Discovery BoxLuke 9:46-50 
Context9:46 Now an argument started among the disciples 1 as to which of them might be 2 the greatest. 9:47 But when Jesus discerned their innermost thoughts, 3 he took a child, had him stand by 4 his side, 9:48 and said to them, “Whoever welcomes 5 this child 6 in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me, for the one who is least among you all is the one who is great.” 7
9:49 John answered, 8 “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop 9 him because he is not a disciple 10 along with us.” 9:50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for whoever is not against you is for you.”
1 tn Grk “among them”; the referent (the disciples) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn The use of the optative mood means the answer is not clear (BDF §§267.2.3; 385.2.2).
3 tn Grk “knowing the thoughts of their hearts” (an idiom).
4 tn On this use of παρά (para), see BDF §239.1.1.
5 tn This verb, δέχομαι (decomai), is a term of hospitality (L&N 34.53).
6 sn Children were very insignificant in ancient culture, so this child would be the perfect object lesson to counter the disciples’ selfish ambitions.
7 tn Grk “among you all, this one is great.” The absence of a comparative term here makes the point that comparison should not be done.
8 tn Grk “And answering, John said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “John answered.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
9 tc The translation follows the reading that has Luke’s normal imperfect here (ἐκωλύομεν, ekwluomen; found in Ì75vid א B L Ξ 579 892 1241). Most
10 tn Grk “does not follow with us.” BDAG 36 s.v. ἀκολουθέω 2 indicates that the pronoun σοι (soi, “you”) is to be supplied after the verb in this particular instance; the translation in the text best represents this nuance.
