπεν ὑμῖν Δέδοται γνῶναι τά μυστήρια τῆς Βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῖς δέ λοιποῖς ἐν παραβολαῖς ἵνα Βλέποντες μή βλέπωσιν καί ἀκούοντες μή συνιῶσιν)
If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this with an active form, and you could state who did the action. Alternate translation: [God has allowed you to understand]
τὰ μυστήρια τῆς Βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ εἶπεν ὑμῖν Δέδοται γνῶναι τά μυστήρια τῆς Βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῖς δέ λοιποῖς ἐν παραβολαῖς ἵνα Βλέποντες μή βλέπωσιν καί ἀκούοντες μή συνιῶσιν)
These are spiritual truths that people had not previously understood. Jesus is now revealing them. Alternate translation: [the secrets of the kingdom of God]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / abstractnouns
τῆς Βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ
˱of˲_the Kingdom ¬the ˱of˲_God
See how you decided to translate this phrase in [4:43](../04/43.md). If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea behind the abstract noun kingdom with a verb such as “rule.” Alternate translation: [of how God will rule]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
τοῖς δὲ λοιποῖς ἐν παραβολαῖς
˱to˲_the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ εἶπεν ὑμῖν Δέδοται γνῶναι τά μυστήρια τῆς Βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῖς δέ λοιποῖς ἐν παραβολαῖς ἵνα Βλέποντες μή βλέπωσιν καί ἀκούοντες μή συνιῶσιν)
Jesus is leaving out some of the words that a sentence would ordinarily need in order to be complete. Alternate translation: [but I speak in parables to the people who are not my disciples]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes
ἵνα βλέποντες μὴ βλέπωσιν, καὶ ἀκούοντες μὴ συνιῶσιν
in_order_that (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ εἶπεν ὑμῖν Δέδοται γνῶναι τά μυστήρια τῆς Βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῖς δέ λοιποῖς ἐν παραβολαῖς ἵνα Βλέποντες μή βλέπωσιν καί ἀκούοντες μή συνιῶσιν)
Luke is quoting Jesus, and Jesus is quoting the prophet Isaiah. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. For clarity, you could also indicate the source of the words that Jesus is quoting. Alternate translation: [so that as the prophet Isaiah said, though they see, they will not perceive, and though they hear, they will not understand]
βλέποντες μὴ βλέπωσιν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ εἶπεν ὑμῖν Δέδοται γνῶναι τά μυστήρια τῆς Βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῖς δέ λοιποῖς ἐν παραβολαῖς ἵνα Βλέποντες μή βλέπωσιν καί ἀκούοντες μή συνιῶσιν)
Some languages may need to state the object of the verb. Alternate translation: [Though they see things, they will not understand them] or [Though they see things happen, they will not understand what they mean]
ἀκούοντες μὴ συνιῶσιν
hearing (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ὁ Δέ εἶπεν ὑμῖν Δέδοται γνῶναι τά μυστήρια τῆς Βασιλείας τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῖς δέ λοιποῖς ἐν παραβολαῖς ἵνα Βλέποντες μή βλέπωσιν καί ἀκούοντες μή συνιῶσιν)
Some languages may need to state the object of the verb. Alternate translation: [though they hear instruction, they will not understand the truth]
OET (OET-LV) And he said:
It_has_been_given to_you_all to_know the mysteries of_the kingdom of_ the _god, but to_the rest in parables, in_order_that seeing they_may_ not _be_seeing, and hearing they_may_ not _be_understanding.
OET (OET-RV) “You’re permitted to know the mysteries of God’s kingdom,” responded Yeshua, “but the others get parables so that when they look, they won’t see, and when they listen, they won’t understand.
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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