LUKE 12:38 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) If he arrives around midnight or even in the small hours of the morning, he’ll find them ready. Yes, they’ll be blessed.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, cyan:dative/indirect object.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT Even if he comes in the second, or even in the third watch, and finds them thus, blessed are those.

UST Even if he comes home late in the evening or in the middle of the night, if he finds that his servants are awake and ready for him, he will be very pleased with them.

BSB Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night[fn] and finds [them] alert, those [servants] will be blessed.

12:38 That is, between nine at night and three in the morning

MSB Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night[fn] and finds [them] alert, those servants will be blessed.

12:38 That is, between nine at night and three in the morning

BLB And if he comes in the second, and if in the third watch, and finds them thus, blessed are those!

AICNT “{And if in the second or in the third watch he comes and finds them so, [those][fn] [[servants]][fn] they are blessed.}[fn]

12:38, those: Absent from some manuscripts. ℵ(01) Latin(it).

12:38, servants: Some manuscripts include. A(02) W(032) BYZ TR ‖ Absent from 𝔓75 ℵ(01) B(03) D(05) Latin(it) NA28 SBLGNT THGNT.

12:38, second or in the third...: Some manuscripts read “And if he comes in the evening watch and finds it so, he will do likewise. And if in the second and third, blessed are those there.” D(05) Latin(b ff² i it) Syriac(sy^c)

OEB Whether it is late at night, or in the early morning that he comes, if he finds all as it should be, then happy are they.

WEBBE They will be blessed if he comes in the second or third watch and finds them so.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night and finds them alert, blessed are those slaves!

LSV and if he may come in the second watch, and in the third watch he may come, and may find [it] so, blessed are those servants.

FBV Even if he comes at midnight, or just before dawn—how good for them if he finds them watching and ready!

TCNT If he comes in the second watch or the third watch and finds them doing so, blessed are those servants.

T4T Even if he comes between midnight and sunrise, if he finds that his servants are awake and ready for him, he will be very pleased with them.

LEB Even if he should come back in the second or in the third watch of the night and find them[fn] like this, blessed are they!

12:38 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation

BBE And if he comes in the second division of the night or in the third, and they are watching for him, happy are those servants.

Moff Whether he comes in the second or the third watch of the night and finds them thus alert, blessed are they!

Wymth And whether it be in the second watch or in the third that He comes and finds them so, blessed are they.

ASV And if he shall come in the second watch, and if in the third, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

DRA And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

YLT and if he may come in the second watch, and in the third watch he may come, and may find [it] so, happy are those servants.

Drby And if he come in the second watch, and come in the third watch, and find [them] thus, blessed are those [bondmen].

RV And if he shall come in the second watch, and if in the third, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

SLT And if he should come in the second watch, and should come in the third watch, and find so, happy are those servants.

Wbstr And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

KJB-1769 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.

KJB-1611 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those seruants.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps And yf he come in the seconde watche, yea if he come in the thirde watche, and fynde them so, happye are those seruauntes.
(And if he come in the second watche, yea if he come in the third watche, and find them so, happye are those servants.)

Gnva And if he come in the seconde watch, or come in the third watch, and shall finde them so, blessed are those seruants.
(And if he come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and shall find them so, blessed are those servants. )

Cvdl And yf he come in the seconde watch, and in the thirde watch, and fynde them so, blessed are those seruauntes.
(And if he come in the second watch, and in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.)

TNT And yf he come in the seconde watche ye if he come in the thyrde watche and shall fynde them soo happy are those servauntes.
(And if he come in the second watch ye/you_all if he come in the third watch and shall find them soo happy are those servants. )

Wycl And if he come in the secounde wakynge, and if he come in the thridde wakynge, and fynde so, tho seruauntis ben blessid.
(And if he come in the second waking, and if he come in the third waking, and find so, those servants been blessed.)

Luth Und so er kommt in der andern Wache und in der dritten Wache und wird‘s also finden: selig sind diese Knechte.
(And so he comes in the/of_the change watch(n) and in the/of_the third watch(n) and it_will also find: blessed are this/these servant(s).)

