Text -- Luke 5:20 (NET)

5:20 When Jesus saw their faith he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Luk 5:20

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ sn The plural pronoun their makes it clear that Jesus was responding to the faith of the entire group, not just the paralyzed man.

⁴ tn Grk “Man,” but the term used in this way was not derogatory in Jewish culture. Used in address (as here) it means “friend” (see BDAG 82 s.v. ἄνθρωπος 8).

⁵ tn Grk “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” Luke stresses the forgiveness of sins (cf. 1:77; 3:3; 24:47). In 5:20 he uses both the perfect ἀφέωνται and the personal pronoun σοι which together combine to heighten the subjective aspect of the experience of forgiveness. The σοι has been omitted in translation in light of normal English style.

sn The passive voice here is a divine passive (ExSyn 437). It is clear that God does the forgiving.