Luke 20:28

They asked him, ¹  “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no children, that man ²  must marry ³  the widow and father children ⁴  for his brother. ⁵ 

"Teacher," they said, "Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother.

and they questioned Him, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that IF A MAN’S BROTHER DIES, having a wife, AND HE IS CHILDLESS, HIS BROTHER SHOULD MARRY THE WIFE AND RAISE UP CHILDREN TO HIS BROTHER.

They posed this question: "Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife but no children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will be the brother’s heir.

"Teacher, Moses wrote us that if a man dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother is obligated to take the widow to wife and get her with child.

Master, Moses said that if a man’s brother comes to his end, having a wife, but no children, his brother is to take the wife, and get a family for his brother.

and asked him a question, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.

saying: "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.

They asked him, ¹  “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no children, that man ²  must marry ³  the widow and father children ⁴  for his brother. ⁵ 

¹ tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

² tn Grk “his brother”; but this would be redundant in English with the same phrase “his brother” at the end of the verse, so most modern translations render this phrase “the man” (so NIV, NRSV).

³ tn The use of ἵνα (Jina) with imperatival force is unusual (BDF §470.1).

⁴ tn Grk “and raise up seed,” an idiom for procreating children (L&N 23.59).

⁵ sn A quotation from Deut 25:5. Because the OT quotation does not include “a wife” as the object of the verb, it has been left as normal type. This practice is called levirate marriage (see also Ruth 4:1-12; Mishnah, m. Yevamot; Josephus, Ant. 4.8.23 [4.254-256]). The levirate law is described in Deut 25:5-10. The brother of a man who died without a son had an obligation to marry his brother’s widow. This served several purposes: It provided for the widow in a society where a widow with no children to care for her would be reduced to begging, and it preserved the name of the deceased, who would be regarded as the legal father of the first son produced from that marriage.