LUKE 14:31 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

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

OET (OET-RV) Or what king would go off to war against another king, if he hadn’t previously sat down with his generals to figure out if their ten thousand soldiers are powerful enough to battle the other king bringing twenty thousand against him?

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor, 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 Or what king, going to fight with another king in war, will not sit down and first determine whether he is able with 10,000 to meet the one coming against him with 20,000?

UST Or suppose a king had 10,000 soldiers in his army. And suppose another king who had 20,000 soldiers was coming to attack him. Before sending his army out to battle, that first king would certainly sit down with his advisors to determine whether he could defeat the other king’s army.

BSB Or what king on his way to war with another king will not first sit down [and] consider whether he can engage with ten thousand [men] the [one] coming against him with twenty thousand?

MSB Or what king on his way to war with another king does not[fn] first sit down [and] consider whether he can engage with ten thousand [men] the [one] coming against him with twenty thousand?

BLB Or what king, proceeding to engage with another king in war, will not, having sat down, first take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

AICNT “Or what king, going out to meet another king in battle, will not [[immediately]][fn] sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to confront the one coming [against him][fn] with twenty thousand?

14:31, immediately: Included in D(05).

14:31, against him: Absent from Latin(e).

OEB Or what king, when he is setting out to fight another king, does not first sit down and consider if with ten thousand men he is able to meet one who is coming against him with twenty thousand?

WEBBE Or what king, as he goes to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Or what king, going out to confront another king in battle, will not sit down first and determine whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

LSV Or what king going on to engage with another king in war, does not, having sat down, first consult if he with ten thousand is able to meet him who is coming against him with twenty thousand?

FBV What king goes to war with another king without first sitting down with his advisors to work out whether he and his ten thousand can defeat the one marching against him with twenty thousand?

TCNT Or what king, when he is going out to confront another king in battle, [fn]does not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to face the king who is coming against him with twenty thousand men?

14:31 does ¦ will CT

T4T Or, if a king decided to send his army to war against another king, ◄he would surely first sit down with those who advised him./would he not first sit down with those who advised him?► [RHQ] They would determine whether his army, which had only 10,000 soldiers, could defeat the other army, which had 20,000 soldiers, and was about to attack his army.

LEB Or what king, going out to engage another king in battle, does not sit down first and[fn] deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand.

14:31 *Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“sit down”) has been translated as a finite verb

BBE Or what king, going to war with another king, will not first take thought if he will be strong enough, with ten thousand men, to keep off him who comes against him with twenty thousand?

Moff Or what king sets out to fight against another king without first sitting down to deliberate whether with ten thousand men he can encounter the king who is attacking him with twenty thousand?

Wymth Or what king, marching to encounter another king in war, does not first sit down and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand men to meet the one who is advancing against him with twenty thousand?

ASV Or what king, as he goeth to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

DRA Or what king, about to go to make war against another king, doth not first sit down, and think whether he be able, with ten thousand, to meet him that, with twenty thousand, cometh against him?

YLT 'Or what king going on to engage with another king in war, doth not, having sat down, first consult if he be able with ten thousand to meet him who with twenty thousand is coming against him?

Drby Or what king, going on his way to engage in war with another king, does not, sitting down first, take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him coming against him with twenty thousand?

RV Or what king, as he goeth to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
(Or what king, as he goeth/goes to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take council/counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh/comes against him with twenty thousand? )

SLT Or what king, going to fight with another king in war, not, having sat down first, consults, if he be able with ten thousand to meet him coming with twenty thousand against him?

Wbstr Or what king going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

KJB-1769 Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?
( Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth/sits not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh/comes against him with twenty thousand? )

KJB-1611 Or what king going to make war against another king, sitteth not downe first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand, to meete him that commeth against him with twentie thousand?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Or what kyng, goyng to make battell against another kyng, sitteth not downe first, and casteth in his mynde, whether he be able with ten thousande, to meete hym, that commeth agaynst hym with twentie thousande?
(Or what king, going to make battle against another king, sitteth/sits not down first, and casteth in his mind, whether he be able with ten thousand, to meet him, that cometh/comes against him with twenty thousand?)

