LUKE 9:23 Interlinear View

1. Greek word
2. Greek lemma
3. OET-LV words
4. OET-RV words
5. Strongs
6. Role/Morphology
7. OET Gloss
8. VLT Gloss
9. CAPS codes
10. Confidence
11. OET tags
12. OET word #
1. ἔλεγεν
2. legō
3. he was saying
4. said
5. 30040
6. VIIA3··S
7. ˱he˲ ˓was˒ saying
8. ˱he˲ ˓was˒ saying
9. -
10. Y32
11. 46792
1. Δέ
2. de
3. And
4. then
5. 11610
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. PS
10. Y32
11. 46793
1. πρός
2. pros
3. to
4. -
5. 43140
6. P·······
7. to
8. to
9. -
10. Y32
11. 46794
1. πάντας
2. pas
3. all
4. -
5. 39560
6. S····AMP
7. all
8. all
9. -
10. Y32; R46693
11. 46795
1. Εἰ
2. ei
3. If
4. -
5. 14870
6. C·······
7. if
8. if
9. D
10. Y32
11. 46796
1. τὶς
2. tis
3. anyone
4. anyone
5. 51000
6. R····NMS
7. anyone
8. anyone
9. -
10. Y32
11. 46797
1. θέλει
2. thelō
3. is wanting
4. -
5. 23090
6. VIPA3··S
7. ˓is˒ wanting
8. ˓is˒ wanting
9. -
10. Y32
11. 46798
1. ὀπίσω
2. opisō
3. after
4. -
5. 36940
6. P·······
7. after
8. after
9. -
10. Y32
11. 46799
1. μού
2. egō
3. me
4. -
5. 14730
6. R···1G·S
7. me
8. me
9. -
10. Y32
11. 46800
1. ἐλθεῖν
2. erχomai
3. -
4. -
5. 20640
6. VNAA····
7. ˓to˒ come
8. ˓to˒ come
9. -
10. -
11. 46801
1. ἔρχεσθαι
2. erχomai
3. to be coming
4. -
5. 20640
6. VNPM····
7. ˓to_be˒ coming
8. ˓to_be˒ coming
9. -
10. Y32
11. 46802
1. ἀρνησάσθω
2. arneomai
3. -
4. -
5. 7200
6. VMAM3··S
7. ˱him˲ ˓let˒ disown
8. ˱him˲ ˓let˒ disown
9. -
10. -
11. 46803
1. ἀπαρνησάσθω
2. aparneomai
3. him let renounce
4. needs renounce
5. 5330
6. VMAM3··S
7. ˱him˲ ˓let˒ renounce
8. ˱him˲ ˓let˒ renounce
9. -
10. Y32
11. 46804
1. ἑαυτόν
2. heautou
3. himself
4. -
5. 14380
6. R···3AMS
7. himself
8. himself
9. -
10. Y32
11. 46805
1. καί
2. kai
3. and
4. -
5. 25320
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. Y32
11. 46806
1. ἀράτω
2. airō
3. him let take up
4. -
5. 1420
6. VMAA3··S
7. ˱him˲ ˓let˒ take_up
8. ˱him˲ ˓let˒ take_up
9. -
10. Y32
11. 46807
1. τόν
2. ho
3. the
4. -
5. 35880
6. E····AMS
7. the
8. the
9. -
10. Y32
11. 46808
1. σταυρόν
2. stauros
3. stake
4. -
5. 47160
6. N····AMS
7. stake
8. cross
9. -
10. Y32
11. 46809
1. αὐτοῦ
2. autos
3. of him
4. -
5. 8460
6. R···3GMS
7. ˱of˲ him
8. ˱of˲ him
9. -
10. Y32
11. 46810
1. καθʼ
2. kata
3. in every
4. -
5. 25960
6. P·······
7. in_every
8. in_every
9. -
10. Y32
11. 46811
1. ἡμέραν
2. hēmera
3. day
4. -
5. 22500
6. N····AFS
7. day
8. day
9. -
10. Y32
11. 46812
1. καί
2. kai
3. and
4. -
5. 25320
6. C·······
7. and
8. and
9. -
10. Y32
11. 46813
1. ἀκολουθείτω
2. akoloutheō
3. him let be following
4. -
5. 1900
6. VMPA3··S
7. ˱him˲ ˓let_be˒ following
8. ˱him˲ ˓let_be˒ following
9. -
10. Y32
11. 46814
1. μοί
2. egō
3. after me
4. -
5. 14730
6. R···1D·S
7. ˱after˲ me
8. ˱after˲ me
9. -
10. Y32
11. 46815

SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 9:23–27: Jesus spoke about what a person must do to be his disciple

In the preceding section Jesus was speaking to his disciples. This section is addressed to “all.” According to the parallel passage in Mark, Jesus called the crowd of people who were there to come and listen to him. Luke does not make this detail explicit, but it is implied by the word “all.” So in these verses Jesus was speaking to the crowd, as well as to his disciples. This meant that most of the people to whom Jesus spoke were not his followers.

