LUKE 5:23 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.)

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 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk?’

UST Here is something I want you to think carefully about. Which is easier to say, ‘I forgive your sins,’ or, ‘Get up and walk’? You might think that saying ‘I forgive your sins’ is easier because it does not require any visible proof.

BLB Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins have been forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise and walk?'

AICNT Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven [you],[fn]’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?

5:23, you: A(02) B(03) BYZ TR NA28 SBLGNT THGHT ‖ Absent from some manuscripts. ℵ(01) D(05) W(032)

OEB Which is the easier? – to say “Your sins have been forgiven you”? Or to say “Get up, and walk”?

WEBBE Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’?

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’?

LSV Which is easier—to say, Your sins have been forgiven you? Or to say, Arise, and walk?

FBV What is easier? To say your sins are forgiven, or to say get up and walk?

TCNT Which is easier, to say, ‘Yoʋr sins are forgiven yoʋ,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?

T4T It would not be risky for someone to say to this man, ‘I forgive your sins,’ because no one could see whether or not his sins were really forgiven. But no one [RHQ], without having the power to heal, would say to him, ‘Get up and walk!’ because people could easily see whether he was healed or not.

LEB Which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk?’

BBE Which is the simpler: to say, You have forgiveness for your sins; or to say, Get up and go?

Moff Which is the easier thing, to say, "Your sins are forgiven," or to say, "Rise and walk"?

Wymth Which is easier? —to say, `Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, `Rise and walk'?

ASV Which is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say, Arise and walk?

DRA Which is easier to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say, Arise and walk?

YLT which is easier — to say, Thy sins have been forgiven thee? or to say, Arise, and walk?

Drby which is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?

RV Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say, Arise and walk?
(Whether is easier, to say, Thy/Your sins are forgiven thee/you; or to say, Arise and walk? )

SLT Which is easier, to say, Thy sins are remitted to thee; or to say, Arise and walk?

Wbstr Which is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee; or to say, Rise and walk?

KJB-1769 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?
( Whether is easier, to say, Thy/Your sins be forgiven thee/you; or to say, Rise up and walk? )

KJB-1611 Whether is easier to say, Thy sinnes be forgiuen thee: or to say, Rise vp and walke?
(Whether is easier to say, Thy/Your sins be forgiven thee/you: or to say, Rise up and walke?)

Bshps Whether is easier to say, thy sinnes be forgeuen thee: or to say, ryse vp & walke?
(Whether is easier to say, thy/your sins be forgiven thee/you: or to say, rise up and walke?)

Gnva Whether is easier to say, Thy sinnes are forgiuen thee, or to say, Rise and walke?
(Whether is easier to say, Thy/Your sins are forgiven thee/you, or to say, Rise and walke? )

Cvdl Whether is easier to saye: Thy synnes are forgeue ye, Or to saye: Aryse, and walke?
(Whether is easier to say: Thy/Your sins are forgive ye/you_all, Or to say: Arise, and walke?)

TNT Whether is easyar to saye thy synnes are forgeve the or to saye: rise and walke?
(Whether is easyar to say thy/your sins are forgive the or to say: rise and walke? )

Wycl What is liyter to seie, Synnes ben foryouun to thee, or to seie, Rise vp, and walke?
(What is lighter to say, Synnes been forgiven to thee/you, or to say, Rise up, and walke?)

Luth Welches ist leichter zu sagen: Dir sind deine Sünden vergeben? oder zu sagen: Stehe auf und wandle?
(Whichs is easier to/for say: You(sg) are your sins(n) forgive? or to/for say: Stand on/in/to and walk?)

ClVg Quid est facilius dicere: Dimittuntur tibi peccata: an dicere: Surge, et ambula?
(What it_is easier to_say: Dimittuntur to_you sins: an to_say: Get_up, and walk? )

UGNT τί ἐστιν εὐκοπώτερον, εἰπεῖν, ἀφέωνταί σοι αἱ ἁμαρτίαι σου, ἢ εἰπεῖν, ἔγειρε καὶ περιπάτει?
(ti estin eukopōteron, eipein, afeōntai soi hai hamartiai sou, aʸ eipein, egeire kai peripatei?)

SBL-GNT τί ἐστιν εὐκοπώτερον, εἰπεῖν· Ἀφέωνταί σοι αἱ ἁμαρτίαι σου, ἢ εἰπεῖν· ⸀Ἔγειρε καὶ περιπάτει;
(ti estin eukopōteron, eipein; Afeōntai soi hai hamartiai sou, aʸ eipein; ⸀Egeire kai peripatei;)

RP-GNT Τί ἐστιν εὐκοπώτερον, εἰπεῖν, Ἀφέωνταί σοι αἱ ἁμαρτίαι σου, ἢ εἰπεῖν, Ἔγειραι καὶ περιπάτει;
(Ti estin eukopōteron, eipein, Afeōntai soi hai hamartiai sou, aʸ eipein, Egeirai kai peripatei;)

TC-GNT Τί ἐστιν εὐκοπώτερον, εἰπεῖν, Ἀφέωνταί σοι αἱ ἁμαρτίαι σου, ἢ εἰπεῖν, [fn]Ἔγειραι καὶ περιπάτει;
(Ti estin eukopōteron, eipein, Afeōntai soi hai hamartiai sou, aʸ eipein, Egeirai kai peripatei; )

5:23 εγειραι ¦ εγειρε ANT CT

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 5:17–26: Jesus healed a paralyzed man

In this section, Luke focused on Jesus’ authority. Jesus used his authority from God to forgive the paralyzed man’s sins. The religious leaders questioned that authority. Jesus proved his authority to forgive sin when he healed the paralyzed man.

