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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 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 9 V1 V4 V7 V10 V13 V16 V19 V22 V25 V28 V31 V34 V37 V40 V43 V46 V49 V52 V55 V61
OET (OET-LV) And the Yaʸsous said to_him:
- foxes are_having burrows, and the birds of_the sky nests, but the son of_ the _man is_ not _having somewhere his head may_be_laying.
OET (OET-RV) “Foxes have their burrows,” he responded, “and the birds have their nests, but humanity’s child has no home where he can lie down and relax.”
In the previous section, Luke spoke about the unwillingness of people in a Samaritan village to receive Jesus. In this Section 9:57–62, Luke told about three men who said that they were willing to follow Jesus. However, they did not understand the difficulties involved. Jesus warned each of them that it would not be easy. He told them that they must put the kingdom of God above everything else in their lives.
Some other examples of headings for this section are:
The Difficulty of Following Jesus
Three People Who Wanted To Be Jesus’ Followers
There is a parallel passage for this section in Matthew 8:19–22.
The previous Section 9:51–56 indicated that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, so “the road” that Luke mentioned in 9:57a may be the road to Jerusalem. However, the setting for the parallel passage in Matthew 8:19–22 is different, so specific details about the location should not be made explicit here.
Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests,
Jesus answered, “Foxes have holes/dens to sleep in, and wild birds have nests for their homes,
Jesus said to him, “Foxes can sleep in their own holes/burrows, and birds have places where they return to rest/roost,
This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Some English versions (ESV, NASB) translate it that way. The NLT translates it as “But” in order to show a contrast, since Jesus’ response implied that the life of a disciple was more difficult than the man may have expected. The BSB has not translated this conjunction, and several other versions (CEV, GNT, NIV, NET) also do not translate it. Connect 9:58a to 9:57b in a way that is natural in your language.
Jesus replied: The phrase that the BSB translates as Jesus replied is literally “And Jesus said to him.” Several English versions translate it that way. Use a natural way in your language to introduce a response like this.
Foxes have dens: The clause Foxes have dens implies that foxes have dens to sleep in. Foxes move around a lot, but they have a definite place they can return to that is their home. In some languages it is helpful to make this explicit. For example:
Foxes have their own dens to sleep in
Foxes: Foxes are wild animals that look like small dogs. They live in holes/burrows or dens in the ground or in natural shelters such as caves. In languages where there is no word for “foxes,” you can:
Use a more general expression. For example:
small wild animals
Use the term in your language for a local animal that lives in a hole or burrow. Choose an animal that is as similar to a fox as possible. For example:
coyote
wild dog
civet cat
Translate this term in the way that is most natural in your language.
birds of the air have nests: The clause birds of the air have nests implies that birds have nests where they raise their young or roosts (resting places) where they regularly sleep. Other ways to translate this are:
birds live/sleep in nests
wild birds have places where they go to rest/roost
birds of the air: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as birds of the air was a common way to refer to wild birds that fly in the air. Another way to translate this is:
birds of the sky (NET)
In some languages it may be more natural to leave some of this information implicit. For example:
wild birds
birds (GNT)
The phrase “birds of the air” also occurs in 8:5c.
nests: The Greek word that the BSB translates as nests can refer to either “nests” or “roosts.” Use a term in your language that refers to a place where birds normally return at night to sleep.
but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
but I, the Son of Man, have no place to rest/sleep that I can call/consider home.”
but as for me, the Son of Man, I do not have my own place to sleep.”
but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head: The Greek conjunction that the BSB translates as but here introduces a contrast with the previous verse part. Foxes and birds had regular places to sleep. In contrast to them, Jesus had no regular home where he and his disciples could sleep at night. People in Nazareth had forced Jesus to leave, and he himself had decided to leave Capernaum. The Samaritans had also refused to welcome him.
the Son of Man: Jesus often referred to himself as the Son of Man. In some languages it may be necessary to make it clear that Jesus was referring to himself:
I, the Son of Man
The phrase Son of Man also occurs in 9:22a.