In 9:23 Jesus told the people what a person must do in order to be his disciple. A person must deny himself, take up his cross every day, and follow Jesus. In the next verses (9:24–26) Jesus explained why a person must do this. Sometimes a person chooses not to follow Jesus because he wants to avoid death and shame in the present life. If, for that reason, he does not follow Jesus, he will be shamed in the future at the final judgment. He will forfeit true life with God. By contrast, a person who chooses to follow Christ may lose his present life, but he will gain true life with God.

It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some other headings for this section are:

Jesus told people how to be his true disciples

The Life of a Person who Becomes Jesus’ Disciple

What it Means to Follow Jesus

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 16:24–28 and Mark 8:34–9:1. See also Luke 14:27, 17:33; John 12:25.

9:23a

Then Jesus said to all of them,

¶ Then he said to all the people,
¶ Then Jesus began speaking to all the people who were there, as well as to his disciples.

Then: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as Then here introduces the next event in the story. It happened immediately after the event in the preceding section. Some English versions do not begin a new section here. Introduce this new event in a natural way in your language.

Jesus said to all of them: In the preceding section, Jesus had been addressing only his twelve apostles. Now he began to speak to all the other people along with his disciples. See the introduction to Section 9:23–27.

In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit to whom the word all refers. It should not mean “all the disciples.” Other ways to express this meaning include:

Then Jesus said to all the people (CEV)

Then Jesus began to speak to all the people who were there, including his disciples

9:23b–27

In these verses Jesus talked about anyone and everyone who wanted to be his disciple. Indicate this in a natural way in your language. In some languages it may be more natural to use a plural subject. For example:

If people want to follow me, they must give up the things they want. They must be willing to give up their lives daily to follow me. (NCV)

In other languages it may be more natural to use a pronoun like “you.” For example:

If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross each day and follow me. (CEV)

If you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, take up your cross every day, and follow me. (GNT)

9:23b

“If anyone wants to come after Me,

“If any of you^(plur) truly desires to follow me,
He said to them, “Anyone who wants to be/become my follower/disciple

If anyone wants to come after Me: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as wants to come after Me is literally “wants/desires after me to come.” It refers to anyone who wanted to become Jesus’ disciple and follow him. Other ways to translate this are:

If any want to become my followers (NRSV)

Anyone who desires/decides to be my disciple

wants to: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as wants to means “desires to,” “wishes to,” or “wants to.” In this context, it may imply “truly wants to.”

9:23c–e

he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me: The Greek phrases that the BSB translates as must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me are three indirect commands. A person who desires to be one of Jesus’ disciples must do three things:

He must deny himself.
He must take up his cross daily.
He must follow Jesus as a disciple.

Indicate in a natural way in your language that a person must do each of these actions in order to be a follower of Jesus.

9:23c

he must deny himself

you^(plur) must renounce/reject/disown yourselves.
must refuse to live for his own benefit.

he must deny himself: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates literally as deny himself means “reject oneself” or “refuse to please oneself.” A disciple must do what his master wants him to do, whether or not it is what the disciple himself wants to do. Disciples of Jesus must give up the right to fulfill their own ambitions. Some other ways to translate deny himself include:

forget about yourself (CEV)

turn from your selfish ways (NLT)

renounce self (REB)

refuse his own desires

9:23d

and take up his cross daily

Day after day you^(plur) must pick up your cross
Each day he must consider himself to be dead as far as his own life is concerned,

take up his cross: The phrase take up his cross refers to the way that Roman soldiers executed criminals. They forced a condemned criminal to pick up a large wooden cross. He had to carry it to the place where he would be put to death. Then the soldiers nailed him on the cross to die.

