LUKE 17:10 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) So too when you all do what you’ve been told to do, just say, ‘We’re useless slaves—we’ve just done what we were told.’ ”

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, 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 Thus also you, when you have done all the things commanded to you, say, ‘We are worthless servants. We have done what we ought to do.’ ”

UST Similarly, when you have done everything that God has told you to do, you should say, ‘We are only God’s servants. We do not deserve to have you thank us. We have only done the things that he told us to do.’ ”

BSB So you also, when you have done everything commanded of you, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ”

BLB Thus you also, when you may have done all the things having been commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have done that which we were bound to do.'"

AICNT [So][fn] [You][fn] Also, when you {have done [all][fn] [[these things]][fn] what was commanded to you},[fn] {[you say][fn] [that][fn] ‘We are unworthy servants; [[because]][fn] we have done only what we were obligated to do.’ ”}[fn]

17:10, So: Absent from some manuscripts. Latin(b ff² i)

17:10, You: Absent from D(05).

17:10, all: Absent from some manuscripts. D(05) Latin(a b e ff² i)

17:10, these things: Included in A(02).

17:10, have done all what was commanded to you: D(05) reads “do all that I say.”

17:10, you say: Absent from some manuscripts. Latin(it) Syriac(sy^s sy^c)

17:10, that: Absent from some manuscripts. A(02) W(032) Latin(a b e ff² i)

17:10, because: Some manuscripts include. W(032) Latin(b e ff² i) BYZ TR

17:10, you say that...: D(05) reads “it is said that we are servants, useless, we have done what we ought to have done.”

OEB And so with you – when you have done all that you have been told, still say “We are but useless servants; we have done no more than we ought to have done.” ’

WEBBE Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’ ”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET So you too, when you have done everything you were commanded to do, should say, ‘We are slaves undeserving of special praise; we have only done what was our duty.’ ”

LSV So also you, when you may have done all the things directed you, say, We are unprofitable servants, because that which we owed to do we have done.”

FBV Likewise once you've done everything you were told, you should simply say, ‘We are undeserving servants. We just did our duty.’ ”

TCNT So you also, when you have done everything you were commanded to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what we were obligated to do.’ ”

T4T Similarly, when you (pl) have done everything that God has told you to do, you should say, ‘We (inc) are not worthy of God thanking us {being thanked}. We are only God’s servants. We have only done the things that he told us to do.’ ”

LEB Thus you also, when you have done all the _⌊things you were ordered to do_⌋,[fn] say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done what we were obligated to do.’ ”

17:10 Literally “things that were ordered to you”

BBE In the same way, when you have done all the things which are given you to do, say, There is no profit in us, for we have only done what we were ordered to do.

Moff Well, it is the same with you; when you have done all you are bidden, say, "We are but servants; we have only done our duty." "

Wymth So you also, when you have obeyed all the orders given you, must say, "`There is no merit in our service: what we have done is only what we were in duty bound to do.'"

ASV Even so ye also, when ye shall have done all the things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which it was our duty to do.

DRA I think not. So you also, when you shall have done all these things that are commanded you, say: We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which we ought to do.

YLT 'So also ye, when ye may have done all the things directed you, say — We are unprofitable servants, because that which we owed to do — we have done.'

Drby Thus ye also, when ye shall have done all things that have been ordered you, say, We are unprofitable bondmen; we have done what it was our duty to do.

RV Even so ye also, when ye shall have done all the things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which it was our duty to do.
(Even so ye/you_all also, when ye/you_all shall have done all the things that are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants; we have done that which it was our duty to do. )

SLT So also ye, when ye do all appointed you, say, That we are useless servants: for what we ought to do, we have done.

Wbstr So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all the things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which it was our duty to do.

KJB-1769 So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.
( So likewise ye/you_all, when ye/you_all shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. )

KJB-1611 So likewise ye, when ye shal haue done all those things which are commanded you, say, Wee are vnprofitable seruants: Wee haue done that which was our duety to doe.
(So likewise ye/you_all, when ye/you_all shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: We have done that which was our duety to do.)

Bshps So lykewyse ye, when ye haue done all those thynges which are commaunded you, say, We are vnprofitable seruauntes, We haue done that which was our duetie to do.
(So likewise ye/you_all, when ye/you_all have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants, We have done that which was our duty to do.)

