LUKE 17:3 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) [ref]Take great care.
¶ If a fellow-believer disobeys God, scold them, and then if they stop and request forgiveness, forgive them.

Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, 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 Pay attention to yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

UST Be careful how you act. If another believer sins, you should rebuke him. If he says that he is sorry for having sinned and asks you to forgive him, then you should forgive him.

BSB Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

BLB Take heed to yourselves: If your brother should sin, rebuke him; and if he should repent, forgive him.

AICNT “Be on your guard! If your brother sins [[against you]],[fn] rebuke him; and if he [[indeed]][fn] repents, forgive him.

17:3, against you: Some manuscripts include. D(05) Latin(e) BYZ TR

17:3, indeed: Some manuscripts include. A(02)

OEB Be on your guard! If your brother or sister does wrong, rebuke them; but if they repent, forgive them.

WEBBE Be careful. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Watch yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him.

LSV Take heed to yourselves, and if your brother may sin in regard to you, rebuke him, and if he may change his mind, forgive him,

FBV So take care what you do. If your brother sins, warn him; and if he repents, forgive him.

TCNT Watch yourselves. If yoʋr brother sins [fn]against yoʋ, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him.

17:3 against yoʋ ¦ — CT

T4T Be careful how you act. If you know about a fellow believer who sins, you (sg) should rebuke him. If he says that he is sorry for having sinned and asks you to forgive him, forgive him.

LEB “Be concerned about yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.

BBE Give attention to yourselves: if your brother does wrong, say a sharp word to him; and if he has sorrow for his sin, let him have forgiveness.

Moff Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins, check him, and if he repents forgive him.

Wymth Be on your guard. "If your brother acts wrongly, reprove him; and if he is sorry, forgive him;

ASV Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.

DRA Take heed to yourselves. If thy brother sin against thee, reprove him: and if he do penance, forgive him.

YLT 'Take heed to yourselves, and, if thy brother may sin in regard to thee, rebuke him, and if he may reform, forgive him,

Drby Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother should sin, rebuke him; and if he should repent, forgive him.

RV Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
(Take heed to yourselves: if thy/your brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. )

SLT Attend to yourselves: and if thy brother sin against thee, censure him; and if he should repent, let him go.

Wbstr Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother shall trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he shall repent forgive him.

KJB-1769 ¶ Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
(¶ Take heed to yourselves: If thy/your brother trespass against thee/you, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. )

KJB-1611 ¶ Take heed to your selues: If thy brother trespasse against thee, rebuke him, and if he repent, forgiue him.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Take heede to your selues: If thy brother trespasse agaynst thee, rebuke hym: and yf he repent, forgeue hym.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Gnva Take heede to your selues: if thy brother trespasse against thee, rebuke him: and if hee repent, forgiue him.
(Take heed to yourselves: if thy/your brother trespass against thee/you, rebuke him: and if he repent, forgive him. )

Cvdl Take hede to youre selues. Yf thy brother trespace agaynst the, rebuke him:
(Take heed to yourselves. If thy/your brother trespass against them, rebuke him:)

TNT Take hede to youre selves. If thy brother trespas agaynst the rebuke him: and yf he repent forgeve him.
(Take heed to your(pl) selves. If thy/your brother trespass against the rebuke him: and if he repent forgive him. )

Wycl Take ye hede you silf; if thi brothir hath synned ayens thee, blame hym; and if he do penaunce, foryyue hym.
(Take ye/you_all heed yourself; if thy/your brother hath/has sinned against thee/you, blame him; and if he do penance, forgive him.)

Luth Hütet euch! So dein Bruder an dir sündiget, so strafe ihn; und so er sich bessert, vergib ihm.
(Guard you! So your(s) brother at/to you/to_you(sg) sins(v), so punish him/it; and so he itself/yourself/themselves improves, forgive him.)

ClVg Attendite vobis: Si peccaverit in te frater tuus, increpa illum: et si pœnitentiam egerit, dimitte illi.[fn]
(Pay_attention to_you(pl): When/But_if sinned in/into/on you(sg) brother your(sg), increpa him: and when/but_if repentance did, let_go them. )

17.3 Attendite vobis. Quo ordine, scandala declinare et væ perpetuum evitare possimus, insinuat. Sed si nos attendimus ne quem lædamus, si pœnitentem zelo justitiæ corripimus, si ex corde pœnitenti dimittimus, nec jubemur passim peccanti, sed pœnitentiam agenti dimittere. Primum ergo est peccantem increpare, ut postea pœnitenti possimus dimittere. Ita enim peccat qui peccantem videns tacet, sicut qui pœnitenti non indulget. Et si pœnitentiam. Aliter fratri pœnitenti, aliter inimico persequenti veniam dare præcipimur. Fratri concessa remissione socia charitate communicamus, persecutori malum nobis volenti, vel si potest facienti, bona volumus et facimus quod possumus.

