Discovery BoxLuke 14:1-6 
Context14:1 Now 1 one Sabbath when Jesus went to dine 2 at the house of a leader 3 of the Pharisees, 4 they were watching 5 him closely. 14:2 There 6 right 7 in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. 8 14:3 So 9 Jesus asked 10 the experts in religious law 11 and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath 12 or not?” 14:4 But they remained silent. So 13 Jesus 14 took hold of the man, 15 healed him, and sent him away. 16 14:5 Then 17 he said to them, “Which of you, if you have a son 18 or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 14:6 But 19 they could not reply 20 to this.
1 tn Grk “Now it happened that one.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
2 tn Grk “to eat bread,” an idiom for participating in a meal.
3 tn Grk “a ruler of the Pharisees.” He was probably a synagogue official.
4 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
5 sn Watching…closely is a graphic term meaning to lurk and watch; see Luke 11:53-54.
6 tn Grk “And there.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
7 tn Grk “behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1). Here it has been translated as “right” in the phrase “right in front of him,” giving a similar effect of vividness in the translation.
8 sn The condition called dropsy involves swollen limbs resulting from the accumulation of fluid in the body’s tissues, especially the legs.
9 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the sequence of events (Jesus’ question was prompted by the man’s appearance).
10 tn Grk “Jesus, answering, said.” This is redundant in contemporary English. In addition, since the context does not describe a previous question to Jesus (although one may well be implied), the phrase has been translated here as “Jesus asked.”
11 tn That is, experts in the interpretation of the Mosaic law (traditionally, “lawyers”).
12 sn “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” Will the Pharisees and experts in religious law defend tradition and speak out against doing good on the Sabbath? Has anything at all been learned since Luke 13:10-17? Has repentance come (13:6-9)?
13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the sequence of events (Jesus’ healing the man was in response to their refusal to answer).
14 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 tn Grk “taking hold [of the man].” The participle ἐπιλαβόμενος (epilabomeno") has been taken as indicating attendant circumstance.
16 tn Or “and let him go.”
17 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
18 tc Here “son,” found in Ì45,75 (A) B W Ï, is the preferred reading. The other reading, “donkey” (found in א K L Ψ Ë1,13 33 579 892 1241 2542 al lat bo), looks like an assimilation to Luke 13:15 and Deut 22:4; Isa 32:20, and was perhaps motivated by an attempt to soften the unusual collocation of “son” and “ox.” The Western ms D differs from all others and reads “sheep.”
19 tn καί (kai) has been translated here as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context. The experts, who should be expected to know the law, are unable to respond to Jesus’ question.
20 sn They could not reply. Twice in the scene, the experts remain silent (see v. 4). That, along with the presence of power working through Jesus, serves to indicate endorsement of his work and message.
