Luke 10:38

Context

Jesus and Martha

10:38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus¹ entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest.²

Luke 10:40-41

Context
10:40 But Martha was distracted³ with all the preparations she had to make,⁴ so⁵ she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care⁶ that my sister has left me to do all the work⁷ alone? Tell⁸ her to help me.” 10:41 But the Lord⁹ answered her,¹⁰ “Martha, Martha,¹¹ you are worried and troubled¹² about many things,

[10:38] ¹tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[10:38] ²tc 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.

[10:40] ³sn 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.

[10:40] ⁴tn Grk “with much serving.”

[10:40] ⁵tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the following was a result of Martha’s distraction.

[10:40] ⁶tn The negative οὐ (ou) used with the verb expects a positive reply. Martha expected Jesus to respond and rebuke Mary.

[10:40] ⁷tn Grk “has left me to serve alone.”

[10:40] ⁸tn The conjunction οὖν (oun, “then, therefore”) has not been translated here.

[10:41] ⁵tc Most mss (A B* C D W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï it) read “Jesus” instead of “the Lord” here, but κύριος (kurios, “Lord”) has the support of some weighty papyri, uncials, and other witnesses (Ì^3,[45],75 א B² L 579 892 pc lat sa).

[10:41] ⁶tn Grk “answering, said to her.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “answered her.”

[10:41] ⁷sn The double vocative Martha, Martha communicates emotion.

[10:41] ⁸tn Or “upset.” Here the meanings of μεριμνάω (merimnaw) and θορυβάζομαι (qorubazomai) reinforce each other (L&N 25.234).