has no place to lay His head: The phrase has no place to lay His head means here that Jesus had no permanent house where he and his disciples could sleep at night. He did not mean that he never put his head down or that he never slept anywhere. Other ways to translate this phrase include:
doesn’t have a place to call his own (CEV)
has no regular place to sleep
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / merism
αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεοὺς ἔχουσιν, καὶ τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς Αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεούς ἔχουσιν καί τά πετεινά τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις ὁ δέ Υἱός τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τήν κεφαλήν κλίνῃ)
Jesus is using a figure of speech. By naming a creature that lives on land and a creature that flies in the air, Jesus is referring to all creatures. Alternate translation: [Every creature has a place to live]
Note 2 topic: translate-unknown
αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεοὺς ἔχουσιν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς Αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεούς ἔχουσιν καί τά πετεινά τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις ὁ δέ Υἱός τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τήν κεφαλήν κλίνῃ)
The word foxes describes land animals that are similar to small dogs. The word dens refers to holes that these animals dig in the ground as shelters. If your readers would not be familiar with this animal and its habits, you could describe them in general terms. Alternate translation: [Little animals live in holes in the ground]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicitinfo
τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς Αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεούς ἔχουσιν καί τά πετεινά τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις ὁ δέ Υἱός τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τήν κεφαλήν κλίνῃ)
In your language, it might seem that this phrase expresses unnecessary extra information. If so, you could abbreviate it. However, you could also use an action clause to keep the sense of sky, to complement the idea of “ground” in the previous phrase. Alternate translation: [birds live in nests] or [birds that fly in the air live in nests]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / ellipsis
τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς Αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεούς ἔχουσιν καί τά πετεινά τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις ὁ δέ Υἱός τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τήν κεφαλήν κλίνῃ)
Jesus is leaving out some of the words that in many languages a sentence would need in order to be complete. These words can be supplied from earlier in the sentence. Alternate translation: [birds live in nests] or [birds that fly in the air live in nests]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / 123person
ὁ δὲ Υἱὸς τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου
¬the the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς Αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεούς ἔχουσιν καί τά πετεινά τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις ὁ δέ Υἱός τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τήν κεφαλήν κλίνῃ)
Jesus is speaking about himself in the third person. If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this in the first person. Alternate translation: [but I, the Son of Man]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ὁ δὲ Υἱὸς τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου
¬the the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς Αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεούς ἔχουσιν καί τά πετεινά τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις ὁ δέ Υἱός τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τήν κεφαλήν κλίνῃ)
See how you translated the title Son of Man in [5:24](../05/24.md). Alternate translation: [but I, the Messiah]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλίνῃ
not ˓is˒_having somewhere (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς Αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεούς ἔχουσιν καί τά πετεινά τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις ὁ δέ Υἱός τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τήν κεφαλήν κλίνῃ)
Jesus implies that if this person were to follow him, he too might not have a home. Alternate translation: [does not have a home anywhere, so if you become his disciple, expect that you will not have a home either] or (if you translated in the first person) [do not have a home anywhere, so if you become my disciple, expect that you will not have a home either]
Note 8 topic: figures-of-speech / metonymy
οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλίνῃ
not ˓is˒_having somewhere (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς Αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεούς ἔχουσιν καί τά πετεινά τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις ὁ δέ Υἱός τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τήν κεφαλήν κλίνῃ)
This expression means “does not have anywhere to sleep,” by association with something that a person does in order to sleep, lay down his head. And a place to sleep, by association, means a home, since that is where people sleep. Alternate translation: [does not have a home anywhere] or (if you translated in the first person) [do not have a home anywhere]
Note 9 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole
οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν κλίνῃ
not ˓is˒_having somewhere (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς Αἱ ἀλώπεκες φωλεούς ἔχουσιν καί τά πετεινά τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατασκηνώσεις ὁ δέ Υἱός τοῦ Ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἔχει ποῦ τήν κεφαλήν κλίνῃ)
Jesus actually did find places to sleep wherever he went to teach and heal, but he says that he has no such place at all to emphasize that he has no permanent home. Alternate translation: [does not have a permanent home] or (if you translated in the first person) [do not have a permanent home]
9:58 no place even to lay his head: Any disciple of Jesus must be ready to go anywhere and to give up home and security.
OET (OET-LV) And the Yaʸsous said to_him:
- foxes are_having burrows, and the birds of_the sky nests, but the son of_ the _man is_ not _having somewhere his head may_be_laying.
OET (OET-RV) “Foxes have their burrows,” he responded, “and the birds have their nests, but humanity’s child has no home where he can lie down and relax.”
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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