Gnva So likewise yee, when yee haue done all those things, which are commanded you, say, We are vnprofitable seruants: wee haue done that which was our duetie to doe.
(So likewise ye/you_all, when ye/you_all have done all those things, which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. )

Cvdl So likewyse ye, wha ye haue done all that is comaunded you, saye: We are vnprofitable seruauntes, we haue done that we were bounde to do.
(So likewise ye/you_all, what ye/you_all have done all that is commanded you, say: We are unprofitable servants, we have done that we were bound to do.)

TNT Soo lyke wyse ye when ye have done all thoose thinges which are commaunded you: saye we are vnprofitable servautes. We have done: ye which was oure duetye to do.
(Soo likewise ye/you_all when ye/you_all have done all thoose things which are commanded you: say we are unprofitable servantes. We have done: ye/you_all which was our duetye to do. )

Wycl Nay, Y gesse. So ye, whanne ye han don alle thingis that ben comaundid to you, seie ye, We ben vnprofitable seruauntis, we han do that that we ouyten to do.
(Nay, I gesse. So ye/you_all, when ye/you_all have done all things that been commanded to you, say ye/you_all, We been unprofitable servants, we have do that that we ouyten to do.)

Luth Also auch ihr, wenn ihr alles getan habt, was euch befohlen ist, so sprechet: Wir sind unnütze Knechte; wir haben getan, was wir zu tun schuldig waren.
(So also you(pl)/their/her, when you(pl)/their/her all/everything did have, what/which you ordered is, so speaker: We are useless servant(s); we/us have did, what/which we/us to/for do/put guilty were.)

ClVg non puto. Sic et vos cum feceritis omnia quæ præcepta sunt vobis, dicite: Servi inutiles sumus: quod debuimus facere, fecimus.[fn]
(not/no puto. So and you(pl) when/with you_did everything which commands(n) are to_you(pl), say: Servi inutiles we_are: that I_should_havemus to_do, I_didmus. )

17.10 Sic et vos. Postquam ad perfectionem fidei exhortatus est, per quam fiunt mirabilia opera, etiam contra rerum naturam monet, ne quis de suis operibus glorietur, sed quanto fides est foris virtutibus excellentior, tanto conscientia intus sit humilior, quia Domino jure debemus obsequium. Servi inutiles. Si homo ab homine servo non uniforme, sed multiplex ministerium exigit, nec gratiam habet, quanto magis vos qui sine me nihil potestis, non unius usum operis vel laboris exercere debetis, sed semper novis studiis augere priora, nec vos jactetis, quia bene servitis. Quod debuimus facere. Qui venit ministrare non ministrari, nos debitores sibi fecit, ne nostris operibus confidentes, sed ejus examen paventes, omnibus impletis quæ præcepta sunt, nos imperfectos esse recognoscamus, quandiu peregrinamur a Deo.

17.10 So and you(pl). Postquam to perfection of_faith exhortatus it_is, through how are_made wonderful_things works, also on_the_contrary things nature advises, not who/any from/about to_his_own works let_him_boast, but how_much faith it_is outside virtues excellentior, so_much conscience inside/within be humbler, because Master right/justly we_must obsequium. Servi inutiles. When/But_if human away man server/keeper not/no uniforme, but multiplex ministry demands, but_not grace has, how_much more you(pl) who/which without me nothing can_you, not/no of_one use work or work exercere you_must, but always news studies augere previous, but_not you(pl) yactetis, because well servitis. That I_should_havemus to_do. Who he_came to_serve not/no ministrari, us debitores to_himself he_did, not ours works confident, but his examen paventes, to_all fillsis which commands(n) are, us imperfectos to_be recognoscamus, as_long_as peregrinamur from to_God.

UGNT οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς ὅταν ποιήσητε πάντα τὰ διαταχθέντα ὑμῖν, λέγετε, ὅτι δοῦλοι ἀχρεῖοί ἐσμεν, ὃ ὠφείλομεν ποιῆσαι πεποιήκαμεν.
(houtōs kai humeis hotan poiaʸsaʸte panta ta diataⱪthenta humin, legete, hoti douloi aⱪreioi esmen, ho ōfeilomen poiaʸsai pepoiaʸkamen.)

SBL-GNT οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς, ὅταν ποιήσητε πάντα τὰ διαταχθέντα ὑμῖν, λέγετε ὅτι Δοῦλοι ἀχρεῖοί ἐσμεν, ⸂ὃ ὠφείλομεν⸃ ποιῆσαι πεποιήκαμεν.
(houtōs kai humeis, hotan poiaʸsaʸte panta ta diataⱪthenta humin, legete hoti Douloi aⱪreioi esmen, ⸂ho ōfeilomen⸃ poiaʸsai pepoiaʸkamen.)

