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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) Then the master continued, “Listen to what the ungodly judge is saying.![]()
OET-LV And the master said:
Hear what the judge of_ the _unrighteousness is_saying.
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SR-GNT Εἶπεν δὲ ὁ ˚Κύριος, “Ἀκούσατε τί ὁ κριτὴς τῆς ἀδικίας λέγει. ‡
(Eipen de ho ˚Kurios, “Akousate ti ho kritaʸs taʸs adikias legei.)
Key: khaki:verbs, light-green:nominative/subject, orange:accusative/object, pink:genitive/possessor.
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 Then the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says.
UST Then Jesus said, “Think carefully about what the unjust judge said.
BSB And the Lord said, “Listen to [the] words of the unjust judge.
MSB (Same as BSB above)
BLB And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge says.
AICNT And the Lord said, “[Hear][fn] What the judge of unrighteousness says:[fn]
OEB Then the Master added, ‘Listen to what this iniquitous judge says!
WEBBE The Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says.
WMBB (Same as above)
NET And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge says!
LSV And the LORD said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says:
FBV Listen to what even an unjust judge decided,” said the Lord.
TCNT Then the Lord said, “Consider what this unrighteous judge said.
T4T Then the Lord Jesus said, “Even though the judge was not a righteous man, think carefully about what he said!
LEB And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unrighteous judge is saying!
BBE And the Lord said, Give ear to the words of the evil judge.
Moff Listen," said the Lord, "to what this unjust judge says!
Wymth And the Lord said, "Hear those words of the unjust judge.
ASV And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge saith.
DRA And the Lord said: Hear what the unjust judge saith.
YLT And the Lord said, 'Hear ye what the unrighteous judge saith:
Drby And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge says.
RV And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge saith.
(And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge saith/says. )
SLT And the Lord said, Hear ye what the judge of injustice says.
Wbstr And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
KJB-1769 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
(And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith/says. )
KJB-1611 And the Lord said, Heare what the vniust iudge saith.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)
Bshps And the Lorde sayde: heare what the vuryghteous iudge sayeth.
(And the Lord said: hear what the vuryghteous judge saith/says.)
Gnva And the Lord said, Heare what the vnrighteous iudge saith.
(And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge saith/says. )
Cvdl Then sayde the LORDE: Heare what ye vnrighteous iudge sayeth.
(Then said the LORD: Hear what ye/you_all unrighteous judge saith/says.)
TNT And the lorde sayd: heare what the vnrightewes Iudge sayeth.
(And the lord said: hear what the unrightewes Judge saith/says. )
Wycl And the Lord seide, Here ye, what the domesman of wickidnesse seith;
(And the Lord said, Here ye/you_all, what the judgementsman of wickedness saith/says;)
Luth Da sprach der HErr: Höret her, was der ungerechte Richter sagt!
(So spoke the/of_the LORD: Hear her, what/which the/of_the ungerechte Richter says!)
ClVg Ait autem Dominus: Audite quid judex iniquitatis dicit:
(He_said however Master: Listen what the_judge iniquity he_says: )
UGNT εἶπεν δὲ ὁ Κύριος, ἀκούσατε τί ὁ κριτὴς τῆς ἀδικίας λέγει.
(eipen de ho Kurios, akousate ti ho kritaʸs taʸs adikias legei.)
SBL-GNT εἶπεν δὲ ὁ κύριος· Ἀκούσατε τί ὁ κριτὴς τῆς ἀδικίας λέγει·
(eipen de ho kurios; Akousate ti ho kritaʸs taʸs adikias legei;)
RP-GNT Εἶπεν δὲ ὁ κύριος, Ἀκούσατε τί ὁ κριτὴς τῆς ἀδικίας λέγει.
(Eipen de ho kurios, Akousate ti ho kritaʸs taʸs adikias legei.)
TC-GNT Εἶπε δὲ ὁ Κύριος, Ἀκούσατε τί ὁ κριτὴς τῆς ἀδικίας λέγει.
(Eipe de ho Kurios, Akousate ti ho kritaʸs taʸs adikias legei. )
Key for above GNTs: yellow:punctuation differs, red:words differ (from our SR-GNT base).
