Luke 10:40

10:40 But Martha was distracted ¹  with all the preparations she had to make, ²  so ³  she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care ⁴  that my sister has left me to do all the work ⁵  alone? Tell ⁶  her to help me.”

Luke 11:8

11:8 I tell you, even though the man inside ⁷  will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of the first man’s ⁸  sheer persistence ⁹  he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

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¹ sn The term distracted means “to be pulled away” by something (L&N 25.238). It is a narrative comment that makes clear who is right in the account.

² tn Grk “with much serving.”

³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the following was a result of Martha’s distraction.

⁴ tn The negative οὐ (ou) used with the verb expects a positive reply. Martha expected Jesus to respond and rebuke Mary.

⁵ tn Grk “has left me to serve alone.”

⁶ tn The conjunction οὖν (oun, “then, therefore”) has not been translated here.

⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man in bed in the house) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Grk “his”; the referent (the first man mentioned) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ tn The term ἀναίδεια (anaideia) is hard to translate. It refers to a combination of ideas, a boldness that persists over time, or “audacity,” which comes close. It most likely describes the one making the request, since the unit’s teaching is an exhortation about persistence in prayer. Some translate the term “shamelessness” which is the term’s normal meaning, and apply it to the neighbor as an illustration of God responding for the sake of his honor. But the original question was posed in terms of the first man who makes the request, not of the neighbor, so the teaching underscores the action of the one making the request.