17.3 Pay_attention to_you(pl). Where in_order, scandala declinare and woe forever evitare we_can, suggests. But when/but_if us attendimus not which lædamus, when/but_if pœnitentem zeal justice corripimus, when/but_if from heart pœnitenti dimittimus, but_not yubemur passim peccanti, but repentance agenti to_release. Primum therefore it_is peccantem increpare, as afterwards pœnitenti we_can to_release. Ita because sins who/which peccantem seeing is_silent, like who/which pœnitenti not/no indulget. And when/but_if repentance. Aliter brother pœnitenti, otherwise inimico persequenti I_will_come dare beforecipimur. Brother concessa remissione socia with_love communicamus, persecutori evil us volenti, or when/but_if can they_will_doi, good(s) we_want and we_do that we_can.

UGNT προσέχετε ἑαυτοῖς! ἐὰν ἁμάρτῃ ὁ ἀδελφός σου, ἐπιτίμησον αὐτῷ; καὶ ἐὰν μετανοήσῃ, ἄφες αὐτῷ.
(proseⱪete heautois! ean hamartaʸ ho adelfos sou, epitimaʸson autōi; kai ean metanoaʸsaʸ, afes autōi.)

SBL-GNT προσέχετε ἑαυτοῖς. ἐὰν ⸀ἁμάρτῃ ὁ ἀδελφός σου ἐπιτίμησον αὐτῷ, καὶ ἐὰν μετανοήσῃ ἄφες αὐτῷ·
(proseⱪete heautois. ean ⸀hamartaʸ ho adelfos sou epitimaʸson autōi, kai ean metanoaʸsaʸ afes autōi;)

RP-GNT Προσέχετε ἑαυτοῖς. Ἐὰν δὲ ἁμάρτῃ εἰς σὲ ὁ ἀδελφός σου, ἐπιτίμησον αὐτῷ· καὶ ἐὰν μετανοήσῃ, ἄφες αὐτῷ.
(Proseⱪete heautois. Ean de hamartaʸ eis se ho adelfos sou, epitimaʸson autōi; kai ean metanoaʸsaʸ, afes autōi.)

TC-GNT Προσέχετε ἑαυτοῖς. Ἐὰν [fn]δὲ ἁμάρτῃ [fn]εἰς σὲ ὁ ἀδελφός σου, ἐπιτίμησον αὐτῷ· καὶ ἐὰν μετανοήσῃ, ἄφες αὐτῷ.
(Proseⱪete heautois. Ean de hamartaʸ eis se ho adelfos sou, epitimaʸson autōi; kai ean metanoaʸsaʸ, afes autōi. )

17:3 δε ¦ — CT

17:3 εις σε ¦ — CT

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.

17:3a

Watch yourselves.

So watch what you do! (GNT)
Be sure that you^(plur) do not cause anyone to disobey/deny God.
Therefore be careful how you^(plur) live/behave.

Versions such as the CEV, GNT, GW, NIV, and NLT supply the word “So” at the beginning of this verse. In Greek there is no conjunction. There are two ways to connect 17:3a to the context:

It connects to 17:1–2. It implies that the disciples should be careful so that they do not cause one of these little ones to sin. Some English versions have a paragraph break between 17:3a and 17:3b to indicate this connection.See the BSB, NIV, GNT, CEV, REB, GW, NCV, and NLT.
It connects to 17:3b–4. It implies that the disciples should be careful how they live and how they treat people.

Both connections are implied, but (a) is more prominent. If you need to make the connection more explicit, you can choose option (a). For example, as noted above, the NIV has “So” here to connect 17:3a to 17:1–2 as its conclusion. Connect 17:3a to the context in a natural way in your language.

Watch yourselves: The expression Watch yourselves is a warning. It means “be careful how you^(plur) behave/act.”A minority view is that Jesus meant that his disciples should watch each other. Some other ways to translate this are:

be careful what you do (CEV)

be on your guard (REB)

Paragraph 17:3b–4

In this paragraph, Jesus taught his followers that they must always forgive people who repent for sinning against them. This may be one way to avoid causing “one of these little ones” to sin (17:1–2).

17:3b

If your brother sins, rebuke him;

¶ “If your^(sing) fellow believer sins, correct him.
¶ “If another person who believes in me does wrong to you^(sing), tell him that he has done wrong.
¶ “Reprove/rebuke^(sing) your fellow believer when he has sinned against you,

If your brother: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as your brother refers to any believer in Jesus, whether male or female.