RP-GNT Οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς, ὅταν ποιήσητε πάντα τὰ διαταχθέντα ὑμῖν, λέγετε ὅτι Δοῦλοι ἀχρεῖοί ἐσμεν· ὅτι ὃ ὀφείλομεν ποιῆσαι πεποιήκαμεν.
(Houtōs kai humeis, hotan poiaʸsaʸte panta ta diataⱪthenta humin, legete hoti Douloi aⱪreioi esmen; hoti ho ofeilomen poiaʸsai pepoiaʸkamen.)

TC-GNT Οὕτω καὶ ὑμεῖς, ὅταν ποιήσητε πάντα τὰ διαταχθέντα ὑμῖν, λέγετε ὅτι Δοῦλοι ἀχρεῖοί ἐσμεν· [fn]ὅτι ὃ [fn]ὀφείλομεν ποιῆσαι πεποιήκαμεν.
(Houtō kai humeis, hotan poiaʸsaʸte panta ta diataⱪthenta humin, legete hoti Douloi aⱪreioi esmen; hoti ho ofeilomen poiaʸsai pepoiaʸkamen. )

17:10 οτι ¦ — CT

17:10 οφειλομεν ¦ ωφειλομεν 𝔐^pt ANT CT HF PCK TR

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 17:1–10: Jesus taught his disciples about sin, faith, and duty

At the end of chapter 16, Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees. He concluded his parable about Lazarus and the rich man. Here in 17:1–10, he spoke to his disciples and taught them about several issues.Scholars have different opinions about whether the teachings in this section are thematically related to Jesus’ teachings in chapter 16. Some scholars say that the teachings in the two chapters are not connected. Other scholars do see a broad connection. Green says, “Especially due to its location adjacent to prior accounts of Jesus’ interaction with Pharisees, this pericope recapitulates Jesus’ message to his followers: They are not to be like the Pharisees!” (p. 611). Liefeld says that “it is also possible to see a logical connection between the end of chapter 16 and the beginning of chapter 17, if we understand ‘the things that cause people to sin’ to be the sins of the Pharisees, such as those mentioned in 16:14.” Scholars also disagree about whether the paragraphs in this section are related to each other. About this, Liefeld says that “there is a common unifying theme of attitudes in the Christian community” (p. 994). Morris also mentions this possible connection: “The connecting link here may be the attitude of the religious leaders. They were in danger of using their wealth wrongly, and they were also in danger of leading their lesser brethren astray—temptations that would confront his disciples as well as people like the Pharisees” (p. 279). Nolland (p. 835) says, “Luke seems to have cobbled a unity together here of three separate blocks of tradition (verses 1–2, 3–4, 5–6). The catchword link “into/in the sea” from verse 2 to verse 6 helps to give a formal unity to the piece, and it is likely that he intends the blocks so juxtaposed, to mutually qualify the meaning of one another.” He also says, “As he opens this new section (17:1–19) Luke has brought together three blocks of tradition to form a unit about the adequacy, despite all human frailty, of even the most meager of kingdom faiths for the radical challenge of Jesus’ teaching” (p. 839).

English versions divide these verses into sections in different ways. For example:

Most versions put 17:1–10 together in one section and have one heading. (The Notes follow these versions.)
Some versions divide 17:1–10 into three sections with a heading for each one. For example, the GNT has:

17:1–4	Sin
17:5–6	Faith
17:7–10	A servant’s duty

Some other possible headings for this section are:

Jesus taught his disciples to not cause others to sin, to forgive others, and to serve him humbly

Teachings about Forgiveness and Faith (NLT)

Sin, Forgiveness, Faith, and Service (NET)

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 18:6–7 and 18:15 and in Mark 9:42. However, Jesus may have spoken these passages in a different context from the one in this section.

Paragraph 17:7–10

In this paragraph, Jesus told a parable to illustrate the attitude that he wanted his disciples to have. Just as a slave must serve his master, a disciple must serve God, his master. That is his duty. He should obey God without thinking that God should reward him in any special way.

17:10a

So you also,

So you^(plur) disciples too,
It is the same with you, (GNT)

So you also: The clause So you also indicates that Jesus was comparing the situation of his disciples to the situation of the servant. Some other ways to translate this are:

So you disciples, you too, like that servant

It is the same with you (GNT)

17:10b

when you have done everything commanded of you,

when you^(plur) have done all that you were commanded,
when you^(plur) have finished doing everything that God your master commanded you to do,

when you have done everything commanded of you: The clause everything commanded of you is literally “all the things commanded you.” It is a passive clause. It refers to all the orders that their master had given them. The master that is implied here is either God or Jesus. Most scholars seem to indicate that God is implied.