ClVg Et si venerit in secunda vigilia, et si in tertia vigilia venerit, et ita invenerit, beati sunt servi illi.[fn]
(And when/but_if will_have_placed in/into/on the_second vigil/watch(n), and when/but_if in/into/on third vigil/watch(n) will_have_placed, and so/thus found, happy are slaves them. )

12.38 Et si venerit in secunda, etc. Vigilias vocat a similitudine excubantium. In nocte hujus mundi semper debemus esse contra hostem solliciti, et exspectare lucem venturam, id est adventum judicis. Prima ergo vigilia custodia pueritiæ est, secunda juventutis, tertia senectutis. Si quis vero in pueritia vigilare neglexerit, non tamen desperet, sed etiam in juventute vel saltem tandem in senectute resipiscat, quia pius judex moras nostras patienter exspectat. Qui ad excutiendam mentis desidiam exteriorum damnatorum similitudinem inducit, ut per hoc animus ad custodiam sui suscitetur. Unde, Hoc autem scitote quoniam si sciret paterfamilias. Nesciente patrefamilias fur domum perfodit, quia dum a sui custodia spiritus dormit, improvisa mors carnis habitaculum irrumpit, et ad supplicia trahit. Furi autem resisteret si vigilaret, quia adventum judicis occulte venientem præcavens, pœnitendo occurreret.

12.38 And when/but_if will_have_placed in/into/on the_second, etc. Vigilias he_calls from likeness excubantium. In at_night of_this world always we_must to_be on_the_contrary hostem anxious, and waitre the_light to_comem, that it_is arrival judgements. The_first therefore vigil/watch(n) custody childrentiæ it_is, the_second youth, third old_manctutis. When/But_if who/any indeed/however in/into/on childrentia vigilare neglexerit, not/no nevertheless despair, but also in/into/on youth or at_least/after_all tandem in/into/on old_age resipiscat, because pious/devout the_judge moras ours patiently is_waiting. Who to excutiendam of_the_mind desidiam exteriorum damnatorum similarity leads, as through this animus to custody self raiseur. Unde, This however he_knowsote since/because when/but_if would_know fatherfamilias. Nethey_will_knowe to_his_fatherfamilias a_thief house/home perfodit, because while from self custody spirit he_sleeps, improvisa death of_flesh dwelling/den irrumpit, and to punishments trahit. Furi however to_resistt when/but_if vigilaret, because arrival judgements secretly coming beforecavens, pœnitendo occurreret.

UGNT κἂν ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ κἂν ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ φυλακῇ ἔλθῃ, καὶ εὕρῃ οὕτως, μακάριοί εἰσιν ἐκεῖνοι!
(kan en taʸ deutera kan en taʸ tritaʸ fulakaʸ elthaʸ, kai heuraʸ houtōs, makarioi eisin ekeinoi!)

SBL-GNT ⸂κἂν ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ κἂν⸃ ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ φυλακῇ ἔλθῃ καὶ εὕρῃ οὕτως, μακάριοί ⸀εἰσιν ἐκεῖνοι.
(⸂kan en taʸ deutera kan⸃ en taʸ tritaʸ fulakaʸ elthaʸ kai heuraʸ houtōs, makarioi ⸀eisin ekeinoi.)

RP-GNT Καὶ ἐὰν ἔλθῃ ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ φυλακῇ, καὶ ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ φυλακῇ ἔλθῃ, καὶ εὕρῃ οὕτως, μακάριοί εἰσιν οἱ δοῦλοι ἐκεῖνοι.
(Kai ean elthaʸ en taʸ deutera fulakaʸ, kai en taʸ tritaʸ fulakaʸ elthaʸ, kai heuraʸ houtōs, makarioi eisin hoi douloi ekeinoi.)

