Luke 18:15

Jesus and Little Children

18:15 Now people ¹  were even bringing their babies ²  to him for him to touch. ³  But when the disciples saw it, they began to scold those who brought them. ⁴ 

[18:15]  ¹ tn Grk “they.”

[18:15]  ² tn The term βρέφος (brefos) here can refer to babies or to toddlers (2:12, 16; Acts 7:19; 2 Tim 3:15; 1 Pet 2:2).

[18:15]  ³ tn Grk “so that he would touch them.” Here the touch is connected with (or conveys) a blessing (cf. Mark 10:16; also BDAG 126 s.v. ἅπτω 2.c).

[18:15]  ⁴ tn Grk “the disciples began to scold them.” In the translation the referent has been specified as “those who brought them,” since otherwise the statement could be understood to mean that the disciples began scolding the children rather than their parents who brought them.