17:5 The 1 apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 2 17:6 So 3 the Lord replied, 4 “If 5 you had faith the size of 6 a mustard seed, you could say to this black mulberry 7 tree, ‘Be pulled out by the roots and planted in the sea,’ 8 and it would obey 9 you.
17:7 “Would any one of you say 10 to your slave 11 who comes in from the field after plowing or shepherding sheep, ‘Come at once and sit down for a meal’? 12 17:8 Won’t 13 the master 14 instead say to him, ‘Get my dinner ready, and make yourself ready 15 to serve me while 16 I eat and drink. Then 17 you may eat and drink’? 17:9 He won’t thank the slave because he did what he was told, 18 will he? 19 17:10 So you too, when you have done everything you were commanded to do, should say, ‘We are slaves undeserving of special praise; 20 we have only done what was our duty.’” 21
1 tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
2 sn The request of the apostles, “Increase our faith,” is not a request for a gift of faith, but a request to increase the depth of their faith.
3 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
4 tn Grk “said.”
5 tn This is a mixed condition, with ἄν (an) in the apodosis.
6 tn Grk “faith as,” “faith like.”
7 sn A black mulberry tree is a deciduous fruit tree that grows about 20 ft (6 m) tall and has black juicy berries. This tree has an extensive root system, so to pull it up would be a major operation.
8 tn The passives here (ἐκριζώθητι and φυτεύθητι, ekrizwqhti and futeuqhti) are probably a circumlocution for God performing the action (the so-called divine passive, see ExSyn 437-38). The issue is not the amount of faith (which in the example is only very tiny), but its presence, which can accomplish impossible things. To cause a tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea is impossible. The expression is a rhetorical idiom. It is like saying a camel can go through the eye of a needle (Luke 18:25).
9 tn The verb is aorist, though it looks at a future event, another rhetorical touch to communicate certainty of the effect of faith.
10 tn Grk “Who among you, having a slave… would say to him.”
11 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.
12 tn Grk “and recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away. See BDAG 70 s.v. ἀναπίπτω 1.
13 tn The question includes a Greek particle, οὐχί (ouci), that expects a positive reply. The slave is expected to prepare a meal before eating himself.
14 tn Grk “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 tn Grk “and gird yourself” (with an apron or towel, in preparation for service).
16 tn BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 2.b, “to denote contemporaneousness as long as, while… w. subjunctive… Lk 17:8.”
17 tn Grk “after these things.”
18 tn Grk “did what was commanded.”
19 tn The Greek construction anticipates a negative reply which is indicated in the translation by the ‘tag’ at the end, “will he?” Thanks are not required.
20 tn Some translations describe the slaves as “worthless” (NRSV) or “unworthy” (NASB, NIV) but that is not Jesus’ point. These disciples have not done anything deserving special commendation or praise (L&N 33.361), but only what would normally be expected of a slave in such a situation (thus the translation “we have only done what was our duty”).
21 tn Or “we have only done what we were supposed to do.”