18:1-8 The parable of the persistent widow follows naturally from Jesus’ teaching about coming troubles (17:20-37). Believers can face trials and persevere through persistent prayer.
At the end of chapter 17, Jesus told his disciples about the coming of the Son of Man. In this section, he concluded this teaching by telling them a parable about praying persistently.Bock (p. 1444) says: “The parable of the nagging widow and the consenting judge is linked to the previous eschatological discourse by the reference in Luke 18:8 to the Son of Man’s return. Its plea that believers ask God for justice looks back to the vindication of the saints described in 17:22–37.” He used the parable to teach them that they should continue to trust God and pray to him. They should not become discouraged when they suffer unjustly, because Jesus will return, and God will give them justice.
Justice is an important theme in this parable. Phrases about justice occur four times. Each phrase uses a form of the same Greek word, so you will probably want to translate the phrases in a similar way:
Grant me justice (18:3)
see that she gets justice (18:5)
will not God bring about justice (18:7)
he will see that they get justice (18:8)
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some examples of headings for this section are:
The Parable of the Persistent Widow (NIV)
Jesus told a parable about a widow coming repeatedly to an unjust judge
The parable of the unjust judge
God Will Answer His People (NCV)
Luke is the only gospel that has this story. It is similar in some ways to the parable in 11:5–10.
In this paragraph Jesus told his disciples what he wanted them to learn from the parable in 18:1–5. Jesus contrasted God and his people with the judge and the widow. God is not like the unfair judge. God loves to help his people. The judge helped the widow because she asked him many times. God will certainly be much more willing to help his people get justice when they continue to pray to him. He will quickly help them.Keener (p. 238) says, “This parable is a standard Jewish ‘how much more’…argument: if an unjust judge who cared not for widows can dispense justice, how much more will the righteous judge of all the earth, who was known as the defender of widows and orphans?”
And the Lord said,
¶ Then the Lord said,
¶ And the Lord Jesus also said,
¶ Our Lord Jesus continued,
And the Lord said: The phrase And the Lord said introduces what Jesus told his disciples about the meaning of the parable. It indicates that Jesus had finished quoting what the judge in the parable said to himself. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
Then the Lord said (NLT)
And the Lord continued (GNT)
the Lord: The word Lord here refers to Jesus. In some languages you may need to refer to him more explicitly here. For example:
the Lord Jesus
our Lord
“Listen to the words of the unjust judge.
“Pay(plur) attention to what the unrighteous judge said.
“Learn(plur) from what the evil elder/man decided to do.
“Think(plur) about this. The judge was usually unfair/corrupt. Yet he decided to help the widow/woman.
Listen to the words of the unjust judge: The phrase Listen to in this context means “think about.” Jesus wanted his disciples to learn something from how the judge responded to the widow’s constant requests. Some other ways to translate this clause are:
Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. (NLT)
This judge was usually unjust, but pay attention to what he decided to do for the widow.
Think about this. Even the bad judge decided to help the widow….
the words of the unjust judge: The phrase the words of the unjust judge refers to what the judge said in 18:4c–5. He decided to help the widow get justice. This was a good decision, but usually he made unjust decisions. Some ways to make this clear are:
what this judge, who was usually so unfair, decided
this judge said this, though he was habitually unjust
unjust judge: The word that the BSB translates as unjust can also be translated as “unrighteous.” It refers to the character of this judge and to the way he usually acted. He usually did not judge fairly. When he settled disputes, he did not base his decisions on what was right. Other ways to say this are:
the dishonest judge (GW)
that corrupt judge (GNT)
the unfair judge (NCV)
this elder who was usually unfair in judging cases
ὁ Κύριος
the Lord
Here Luke refers to Jesus by the respectful title the Lord. Alternate translation: [the Lord Jesus]
Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ἀκούσατε τί ὁ κριτὴς τῆς ἀδικίας λέγει
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: εἶπεν Δέ ὁ Κύριος Ἀκούσατε τί ὁ κριτής τῆς ἀδικίας λέγει)
Listen to is an idiom that means “think about.” Jesus says this to get his disciples to reflect on what the judge said at the end of the parable. He is not introducing a further statement from the judge. Translate this in such a way that your readers will understand that Jesus has already related what the judge said. Alternate translation: [Think about what the unjust judge said]