Gnva Or what King going to make warre against another King, sitteth not downe first, and taketh counsell, whether he be able with ten thousande, to meete him that commeth against him with twentie thousand?
(Or what King going to make war against another King, sitteth/sits not down first, and taketh/takes council/counsel, whether he be able with ten thousand, to meet him that cometh/comes against him with twenty thousand? )

Cvdl Or what kynge wil go to make battayl agaynst another kynge, and sytteth not downe first, and casteth in his mynde, whether he be able with ten thousande, to mete him that commeth agaynst him with twentye thousande?
(Or what king will go to make battayl against another king, and sitteth/sits not down first, and casteth in his mind, whether he be able with ten thousand, to meet him that cometh/comes against him with twenty thousand?)

TNT Or what kynge goeth to make batayle agaynst another kinge and sitteth not doune fyrst and casteth in his mynde whether he be able with ten thousande to mete him that cometh agaynst him with .xx thousand.
(Or what king goeth/goes to make batayle against another king and sitteth/sits not down first and casteth in his mind whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh/comes against him with .xx thousand. )

Wycl Or what kyng that wole go to do a bataile ayens anothir kyng, whether he sittith not first, and bithenkith, if he may with ten thousynde go ayens hym that cometh ayens hym with twenti thousynde?
(Or what king that will go to do a bataile against another king, whether he sitteth/sits not first, and bithenkith, if he may with ten thousand go against him that cometh/comes against him with twenty thousand?)

Luth Oder welcher König will sich begeben in einen Streit wider einen andern König und sitzt nicht zuvor und ratschlagt, ob er könnte mit zehntausend begegnen dem, der über ihn kommt mit zwanzigtausend?
(Or which king will itself/yourself/themselves begeben in a battle against a change king and sits not before and ratschlagt, if/whether he could with ten_thousand meet/encounter to_him, the/of_the above him/it comes with twenty_thousand?)

ClVg Aut quis rex iturus committere bellum adversus alium regem, non sedens prius cogitat, si possit cum decem millibus occurrere ei, qui cum viginti millibus venit ad se?[fn]
(Aut who/any king iturus committere war against another the_king, not/no sitting first/before thinks, when/but_if can when/with ten thousands occurrere to_him, who/which when/with twenty thousands he_came to himself? )

14.31 Aut quis, etc. Post similitudinem de turre ædificanda, supponit similitudinem majoris rei, de rege pugnaturo. In quo ostenditur per impletionem præcedentium mandatorum nullum ad gloriam posse pertingere, nisi severi judicis sententia temperetur per misericordiam. In conspectu enim Dei omnis homo imperfectus. Si possit. Quasi cum decem millibus occurrit Deo, qui offert opera decem mandatorum quæ exterius gessit. Sed Deus quasi cum duplicato numero contravenit, cum vix illum præparatum in solo opere, discutit simul de opere et cogitatione. Et ideo, dum adhuc longe est per dilationem judicii, nos fragilitatis nostræ insufficientiam attendentes, ad impetrandam severi judicis pacem debemus præmittere legationem lacrymarum, bonorum operum, piorum affectum.

14.31 Aut who/any, etc. After similarity from/about tower buildnda, supposes similarity older rei, from/about king fightturo. In where is_shown through fillsionem they_will_precedeium of_commands none to glory posse pertingere, except severi judgements opinion temperetur through mercy. In in_sight because of_God everyone human imperfectus. When/But_if can. As_if when/with ten thousands meets to_God, who/which offers works ten of_commands which outside carried_out. But God as_if when/with duplicato number contravenit, when/with barely him beforeparatum in/into/on solo by_work, discutit at_the_same_time from/about by_work and thought. And therefore/for_that_reason, while still far_away it_is through dilationem judgement, us fragilitatis our insufficientiam attendentes, to impetrandam severi judgements peace we_must beforemittere legationem lacrymarum, of_goods works, piorum the_feeling.

