Luke 14:2-5

14:2 There ¹  right ²  in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. ³  14:3 So ⁴  Jesus asked ⁵  the experts in religious law ⁶  and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath ⁷  or not?” 14:4 But they remained silent. So ⁸  Jesus ⁹  took hold of the man, ¹⁰  healed him, and sent him away. ¹¹  14:5 Then ¹²  he said to them, “Which of you, if you have a son ¹³  or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?”

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

² 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.

³ sn The condition called dropsy involves swollen limbs resulting from the accumulation of fluid in the body’s tissues, especially the legs.

⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the sequence of events (Jesus’ question was prompted by the man’s appearance).

⁵ 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.”

⁶ tn That is, experts in the interpretation of the Mosaic law (traditionally, “lawyers”).

⁷ 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)?

⁸ 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).

⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Grk “taking hold [of the man].” The participle ἐπιλαβόμενος (epilabomeno") has been taken as indicating attendant circumstance.

¹¹ tn Or “and let him go.”

¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹³ tc Here “son,” found in Ì^45,75 (A) B W Ï, is the preferred reading. The other reading, “donkey” (found in א K L Ψ Ë^1,13 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.”