LUKE 5:27 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, 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 And after these things, he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax collector’s office, and he said to him, “Follow me.”

UST Then Jesus left that place and saw a man named Levi who collected taxes for the Roman government. He was sitting in the booth where the people came to pay him the taxes that the government required. Jesus said to him, “Come with me and be my disciple!”

BSB After [this], [Jesus] went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him,

BLB And after these things He went forth and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth. And He said to him, "Follow Me."

AICNT [[And coming again by the sea, the crowd following him, he taught.]][fn] {And after this, he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him},[fn] “Follow me.”

5:27, And coming again...: Some manuscripts include. D(05)

5:27, And after this: Some manuscripts read “And passing by, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax booth, and he says to him.” D(05)

OEB ¶ After this, Jesus went out; and he noticed a tax-gatherer, named Levi, sitting in the tax office, and said to him, ‘Follow me.’

WEBBE After these things he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office, and said to him, “Follow me!”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth. “Follow me,” he said to him.

LSV And after these things He went forth, and beheld a tax collector, by name Levi, sitting at the tax office, and said to him, “Follow Me”;

FBV Later, as Jesus was leaving the town, he saw a tax collector called Levi sitting at his tax booth.
¶ “Follow me,” Jesus told him.

TCNT After this Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth. Jesus said to him, “Follow me,”

T4T Then Jesus left the town and saw a man who collected taxes for the Roman government. His name was Levi. He was sitting in the booth where he collected the taxes. Jesus said to him, “Come with me and become my disciple!”

LEB ¶ And after these things, he went out and saw a tax collector _⌊named_⌋[fn] Levi sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me!”

5:27 Literally “by name”

BBE And after these things he went out, and saw Levi, a tax-farmer, seated at the place where taxes were taken, and said to him, Come after me.

Moff On going outside after this he noticed a taxgatherer called Levi sitting at the tax-office and said to him, "Follow me";

Wymth After this He went out and noticed a tax-gatherer, Levi by name, sitting at the Toll office; and He said to him, "Follow me."

ASV And after these things he went forth, and beheld a publican, named Levi, sitting at the place of toll, and said unto him, Follow me.

DRA And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom, and he said to him: Follow me.

YLT And after these things he went forth, and beheld a tax-gatherer, by name Levi, sitting at the tax-office, and said to him, 'Be following me;'

Drby And after these things he went forth and saw a tax-gatherer, Levi by name, sitting at the receipt of taxes, and said to him, Follow me.

RV And after these things he went forth, and beheld a publican, named Levi, sitting at the place of toll, and said unto him, Follow me.

SLT And after these, he went out, and saw a publican, by name Levi, sitting by the custom-house; and he said to him, Follow me.

Wbstr And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said to him, Follow me.

KJB-1769 ¶ And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said unto him, Follow me.

KJB-1611 ¶ And after these things hee went foorth, and sawe a Publicane, named Leui, sitting at the receit of custome: and hee said vnto him, Follow me.
(¶ And after these things he went forth, and saw a Publican, named Levi, sitting at the receit of custome: and he said unto him, Follow me.)

Bshps After these thynges, he went foorth, & sawe a publicane named Leui, sittyng at the receipt of custome: and he sayde vnto hym, folowe me.
(After these things, he went forth, and saw a publicane named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custome: and he said unto him, follow me.)

Gnva And after that, he went foorth and sawe a Publicane named Leui, sitting at the receite of custome, and sayd vnto him, Follow me.
(And after that, he went forth and saw a Publican named Levi, sitting at the receite of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. )

Cvdl And afterwarde he wete out, and sawe a publican named Leui, syttinge at ye receate of custome, & he sayde vnto him: Folowe me.
(And afterward he went out, and saw a publican named Levi, sitting at ye/you_all receate of custom, and he said unto him: Follow me.)

TNT And after that he went forthe and sawe a Publican named Levi sittinge at the receyte of custome and sayde vnto him: folow me.
(And after that he went forth and saw a Publican named Levi sitting at the receyte of custom and said unto him: follow me. )

Wycl And after these thingis Jhesus wente out, and saiy a pupplican, Leuy bi name, sittynge at the tolbothe. And he seide to hym, Sue thou me;
(And after these things Yhesus went out, and say a pupplican, Levi by name, sitting at the tolbothe. And he said to him, Pursue thou/you me;)

Luth Und danach ging er aus und sah einen Zöllner mit Namen Levi am Zoll sitzen und sprach zu ihm: Folge mir nach!
(And after/thereafter/then went he out_of and saw a Zöllner with name(s) Levi in/at/on_the Zoll sit and spoke to/for him: Folge to_me after!)

