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OET (OET-LV) And the centurion answering was_saying:
master, I_am not worthy that you_may_come_in under the roof of_me, but only speak by_the_message and the servant of_me will_be_being_healed.
OET (OET-RV) “But master,” the commander replied, “I’m not worthy that you should come to my house, but just give the command and my slave will be healed,
This section tells the story of a Roman officer who had greater faith than many Jews. This Gentile officer believed that Jesus had the power to heal his servant, even from a distance. Matthew used this story to show Jesus’ power. He also used this story to show that believing Gentiles would also be in the kingdom of God.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
The faith of a centurion
A believing Roman army officer
A Roman officer shows he believes strongly in Jesus’ power
There is a parallel passage for this section in Luke 7:1–10.
The centurion answered,
But the Roman army officer/captain said,
Then the leader of soldiers said to Jesus,
In Greek this verse begins with the conjunction that is often translated as “but” or “and.” Here the Greek conjunction indicates a contrast. The contrast is between Jesus saying that he will go and the centurion saying that Jesus did not need to go. Some English versions, such as the BSB, do not begin this verse with a conjunction.
Here are some ways to begin this verse:
But (ESV)
Then (NLT96)
“Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof.
“Lord, I am not worthy for you to come into my house.
“Sir, I am not good/important enough for you come into my house. So please, do not bother yourself.
Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof: This sentence is a polite way for the centurion to tell Jesus that he did not want Jesus to bother himself to go and enter his house. It does not mean “You are very kind to enter the house of someone who is so unworthy.” In some languages, it may be necessary to make this more explicit. For example:
Sir, please do not bother yourself. I am not worthy….
Sir, it is all right if you do not go. I am not worthy….
Lord, I am not worthy…. So please, it would be better if you did not come.
“Oh no, sir,”…“I do not deserve….” (GNT)
I am not worthy: The clause I am not worthy indicates that the centurion believed that he did not deserve a visit from Jesus. He knew that Jews did not enter the houses of Gentiles like himself. He also realized that God had given Jesus authority that was greater than his own.
Here are some other ways to translate this:
I’m not good enough (CEV)
I am not important/big enough
under my roof: The phrase under my roof is a figure of speech that means “in my house.” For example:
into my home (NLT)
But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
But just say the/one word, and my servant will be healed.
Please if you only say the word “be healed”, he will become well.
But: There is a contrast between 8:8b and 8:8c. The contrast is between what the centurion thought that Jesus should not do, and what he should do. In Greek, this contrast is indicated with a conjunction that English versions translate as But.
just say the word, and my servant will be healed: The clause just say the word indicates that the centurion believed that Jesus only had to say “your servant is healed” and his servant would become well. The officer knew that Jesus did not have to be present at his house in order to heal the servant. Jesus could heal him from a distance with a spoken word.
In some languages, it may be helpful to make explicit what kind of word this was. For example:
speak/say the words “be healed” and my servant will be healed
Just give the order, and my servant will get well. (GNT)
The clause say the word is a polite request. The centurion was politely asking Jesus to heal his servant. He was not ordering Jesus to do something. Use a sentence form that can be used as a polite request in your language. For example:
Please just say the words “be healed” and my servant will be healed.
I believe that if you would kindly say, “he is cured”, he would be cured.
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
μου ὑπὸ τὴν στέγην εἰσέλθῃς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀποκριθείς Δέ ὁ ἑκατόνταρχος ἔφη Κύριε οὐκ εἰμί ἱκανός ἵνα μού ὑπό τήν στέγην εἰσέλθῃς ἀλλά μόνον εἰπέ λόγῳ καί ἰαθήσεται ὁ παῖς μού)
The phrase enter under my roof means “come into my house.” If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [you might personally visit me] or [you might enter into my house]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / imperative
μόνον εἰπὲ λόγῳ
only (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀποκριθείς Δέ ὁ ἑκατόνταρχος ἔφη Κύριε οὐκ εἰμί ἱκανός ἵνα μού ὑπό τήν στέγην εἰσέλθῃς ἀλλά μόνον εἰπέ λόγῳ καί ἰαθήσεται ὁ παῖς μού)
Here, the centurion uses the command form to politely ask Jesus to speak a word. Use a form in your language that communicates this. Alternate translation: [please speak only a word]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
λόγῳ
˱by˲_˓the˒_word
Here the centurion means that Jesus can heal his servant by using a word of command, which is how Jesus healed the leper in [8:3](../08/03.md). If it would be helpful in your language, you could clarify that the centurion is referring to a single word of command. Alternate translation: [one order] or [a word of command]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
ἰαθήσεται ὁ παῖς μου
˓will_be_being˒_healed the servant (Some words not found in SR-GNT: ἀποκριθείς Δέ ὁ ἑκατόνταρχος ἔφη Κύριε οὐκ εἰμί ἱκανός ἵνα μού ὑπό τήν στέγην εἰσέλθῃς ἀλλά μόνον εἰπέ λόγῳ καί ἰαθήσεται ὁ παῖς μού)
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. If you need to say who does the action, it is clear from the context that it is Jesus. Alternate translation: [you will heal my servant]
8:5-13 Jesus once again ministered to the marginalized or ostracized. The centurion was a Gentile soldier, and ministry to him would have evoked strong resentment from both the nationalistic and the separatist wings of Jewish society.
OET (OET-LV) And the centurion answering was_saying:
master, I_am not worthy that you_may_come_in under the roof of_me, but only speak by_the_message and the servant of_me will_be_being_healed.
OET (OET-RV) “But master,” the commander replied, “I’m not worthy that you should come to my house, but just give the command and my slave will be healed,
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.