When Jesus used this phrase, he knew that the Romans would soon force him to carry a literal cross. But in this context, he used the phrase figuratively. Jesus probably meant that anyone who wanted to become his disciple should live each day as if he were already dead to his own desires. He may also have meant that anyone who wanted to become his disciple had to be willing to suffer and die in order to obey him.A number of commentators (e.g., Bratcher, Geldenhuys, Summers, Lenski) understand this figure of speech to refer to being willing to suffer persecution even to the point of death. However, Marshall (p. 373) advances another view, which makes a lot of sense in light of Paul’s concept of dying to self. He says that a person who picked up his cross was already condemned to die. He knew he was as good as dead. So what Jesus meant is that a disciple must daily consider himself to be dead and follow/obey his master’s desires, not his own. Other commentators who support this view include Liefield, Green, Fitzmyer, Pate, TH, Morris, Bock and Nolland.

Some ways to translate the phrase take up his cross are:

Translate the figure of speech literally and add a footnote that explains the meaning. A sample footnote is:
In the time of Jesus, a person who was condemned to be crucified was forced to carry the cross to the place where he would be nailed to it. Jesus probably means here that a person who follows him must consider himself to be like a dead person. He must obey Jesus and not choose his own way. Jesus may also mean that a person must be ready to suffer and die in order to follow him
Omit the figure of speech and translate the meaning directly. For example:
must consider themselves daily to be dead as far as their own lives/desires are concerned
must be willing to give up their lives daily (NCV) If you follow this option, consider adding a footnote that gives Jesus’ literal words.

Translate this phrase in the way that is most natural in your language.

cross: A cross refers to two large wooden boards or beams that were attached to each other. Roman soldiers used crosses to kill criminals. They nailed or tied a criminal to these wooden beams, then set them upright. They did this in order to cause the criminal to die slowly and painfully.

The word cross comes from the fact that the beams were crossed and attached. This made the shape of a + or ✝ (or sometimes a T).

In many languages there may be no word for cross. If that is true in your language, you may need to use a descriptive phrase. For example:

board/wood of death

crossed-beam(s) of death

a tree for killing people

a stake/plank to which they fasten/nail someone to kill him

daily: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as daily means “every day.” Other ways to translate this include:

day by day

day after day

9:23e

and follow Me.

and be my disciple.
and he must follow me and not his own desires.

follow Me: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as follow means “be my disciple.” This means the same thing as “come after me” in 9:23b.

uW Translation Notes:

πρὸς πάντας

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἔλεγεν Δέ πρός πάντας Εἰ τὶς θέλει ὀπίσω μού ἔρχεσθαι ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτόν καί ἀράτω τόν σταυρόν αὐτοῦ καθʼ ἡμέραν καί ἀκολουθείτω μοί)

Alternate translation: [to all of his disciples who were with him]

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ὀπίσω μου ἔρχεσθαι

after (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἔλεγεν Δέ πρός πάντας Εἰ τὶς θέλει ὀπίσω μού ἔρχεσθαι ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτόν καί ἀράτω τόν σταυρόν αὐτοῦ καθʼ ἡμέραν καί ἀκολουθείτω μοί)

To follow or to come after Jesus represents being one of his disciples. Alternate translation: [be my disciple]

ἀρνησάσθω ἑαυτὸν

Alternate translation: [he must forsake his own desires]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

ἀράτω τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ καθ’ ἡμέραν

˱him˲_˓let˒_take_up (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἔλεγεν Δέ πρός πάντας Εἰ τὶς θέλει ὀπίσω μού ἔρχεσθαι ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτόν καί ἀράτω τόν σταυρόν αὐτοῦ καθʼ ἡμέραν καί ἀκολουθείτω μοί)

The image is of a condemned prisoner being forced to carry the cross on which he would be crucified to the place where he would be executed. Luke assumes that his readers will recognize this image from their own culture. But if it would not be familiar to your readers, you could use a more general expression. Alternate translation: [he must be willing every day to suffer and die for my sake]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ἀράτω τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ καθ’ ἡμέραν

To take up a cross represents being willing to suffer and die. Alternate translation: [he must be willing every day to suffer and die for my sake]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

καὶ ἀκολουθείτω μοι

Here, to follow Jesus means to obey him. Alternate translation: [and obey me in that way]

OET-LV English word order (‘Reverse’ interlinear)

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.

OET interlinear LUKE 9:23

SR Greek word order (including unused variant words in grey)