ClVg Et post hæc exiit, et vidit publicanum nomine Levi, sedentem ad telonium, et ait illi: Sequere me.[fn]
(And after these_things went_out, and he_saw publicanum by_name Levi, sitting to telonium, and he_said them: Sequere me. )

5.27 Levi. BEDA. Idem Levi qui et Matthæus. Sed Lucas, etc., usque ad de telonario in evangelistam sit mutatus. BEDA, AMBR. Reliquit propria, qui rapiebat aliena. Nec solum lucra reliquit vectigalium, sed et periculum contemnit, quod poterat venire a principibus sæculi, quia rationes vectigalium incompositas reliquerit. Et quia in nullo prorsus hujus vitæ respectum vel cogitationem sibi reservavit, dominicorum talentorum fidelis dispensator esse meruit. BEDA. Per Matthæi electionem, fides gentium, quæ prius mundanis inhiabant, sed nunc corpus Christi sedula devotione reficiunt, exprimitur. Per superbiam Pharisæorum insinuatur Judæorum invidia, quæ de gentium salute torquetur.

5.27 Levi. BEDA. Idem Levi who/which and Matthew. But Lucas, etc., until to from/about telonario in/into/on evangelistm be changed. BEDA, AMBR. Reliquit own, who/which rapiebat foreign. Neither only profits left vectigalium, but and periculum despises, that he_could to_come from princes/leaders of_the_world/of_the_ages, because by_reasons vectigalium incompositas reliquerit. And because in/into/on with_no_one completely of_this of_life with_respectm or thoughtm to_himself reservavit, mastercorum talentorum faithful dispensator to_be deserved. BEDA. Per Matthæi chosenonem, faith nations, which first/before cleannis inhiabant, but now body of_Christ sedula devotion reficiunt, is_expressed. Per pride of_the_Pharisees insinuatur Jews envy, which from/about nations salute torquetur.

UGNT καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐξῆλθεν, καὶ ἐθεάσατο τελώνην ὀνόματι Λευεὶν, καθήμενον ἐπὶ τὸ τελώνιον, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, ἀκολούθει μοι.
(kai meta tauta exaʸlthen, kai etheasato telōnaʸn onomati Leuein, kathaʸmenon epi to telōnion, kai eipen autōi, akolouthei moi.)

SBL-GNT Καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐξῆλθεν καὶ ἐθεάσατο τελώνην ὀνόματι Λευὶν καθήμενον ἐπὶ τὸ τελώνιον, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἀκολούθει μοι.
(Kai meta tauta exaʸlthen kai etheasato telōnaʸn onomati Leuin kathaʸmenon epi to telōnion, kai eipen autōi; Akolouthei moi.)

RP-GNT Καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐξῆλθεν, καὶ ἐθεάσατο τελώνην, ὀνόματι Λευΐν, καθήμενον ἐπὶ τὸ τελώνιον, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Ἀκολούθει μοι.
(Kai meta tauta exaʸlthen, kai etheasato telōnaʸn, onomati Leuin, kathaʸmenon epi to telōnion, kai eipen autōi, Akolouthei moi.)

TC-GNT Καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐξῆλθε, καὶ ἐθεάσατο τελώνην, ὀνόματι [fn]Λευΐν, καθήμενον ἐπὶ τὸ τελώνιον, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Ἀκολούθει μοι.
(Kai meta tauta exaʸlthe, kai etheasato telōnaʸn, onomati Leuin, kathaʸmenon epi to telōnion, kai eipen autōi, Akolouthei moi. )

5:27 λευιν ¦ λευειν TH WH

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

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 5:27–32: Jesus chose Levi to become one of his disciples

In this section, Jesus asked a man named Levi to be his disciple. For the meaning of “disciple,” see the note at 5:30a.

Levi was a tax collector. Jews hated tax collectors for at least two reasons:

Tax collectors worked for the Roman government or for Herod’s government. These were foreign governments that ruled the Jews.
Tax collectors sometimes collected more money than necessary. Then they kept the extra money and became rich.

This story also tells about another conflict that Jesus had with the Jewish religious leaders. After Levi became Jesus’ disciple, Jesus came to have dinner at his house. Levi’s friends, who were also tax collectors or other sinners, also came to the dinner. During the dinner, the religious leaders criticized Jesus for associating with such people. Jesus answered that it is people who know they are sinners who need him, not people who believe themselves to be righteous.

Some other possible headings for this section are:

Jesus called Levi to be his disciple and ate with sinners

Jesus loves sinners

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 9:9–13 and Mark 2:13–17.

5:27a

After this, Jesus went out

¶ Later on, Jesus went out of the house,
¶ Afterwards, Jesus left the town.