UGNT ἢ τίς βασιλεὺς πορευόμενος ἑτέρῳ βασιλεῖ συμβαλεῖν εἰς πόλεμον, οὐχὶ καθίσας πρῶτον βουλεύσεται, εἰ δυνατός ἐστιν ἐν δέκα χιλιάσιν ὑπαντῆσαι τῷ μετὰ εἴκοσι χιλιάδων ἐρχομένῳ ἐπ’ αὐτόν?
(aʸ tis basileus poreuomenos heterōi basilei sumbalein eis polemon, ouⱪi kathisas prōton bouleusetai, ei dunatos estin en deka ⱪiliasin hupantaʸsai tōi meta eikosi ⱪiliadōn erⱪomenōi ep’ auton?)

SBL-GNT ἢ τίς βασιλεὺς πορευόμενος ⸂ἑτέρῳ βασιλεῖ συμβαλεῖν⸃ εἰς πόλεμον οὐχὶ καθίσας πρῶτον ⸀βουλεύσεται εἰ δυνατός ἐστιν ἐν δέκα χιλιάσιν ⸀ὑπαντῆσαι τῷ μετὰ εἴκοσι χιλιάδων ἐρχομένῳ ἐπʼ αὐτόν;
(aʸ tis basileus poreuomenos ⸂heterōi basilei sumbalein⸃ eis polemon ouⱪi kathisas prōton ⸀bouleusetai ei dunatos estin en deka ⱪiliasin ⸀hupantaʸsai tōi meta eikosi ⱪiliadōn erⱪomenōi epʼ auton;)

RP-GNT Ἢ τίς βασιλεὺς πορευόμενος συμβαλεῖν ἑτέρῳ βασιλεῖ εἰς πόλεμον οὐχὶ καθίσας πρῶτον βουλεύεται εἰ δυνατός ἐστιν ἐν δέκα χιλιάσιν ἀπαντῆσαι τῷ μετὰ εἴκοσι χιλιάδων ἐρχομένῳ ἐπ' αὐτόν;
(Aʸ tis basileus poreuomenos sumbalein heterōi basilei eis polemon ouⱪi kathisas prōton bouleuetai ei dunatos estin en deka ⱪiliasin apantaʸsai tōi meta eikosi ⱪiliadōn erⱪomenōi ep' auton;)

TC-GNT Ἢ τίς βασιλεὺς πορευόμενος [fn]συμβαλεῖν ἑτέρῳ βασιλεῖ εἰς πόλεμον οὐχὶ [fn]καθίσας πρῶτον [fn]βουλεύεται εἰ δυνατός ἐστιν ἐν δέκα [fn]χιλιάσιν [fn]ἀπαντῆσαι τῷ μετὰ εἴκοσι [fn]χιλιάδων ἐρχομένῳ ἐπ᾽ αὐτόν;
(Aʸ tis basileus poreuomenos sumbalein heterōi basilei eis polemon ouⱪi kathisas prōton bouleuetai ei dunatos estin en deka ⱪiliasin apantaʸsai tōi meta eikosi ⱪiliadōn erⱪomenōi ep auton; )

14:31 συμβαλειν ετερω βασιλει ¦ ετερω βασιλει συμβαλειν NA SBL TH ¦ ετερω βασιλει συνβαλειν WH

14:31 καθισας πρωτον ¦ πρωτον καθισας ANT

14:31 βουλευεται ¦ βουλευσεται CT

14:31 χιλιασιν ¦ χειλιασιν TH

14:31 απαντησαι ¦ υπαντησαι CT

14:31 χιλιαδων ¦ χειλιαδων TH

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 14:25–35: A disciple of Jesus must be ready to suffer for him

In the previous section, Jesus warned people about the danger of rejecting God’s invitation to join his kingdom. In this section he told them two parables to advise them that they should not underestimate the suffering and difficulties which they would face if they decided to truly be his disciples.

Some other possible headings for this section are:

The Cost of Being a Disciple (NIV)

Do not underestimate the hardship of being a disciple

Paragraph 14:31–33

See the summary of Paragraph 14:28–30. This paragraph gives a second parallel example that illustrates the importance of thinking carefully before deciding to start something. The structure of this example, using a rhetorical question, is very similar to 14:28–30, so you may be able to make similar kinds of translation adjustments.