Some other possible headings for this section are:

Jesus showed that he had authority to forgive sins

Jesus forgave the sins of a paralyzed man and healed him

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 9:1–8 and Mark 2:1–12.

5:23a

Which is easier:

Tell me which is easier:
Is it easier (CEV)
Consider whether it is easier

5:23

Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk?’: This is a rhetorical question. Jesus asked this question because he wanted the religious leaders to think carefully about his authority. He did not ask it to get information from them.

Some ways to translate this are:

As a rhetorical question. For example:
Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? (NLT)
Is it easier for me to tell this crippled man that his sins are forgiven or to tell him to get up and walk? (CEV)
As a statement. For example:
Consider whether it would be easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk.’

Use a form that will express the meaning most clearly in your language.

Which is easier: The phrase Which is easier introduces a question that compares two things. Jesus compared these two ideas: forgiving sins and healing a paralyzed man.Many Jews believed that when a person was sick, it was because he or someone in his family had sinned (see John 5:8, 5:14, 9:1–2). They believed that he could not become well until God forgave his sins. He did not say that either one of these things was easy. They are both impossible for man to do by himself. Only someone with God’s power and authority can do either one of them.

Consider how people in your language would ask such a question. If they do not use comparatives such as easier, you may be able to say:

Which is easy and which is difficult…?

Is this easy to say…or is this easy to say…?

Saying to the man your sins are forgiven or get up and go, between these two things, which one is easy?

Jesus wanted the religious leaders to think about the answer to this question. He implied that it was easier to say “your sins are forgiven,” because there would be no way to prove whether this had happened.The majority view about the answer seems to be that saying “your sins are forgiven” is easier because there was no way for people to prove whether it had happened. However, there are other opinions. Some believe that Jesus’ question was a trick question because both actions that he mentioned were equally difficult. The question made the teachers of the law think and realize that both these things were impossible for men to do in their own power or authority. A third opinion is that Jesus and his audience would understand healing the man to be the easier of the two actions, since people who had power (from God) to heal were known, but God alone could forgive sins. Following the majority view, Deibler fills out the implied information in the argument in this way: “It is easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven’ [because people won’t be able to tell if you are a fake or not]. [It is far more risky] to say ‘Rise up and walk’ [because people can see if it happens]. [I will do something that you consider to be God’s prerogative, but which can be easily verified], so that you may know that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins, [which you consider to be God’s prerogative, but which cannot be visibly verified].” However, both actions are impossible for anyone to do by himself. They are only possible by the power and authority of God.

5:23b

to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’

to say: ‘I forgive your sins’
for me to tell this crippled man that his sins are forgiven (CEV)
for me to say to the paralyzed man, ‘You are forgiven for your sins,’

to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’: The sentence ‘Your sins are forgiven’ is a quotation within a quotation. In some languages it may be difficult to understand such an embedded quotation. It may be more natural to translate the embedded quotation as indirect speech. For example:

Is it easier for a man to say that he forgives someone’s sins…?

Is it easier for me to tell this crippled man that his sins are forgiven…? (CEV)

Your sins are forgiven: Use the same expression that you used in 5:20b.

5:23c

or to say, ‘Get up and walk?’

or to say ‘Stand up and walk.’
or to tell him to get up and walk? (CEV)
or for me to say to him, ‘Get^(sing) up and walk^(sing)’?

or to say, ‘Get up and walk?’: The sentence ‘Get up and walk’ is also an embedded quotation. As with “Your sins are forgiven,” some languages may prefer to use indirect speech here. For example:

…or for a man to tell a paralyzed person to get up and walk?

…or to tell him to get up and walk? (CEV)

General Comment on 5:23a–c

It may be clearer to change the order in this verse. Here are two examples:

^23bThere are two things I could say to this man: “Your sins are forgiven” ^23cand “Get up and walk.” ^23aWhich one is easier?

^23bI can say to the paralyzed man, “Your sins are forgiven.” ^23cOr I can say, “Get up and walk.” ^23aWhich one is easy and which one is difficult?

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: figures-of-speech / rquestion

τί ἐστιν εὐκοπώτερον, εἰπεῖν, ἀφέωνταί σοι αἱ ἁμαρτίαι σου, ἢ εἰπεῖν, ἔγειρε καὶ περιπάτει?

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Τί ἐστίν εὐκοπώτερον εἰπεῖν Ἀφέωνται σοί αἱ ἁμαρτίαι σοῦ ἤ εἰπεῖν Ἔγειρε καί περιπάτει)

Jesus is using the form of a question in order to teach. He wants to make the scribes and Pharisees reflect on the situation and realize something. There are many implications. For example, these religious leaders may take the question in the sense, “Which is easier to get away with saying?” The answer would be, “Your sins are forgiven,” because people don’t expect visual proof of that, whereas if someone says, “Get up and walk,” and nothing happens, that proves the speaker doesn’t have the power to heal. Jesus likely intends the question in a different sense: “Which is the easier way to deal with a situation like this?” It appears that the man’s sickness has something to do with his sins, because Jesus forgives them. In such a situation, it would not be sufficient to say, “Get up and walk,” since that would address the effect but not the cause. To say, “Your sins are forgiven,” would deal with both the cause and the effect, so that would be the easier way to deal with the situation. There are many other implications that could also be drawn out as well—too many to include in the text of a translation. Since the question form is intrinsic to Jesus’ teaching method, you may wish simply to retain it in your translation. However, to show that he is teaching, not asking for information, you could introduce his question with a phrase that indicates its purpose. Alternate translation: [Think about this. Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk'?]

Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / quotesinquotes