After this: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as After this is literally “After these things” (as in the KJV). This means “after the events in the previous section occurred.” Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

After these things happened

Later (CEV)

Jesus went out: The Greek text does not say from where Jesus went out. The meaning may be that he went out of the house where he had healed the paralyzed man. It may also be that he went out of the town. (Mark 2:13 indicates that Jesus went out of the town.) Tax booths were often located just outside of a town or city.

If it is necessary in your language, make explicit from where Jesus went out. For example:

Jesus left the house

Jesus went out from the town

5:27b

and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth.

and he saw a tax collector whose name was Levi. Levi was sitting at his tax office/table.
There was a man there called Levi who collected money for the government. He was seated working at the place for paying/receiving taxes. Jesus looked right at him

saw a tax collector named Levi: This part of the verse introduces Levi and says that Jesus saw him. In some languages it may be more natural to use more than one statement to do this. For example:

There was a man there named Levi who was a tax collector…. Jesus saw him…

saw: The Greek word that the BSB translates as saw means to “look at intently or pointedly.” It implies that Jesus did not just look at Levi briefly. He continued to observe him. Here is one way to express this in English:

looked straight at (JBP)

tax collector: The Greek word that the BSB translates as tax collector refers to a man whose job was to gather money from people. This money was called a tax. Then he gave this money to the government. People paid different types of taxes. For instance, people had to pay taxes based on their wealth and property. They also had to pay a tax for using certain roads and to bring goods into the country.

Levi probably collected fees on goods and produce that people brought into Herod’s kingdom. He possibly also collected fees for using the road.The ancient road running from Damascus to Ptolemais (Acre) passed right by Capernaum and would have been the entrance point into Herod’s kingdom (or tetrarchy). Some of these taxes or fees would go to Herod Antipas. Others would be collected for the local municipality.

If you do not have a word in your language for tax collector, you may need to use a descriptive phrase. For example:

someone who collects money

a money collector for the government

You may want to include a footnote to explain the meaning of this word. You may also want to explain it in a glossary. For example:

Tax collectors worked for the Romans or King Herod. Tax collectors often cheated people by forcing them to pay more money than they owed. As a result, many Jews hated tax collectors.

sitting at the tax booth: The phrase sitting at the tax booth implies that Levi was doing his work. He was collecting taxes for the government. See the discussion about this in the introduction to Section 5:27–32.

tax booth: The tax booth was probably some sort of small table under a shelter where Levi sat to receive taxes from the people. Some other ways to translate the phrase tax booth are:

the place where taxes are collected

the place for paying taxes (CEV)

5:27c

“Follow Me,” He told him,

And Jesus told/invited him, “Follow me.”
and said, “Come, be my disciple.”
and told Levi to follow him and be his disciple.

“Follow Me,” He told him: In Greek this part of the verse begins with the words that the BSB translates as He told him. The BSB places these words after the phrase Follow Me. Put these phrases in a natural order in your language.

Follow Me: In this context the phrase Follow Me means “Become my disciple.” Jesus was inviting Levi to be with him every day, listen to his teaching, observe his actions, and learn from him.

Some ways to translate this are:

Be/become my disciple

Come, follow me wherever I go, and learn from me

You may choose to translate this as Follow Me but include a footnote to explain the idea of a disciple. For example:

Jesus was inviting Levi to become a disciple. A disciple was someone who was always with a teacher and learned from him constantly, both from his teaching and from his actions.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Note 1 topic: writing-newevent

καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα

(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί μετά ταῦτα ἐξῆλθεν καί ἐθεάσατο τελώνην ὀνόματι Λευίν καθήμενον ἐπί τό τελώνιον καί εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ἀκολούθει μοί)

Luke uses this phrase to introduce a new event. The expression these things refers to what the previous verses describe. Alternate translation: [After that]

Note 2 topic: writing-pronouns

ἐξῆλθεν

˱he˲_came_out

The pronoun he refers to Jesus. Alternate translation: [Jesus left that house]

ἐθεάσατο τελώνην

saw ˓a˒_tax_collector

The Greek word that Luke uses for saw indicates that Jesus gave careful attention to this man when he saw him. Alternate translation: [observed a tax collector] or [looked carefully at a tax collector]

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom

ἀκολούθει μοι

In this context, to Follow someone means to become that person’s disciple. Alternate translation: [Become my disciple] or [Come, follow me as your teacher]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / imperative

ἀκολούθει μοι

Follow me is not a command, but an invitation. Jesus is encouraging Levi to do this if he wants. Alternate translation: [I want you to become my disciple] or [I invite you to come and follow me as your teacher]

Parallel LUKE 5:27

Section 5:27–32: Jesus chose Levi to become one of his disciples

5:27a

5:27b

5:27c