In some languages, the word brother may cause readers to think that Jesus referred only to family members or to males. If that is true in your language, you may need to translate this word with a different term. For example:

your fellow believer

a person who believes in me

another believer (NLT)

your: The pronoun your is singular, but Jesus was speaking to all of his disciples. Jesus often used a singular form when he was speaking to a group. It indicates that he wanted each individual to listen carefully and obey him.

In some languages it may be confusing to use a singular form here. Use whatever form is natural in your language for this situation.

sins: The verb sins refers here to sinning against another person, as in 17:4. It means to speak, act, or think toward the person in a way that God does not approve. Sinning against someone can also include neglecting to do what God wants concerning that person.

Try to translate sins with a general term that can include sinning against a person in any way. Here are some problems to avoid:

The term should not imply that a person sins only when he does serious crimes like murdering or stealing. He also sins when he gossips or treats someone unfairly.
The term should not include accidents or mistakes that are not against God’s will.

If possible, use the same term that you use for sinning against God.

Some other ways to translate sins in this context are:

does wrong/bad to

treats badly

17:3c

and if he repents, forgive him.

If he changes his thinking/heart and is sorry, forgive^(sing) him.
If he regrets the wrong that he has done to you^(sing), pardon him.
and pardon him when he tells you^(sing) that he is sorry for what he has done to you^(sing).

if he repents: The Greek word that the BSB translates as repents means for a person “to change his mind, heart, or will.” In the Bible, it refers specifically to a person’s changing his mind and heart about sin. When a person repents, he is sorry for his past sins. He decides to stop sinning.

In this context of someone sinning against another person, the words he repents indicate that he regrets the wrong that he did to that person. He changes his attitude and behavior. Some ways to translate “repent” in this context are:

If he changes his thinking/mind/heart

If he rejects his sin

If he says that he will not do that sin again

Some languages may have an idiom for this type of change. For example:

If he turns from the sin

forgive him: Here the Greek word that the BSB translates as forgive means “pardon.” When someone pardons a person who has sinned against him, he decides not to punish the person or seek revenge against him. He also decides that he will not continue to be angry or resentful toward the person.

Some possible ways to translate forgive him are:

pardon him/her

release/free him from the sin/punishment

forget his wrongdoing

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

προσέχετε ἑαυτοῖς

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Προσέχετε ἑαυτοῖς Ἐάν ἁμάρτῃ ὁ ἀδελφός σοῦ ἐπιτίμησον αὐτῷ καί ἐάν μετανοήσῃ ἄφες αὐτῷ)

Since Jesus is teaching about how important it is not to sin and not to encourage others to sin, the implication is that this statement means that he wants his disciples to help one another not to sin. Alternate translation: [Help one another not to sin]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / you

προσέχετε

The implied “you” in this imperative is plural, since Jesus is speaking to his disciples.

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / youcrowd

σου & ἐπιτίμησον & ἄφες

The word your and the implied “you” in the imperatives rebuke and forgive are singular, since Jesus is addressing an individual situation, even though he is speaking to a group. If these singular forms would not be natural in your language for someone who was speaking to a group of people, you could use plural forms in your translation.

Note 4 topic: grammar-connect-condition-hypothetical

ἐὰν ἁμάρτῃ ὁ ἀδελφός σου, ἐπιτίμησον αὐτῷ

Jesus is describing a hypothetical situation in order to tell his disciples what they should do if it takes place. Alternate translation: [Suppose a fellow believer were to sin. Then you should rebuke him]

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor

ὁ ἀδελφός σου

the brother (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Προσέχετε ἑαυτοῖς Ἐάν ἁμάρτῃ ὁ ἀδελφός σοῦ ἐπιτίμησον αὐτῷ καί ἐάν μετανοήσῃ ἄφες αὐτῷ)

Jesus is using the term brother to mean someone who shares the same faith. Alternate translation: [a fellow believer]

Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / gendernotations

ὁ ἀδελφός σου

Although the term brother is masculine, Jesus is using the word in a generic sense that includes both men and women. Alternate translation: [a fellow believer]

ἐπιτίμησον αὐτῷ

give_rebuke ˱to˲_him

Alternate translation: [correct him] or [tell him strongly that what he did was wrong]

Note 7 topic: grammar-connect-condition-hypothetical

καὶ ἐὰν μετανοήσῃ, ἄφες αὐτῷ

Jesus is describing another hypothetical situation in order to tell his disciples what they should do if it takes place. It may be helpful to begin a new sentence here. Alternate translation: [And suppose that believer were to repent. Then you should forgive him]

Parallel LUKE 17:3

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

17:3a

Paragraph 17:3b–4

17:3b

17:3c