In some languages it may be necessary to translate it as an active clause and supply a subject. If that is true in your language, some ways to do this are:

Supply a general subject like “master.” For example:
when you^(plur) have done everything that your master has told you to do
Supply God or Jesus as the subject. For example:
when you^(plur) have done everything that God has told you to do
after you have done all that your master God has ordered you to do
when you obey me (NLT)

17:10c

should say, ‘We are unworthy servants;

you^(plur) should say, ‘We^(excl) are simple/ordinary servants.
you^(plur) should think, ‘We^(excl) are only servants and do not deserve praise/thanks,
you^(plur) should recognize/know that you are servants, so you do not deserve any praise/reward.

should say, ‘We are unworthy servants: In this context, the Greek word that the BSB translates as should say refers to what the disciples should think. It does not imply here that a disciple should say the following words aloud to someone else.

Some ways to translate 17:10c are:

As a thought expressed in the disciples’ own words. For example:
should say to yourselves, “We are unworthy servants…”
should think, “We are servants and do not deserve any praise…”
As a thought expressed indirectly. For example:
should think/realize that you are unworthy servants
should have the attitude that you do not deserve praise for serving your master

We are unworthy servants: The Greek word that the BSB translates as unworthy in this context means “not deserving thanks” or “not worthy of praise.” Some other ways to translate this are:

We are not worthy of praise. (NLT96)

We are ordinary servants (GNT)

Jesus wanted his disciples to be humble and to recognize that God did not owe them anything.

17:10d

we have only done our duty.’”

We^(excl) have only done what we were supposed to do.’”
we have only done the work we should do.’” (NCV)
You^(plur) did only what is right/normal for servants to do.”

we have only done our duty: The Greek clause that the BSB translates as we have only done our duty is literally “we have done what we were obligated to do.” Some other ways to translate this are:

we have done what we were supposed to do

we have merely done what we ought to have done

we have simply done what our master told us to do

If you translated 17:10c as indirect speech, you can continue to use it here. For example:

^10c…you should think/realize that you are ordinary servants. ^10dYou have only done your duty.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive

τὰ διαταχθέντα ὑμῖν

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὕτως καί ὑμεῖς ὅταν ποιήσητε παντᾶ τά διαταχθέντα ὑμῖν λέγετε ὅτι δοῦλοι Ἀχρεῖοι ἐσμέν ὅ ὠφείλομεν ποιῆσαι πεποιήκαμεν)

If it would be helpful in your language, you could express this with an active form, and you could state who did the action. Alternate translation: [the things God commanded you to do]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes

λέγετε, ὅτι δοῦλοι ἀχρεῖοί ἐσμεν, ὃ ὠφείλομεν ποιῆσαι πεποιήκαμεν

˓be˒_saying ¬that slaves (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὕτως καί ὑμεῖς ὅταν ποιήσητε παντᾶ τά διαταχθέντα ὑμῖν λέγετε ὅτι δοῦλοι Ἀχρεῖοι ἐσμέν ὅ ὠφείλομεν ποιῆσαι πεποιήκαμεν)

If it would be helpful in your language, you could translate this so that there is not a quotation within a quotation. Alternate translation: [say that you are unworthy servants and that you have only what you ought to do]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / exclusive

δοῦλοι ἀχρεῖοί ἐσμεν, ὃ ὠφείλομεν ποιῆσαι πεποιήκαμεν

slaves (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Οὕτως καί ὑμεῖς ὅταν ποιήσητε παντᾶ τά διαταχθέντα ὑμῖν λέγετε ὅτι δοῦλοι Ἀχρεῖοι ἐσμέν ὅ ὠφείλομεν ποιῆσαι πεποιήκαμεν)

People who would say this would be speaking about themselves but not about God, to whom they would be speaking, so if your language distinguishes between exclusive and inclusive we, use the exclusive form here.

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / hyperbole

δοῦλοι ἀχρεῖοί ἐσμεν

This is an exaggeration that means the servants have not done anything worthy of praise or thanks or a special reward. Alternate translation: [We are unworthy servants] or [We have not done anything while serving you that deserves special thanks]

ὃ ὠφείλομεν ποιῆσαι πεποιήκαμεν