Luke 10:38-40

Jesus and Martha

10:38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus ¹  entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest. ²  10:39 She ³  had a sister named Mary, who sat ⁴  at the Lord’s feet ⁵  and listened to what he said. 10:40 But Martha was distracted ⁶  with all the preparations she had to make, ⁷  so ⁸  she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care ⁹  that my sister has left me to do all the work ¹⁰  alone? Tell ¹¹  her to help me.”

¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tc Most mss have “into the house” (Ì^3vid א C L Ξ 33 579 pc) or “into her house” (א¹ A C² D W Θ Ψ 070 Ë^1,13 Ï lat) at the end of the sentence. But the English translation masks the multitude of variants: Different forms of “house” (οἰκίαν [oikian], οἶκον [oikon]) and “her” occur (see TCGNT 129). These variations argue against authenticity; they no doubt arose because of the abrupt ending of the sentence (the Greek is more literally translated simply as “Martha received him”), prompting copyists to add the location. The shorter reading is found in Ì^45,75 B sa.

³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁴ tn This reflexive makes it clear that Mary took the initiative in sitting by Jesus.

⁵ sn The description of Mary sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to him makes her sound like a disciple (compare Luke 8:35).

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn Grk “with much serving.”

⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the following was a result of Martha’s distraction.

⁹ tn The negative οὐ (ou) used with the verb expects a positive reply. Martha expected Jesus to respond and rebuke Mary.

¹⁰ tn Grk “has left me to serve alone.”

¹¹ tn The conjunction οὖν (oun, “then, therefore”) has not been translated here.