TC-GNT [fn]Καὶ ἐὰν ἔλθῃ ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ φυλακῇ, καὶ ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ φυλακῇ ἔλθῃ, καὶ εὕρῃ οὕτω, μακάριοί εἰσιν [fn]οἱ δοῦλοι ἐκεῖνοι.
(Kai ean elthaʸ en taʸ deutera fulakaʸ, kai en taʸ tritaʸ fulakaʸ elthaʸ, kai heuraʸ houtō, makarioi eisin hoi douloi ekeinoi. )

12:38 και εαν ελθη εν τη δευτερα φυλακη και ¦ καν εν τη δευτερα καν CT

12:38 οι δουλοι ¦ — CT

Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 12:35–48: Jesus’ servants should be watchful and faithful

In this section Jesus continued to teach his disciples. He told them to do their work faithfully and to be ready for the time he would return to earth. He used three illustrations that all emphasized how important it is to be prepared for his return. In 12:35–38 he described a man who had gone to a wedding feast. His servants needed to be ready to open the door for him at whatever time he returned. In 12:39 he described the owner of a house watching out for a thief who might come at an unexpected time. In 12:41–48, Jesus explained the difference between a faithful servant and an unfaithful servant. This encouraged his disciples to be faithful.

Some other headings for this section are:

Faithful and Unfaithful Servants (CEV)

Be Ready for the Lord’s Coming (NLT)

Watchfulness (NIV)

There is a parallel passage for 12:41–48 in Matthew 24:45–51.

Paragraph 12:35–38

In this paragraph Jesus continued to speak. It may be helpful to indicate this here at the beginning of this new section. For example:

Jesus also said …

Jesus continued teaching his disciples and he said…

12:38

Some versions, such as the NIV, order this verse differently than the Greek text. In Greek it literally says:

And if in the second or even in the third watch of the night he comes and finds them watching thus, blessed are those servants.

The BSB follows this order. Use a natural order in your language.

12:38a

Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night

Yes, even if their master comes in the middle of the night or even later,
Even if he should come in the darkest hours of the night, or even before cockcrow/dawn,

Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night: The phrase second or third watch of the night refers to two periods of guard duty that lasted from near midnight until some time before dawn.If Jesus was using the Jewish system, the second watch would have been from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. and the third watch from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. If he was using the Roman system, the second watch would have been from 9 p.m. to midnight and the third watch from midnight to 3 a.m. Both views are well supported by scholars. The exact timing is not important here, and no English version specifies which system was used. During this time it would be increasingly difficult for the servants to keep awake.

If you have natural expressions in your language to refer to periods of guard duty during the night, you may use them here. Otherwise, you may use more general expressions of time. For example:

during the middle of the night, or near dawn (NRSV)

even if it is midnight or later (NCV)

12:38b

and finds them alert, those servants will be blessed.

those servants will indeed be very happy/fortunate if he finds them ready for him,
there will be great happiness for those servants when the master sees that they were waiting for him,

finds them alert: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as finds them alert is literally “finds thus.” The word “thus” refers back to 12:37a, where it makes explicit that the servants were awake and waiting for the master. Other ways to translate this are:

ready (NIV, NJB)

still waiting (NCV)

awake (REB)

In some languages it may not be natural to repeat so soon the exact information that was given in 12:37a. Consider whether there is a natural way to indicate that something is being deliberately repeated for emphasis. One way to do this in English is:

Yes, it will indeed be good for those servants whom the master finds watching like that!

See below for a suggestion on reordering these verses.

General Comment on 12:37–38

In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of information in these verses. For example:

^37a/38aThose servants will be truly happy/fortunate when their master sees that they have been watching alertly for his return. ^38bThey will be happy even if he returns in the middle of the night or later yet. ^37bI assure you that their master will change his clothes. ^37cHe will then have his servants sit down and serve them a meal.

Notice that in this example the statements in 12:37a and 12:38a have been combined to avoid repetition. This is a good option if the repetition is not natural in your language.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

κἂν ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ κἂν ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ φυλακῇ ἔλθῃ

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Κἄν ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ κἄν ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ φυλακῇ ἔλθῃ καί εὕρῃ οὕτως μακάριοι εἰσίν ἐκεῖνοι)

Alternate translation: [Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night]

Note 1 topic: translate-unknown

ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ & φυλακῇ

in the second & watch

The second watch of the night was from 9:00 PM until midnight. Alternate translation: [late at night]

Note 2 topic: translate-unknown

κἂν ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ φυλακῇ

The third watch was from midnight until 3:00 AM. Alternate translation: [or even after midnight]

καὶ εὕρῃ οὕτως, μακάριοί εἰσιν ἐκεῖνοι