14:31a–d

Or: In Greek, this verse begins with a conjunction that the BSB translates literally as Or. This conjunction introduces another example that makes the same point. It does not introduce an alternative example (either this or that). Other ways to introduce a similar example are:

In the same way

Here is another example

what king on his way to war with another king will not first sit down and consider whether he can engage with ten thousand men the one coming against him with twenty thousand?: As the BSB shows, in Greek, 14:31a–d is a single rhetorical question, as in 14:28. Another way to translate this is:

Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? (NLT)

The function of the rhetorical question is to emphasize that the king would certainly sit down and make plans. He would decide whether his men are able to defeat the other kings’ men before he goes out and begins to fight. Other ways to translate this question are:

As two or more rhetorical questions. For example:
What will a king do if he has only ten thousand soldiers to defend himself against a king who is about to attack him with twenty thousand soldiers? Before he goes out to battle, won’t he first sit down and decide if he can win? (CEV)

Notice that the CEV has reordered the information. For another suggestion about reordering, see the General Comment on 14:31a–d at the end of 14:31d.

As one or more statements. For example:
If a king goes out with ten thousand men to fight another king who comes against him with twenty thousand men, he will sit down first and decide if he is strong enough to face that other king. (GNT)
If a king is going to fight another king, first he will sit down and plan. He will decide if he and his ten thousand soldiers can defeat the other king who has twenty thousand soldiers. (NCV)
As a combination of statements and questions. For example:
Or suppose a king is going to war against another king. He would first sit down and think things through. Can he and his 10,000 soldiers fight against a king with 20,000 soldiers? (GW)

14:31a

Or what king on his way to war with another king

¶ “Or, here is another example: If a king is getting ready for his soldiers to fight against the soldiers of another king, what does he do first?
¶ “Similarly/Again, think about a king who is being attacked by the army of another king.

what king on his way to war with another king: In this example the first king discovers that another king is bringing his soldiers to attack him. This first king who is on his way to war is wondering whether to defend himself or to surrender. Some ways to make this clear are:

suppose a king is facing an attack from another king

if a king is about to be attacked by another king and his army

The kings represent themselves and their soldiers. Be sure that is clear in your language. See the preceding example.

14:31b

will not first sit down and consider

He will sit down and plan/decide
Before he goes to defend himself, surely he will first carefully think like this:

14:31c

whether he can engage with ten thousand men

whether his army of ten thousand soldiers/men is strong enough
‘I have only ten thousand soldiers.

14:31b–c

sit down and consider: The verb that the BSB translates as consider means to think about carefully in order to decide. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

sit down and think things through (GW)

sit down and plan. He will decide (NCV)

It is likely that the king planned and discussed the situation with a group of advisers (see the NLT example in the first note on 14:31), but this information is not implied in the text itself.

sit down: See the note on sit down in 14:28b.

14:31d

the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

to defeat his enemy who is coming to attack him with twenty thousand soldiers.
Can I defeat my enemy who is coming to attack me with twenty thousand soldiers?’

engage: In this context the verb engage means to successfully defend oneself against an enemy. Other ways to translate this are:

to defend himself against (CEV)

can defeat (NCV)

the one coming against him with twenty thousand: The phrase the one coming against him refers to the king who is coming to attack the first king. The phrase with twenty thousand means “with an army of twenty thousand men.” This is twice the size of the first king’s army, so in some languages it may be natural to translate this as:

with an army twice the size of his

General Comment on 14:31a–d

In some languages it may be necessary to reorder the parts in this verse to explain the situation at the beginning of the verse. For example:

^31aTake another example. Suppose there is a king ^31cwho has ten thousand soldiers. ^31aIf he wants to defend himself against ^31danother king with twenty thousand soldiers, ^31bwhat will he do? First he will sit down and carefully consider ^31cwhether he can ^31dsuccessfully defeat this king.

Parallel LUKE 14:31