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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
Mat C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24 C25 C26 C27 C28
Mat 12 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) Then it_is_saying:
I_will_be_turning_back to the house of_me whence I_came_out.
And having_come, it_is_finding being_unoccupied having_been_swept and having_been_adorned.
OET (OET-RV) So it says to itself, ‘I’ll go back to the house that I just left.’ Then when it gets back, it finds that it’s not only unoccupied, but it’s been swept and tidied up.
In this section, the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders increases. Jesus had already said several times that he was someone special. He said that he was greater than the temple (12:6). He said that he was Lord of the Sabbath (12:8). In this section, the religious leaders wanted to see a miraculous sign to confirm that he was really from God.
Jesus rebuked the religious leaders for asking for a sign, and he refused to give them an immediate sign. A sign would come later. It would be the sign of Jonah. By referring to the sign of Jonah, Jesus meant that he would be in the grave three days (12:40) before God resurrected him. He then told two stories and said that he was greater than Jonah and Solomon. Jesus warned them that if they did not recognize God’s work among them, they would be condemned.
Finally, Jesus told a story to warn the religious leaders of the spiritual dangers that faced them if they did not have the Holy Spirit in their lives.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
The religious leaders ask for a sign/miracle
The sign of Jonah
There is a parallel passage for 12:38–42 in Luke 11:29–32. There is a parallel passage for 12:43–45 in Luke 11:24–26.
This paragraph warns that removing evil from a person’s life is not enough. The person must also fill himself with good. The way that someone fills himself with good is not explicitly mentioned. The implied way is by following Jesus and having the Holy Spirit fill him.
Jesus used the present tense for all the verbs in 12:43–45. The present tense shows that this is a general example: these events commonly happen for this situation. Use the proper tense in your language to show that this is a general example.
Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’
Then it says, ‘I will go back to live in the house I left.’
Then he says to himself, ‘I will go back to the person who was my former house.’
Then it says: The pronoun it refers to the unclean spirit. Here the unclean spirit is talking to itself.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
Then he says to himself
I will return to the house I left: The phrase the house I left is a figure of speech. It refers to the person whom the unclean spirit had been possessing.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
Keep the figure of speech. For example:
I will go back to my house. (GNT) If you follow this option, you may want to include a footnote. Here is a sample footnote:
The unclean spirit refers to the person he possessed/controlled as his “house.”
Explain in the text that the house refers to the person. For example:
I will return to the person who was my house
I will go back to the person in whom I lived/resided
Translate the meaning without using a figure of speech. For example:
I will return to the person I came from. (NLT)
On its return, it finds the house vacant, swept clean, and put in order.
When it arrives, it sees that the house is empty, clean and everything put in its place.
When he returns to the person he had left, he discovers that the person is like a house that is ready for someone to live in. It is empty, clean, and tidy.
On its return: This clause means “when the unclean spirit returns to its house.”
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
When the unclean spirit comes back to its house
When the evil spirit returns to the person whom he had left
it finds: Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
it discovers
he sees that
the house vacant, swept clean, and put in order: This is a metaphor. In this metaphor, the person whom the unclean spirit had left is compared to a house that is vacant, clean, and put in order. The person and the house are similar in that both are ready for someone to come and live in them.
Here are some other ways to translate this metaphor:
Keep the metaphor. For example:
the place empty, clean, and fixed up (CEV)
Change the metaphor to a simile. For example:
the person is like a house that is empty, swept, and put in order
Change the metaphor to a simile and make explicit how the person and the house are similar. For example:
the person is like a house that is empty, cleaned, arranged neatly and ready for someone to live there
no one is living in him. He is like a house that is ready to inhabit. It is empty, clean, and put in order.
vacant: The word vacant indicates that no one is living in the “house.” This word indicates that the person has not asked either a demon or Jesus to live in his inner being and be ruler in his life.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
no one is living there
vacant
swept clean: This word means to clean the floor by brushing it with a broom.
Here are some other ways to translate this word:
swept (ESV)
clean (GNT)
put in order: This phrase indicates that the things in the house are in their right places. This is another way to describe that the house is ready for someone to live in.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
tidy (REB)
made neat (NCV)
fixed up (GW)
everything is in its proper place
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes
λέγει, εἰς τὸν οἶκόν μου ἐπιστρέψω ὅθεν ἐξῆλθον & καὶ ἐλθὸν
˱it˲_˓is˒_saying to (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τότε λέγει εἰς τόν οἶκον μού ἐπιστρέψω ὅθεν ἐξῆλθον Καί ἐλθόν εὑρίσκει σχολάζοντα σεσαρωμένον καί κεκοσμημένον)
If it would be clearer in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: [it says that it will return to its house from which it came out. And having come]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / exmetaphor
εἰς τὸν οἶκόν μου & ὅθεν ἐξῆλθον
to (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τότε λέγει εἰς τόν οἶκον μού ἐπιστρέψω ὅθεν ἐξῆλθον Καί ἐλθόν εὑρίσκει σχολάζοντα σεσαρωμένον καί κεκοσμημένον)
Here the demon refers to the person it formerly controlled as if he were its house. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use simile form or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [to the person whom I used to control, who is like a house from which I came out] or [to the man from whom I came out]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / go
ἐλθὸν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τότε λέγει εἰς τόν οἶκον μού ἐπιστρέψω ὅθεν ἐξῆλθον Καί ἐλθόν εὑρίσκει σχολάζοντα σεσαρωμένον καί κεκοσμημένον)
In a context such as this, your language might say “gone” instead of come. Alternate translation: [having gone]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / exmetaphor
εὑρίσκει σχολάζοντα σεσαρωμένον καὶ κεκοσμημένον
˱it˲_˓is˒_finding being_unoccupied ˓having_been˒_swept (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τότε λέγει εἰς τόν οἶκον μού ἐπιστρέψω ὅθεν ἐξῆλθον Καί ἐλθόν εὑρίσκει σχολάζοντα σεσαρωμένον καί κεκοσμημένον)
Here Jesus refers to the person whom the demon formerly controlled as if he were a house that was empty, swept out, and put in order. This means that no one is living in the house, so it is ready for someone to move in. Similarly, the person is not serving or obeying anyone, so he is ready for someone to lead or control him. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use simile form or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [it finds the man like an empty house, having been swept out and put in order] or [it finds that the man is not serving anybody, but he is living a good life]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
σεσαρωμένον καὶ κεκοσμημένον
˓having_been˒_swept (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τότε λέγει εἰς τόν οἶκον μού ἐπιστρέψω ὅθεν ἐξῆλθον Καί ἐλθόν εὑρίσκει σχολάζοντα σεσαρωμένον καί κεκοσμημένον)
If your language does not use the passive form in this way, you could state this in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who did the action, you could use an indefinite subject. Alternate translation: [and a person has swept it out and put it in order]
12:22-45 The Messiah was rejected by the Pharisees, the teachers of religious law, and his own generation.
OET (OET-LV) Then it_is_saying:
I_will_be_turning_back to the house of_me whence I_came_out.
And having_come, it_is_finding being_unoccupied having_been_swept and having_been_adorned.
OET (OET-RV) So it says to itself, ‘I’ll go back to the house that I just left.’ Then when it gets back, it finds that it’s not only unoccupied, but it’s been swept and tidied up.
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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