Luke 17:5-10

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 

[17:5]  ¹ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[17:5]  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.

[17:6]  ³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

[17:6]  ⁴ tn Grk “said.”

[17:6]  ⁵ tn This is a mixed condition, with ἄν (an) in the apodosis.

[17:6]  ⁶ tn Grk “faith as,” “faith like.”

[17:6]  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.

[17:6]  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).

[17:6]  ⁹ tn The verb is aorist, though it looks at a future event, another rhetorical touch to communicate certainty of the effect of faith.

[17:7]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “Who among you, having a slave… would say to him.”

[17:7]  ¹¹ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

[17:7]  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.

[17:8]  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.

[17:8]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:8]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “and gird yourself” (with an apron or towel, in preparation for service).

[17:8]  ¹⁶ tn BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 2.b, “to denote contemporaneousness as long as, while… w. subjunctive… Lk 17:8.”

[17:8]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “after these things.”

[17:9]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “did what was commanded.”

[17:9]  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.

[17:10]  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”).

[17:10]  ²¹ tn Or “we have only done what we were supposed to do.”