Luke 5:12-15

Healing a Leper

5:12 While ¹  Jesus ²  was in one of the towns, ³  a man came ⁴  to him who was covered with ⁵  leprosy. ⁶  When ⁷  he saw Jesus, he bowed down with his face to the ground ⁸  and begged him, ⁹  “Lord, if ¹⁰  you are willing, you can make me clean.” 5:13 So ¹¹  he stretched out his hand and touched ¹²  him, saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. 5:14 Then ¹³  he ordered the man ¹⁴  to tell no one, ¹⁵  but commanded him, ¹⁶  “Go ¹⁷  and show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering ¹⁸  for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, ¹⁹  as a testimony to them.” ²⁰  5:15 But the news about him spread even more, ²¹  and large crowds were gathering together to hear him ²²  and to be healed of their illnesses.

[5:12]  ¹ tn Grk “And it happened that while.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[5:12]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:12]  ³ tn Or “cities.”

[5:12]  ⁴ tn Grk “towns, behold, a man covered with leprosy.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou, “behold”) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[5:12]  ⁵ tn Grk “full of leprosy” (an idiom for a severe condition).

[5:12]  ⁶ sn The ancient term for leprosy covers a wider array of conditions than what is called leprosy today. A leper was totally ostracized from society until he was declared cured (Lev 13:45-46).

[5:12]  ⁷ tn Grk “And seeing.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, δέ (de) has not been translated here. The participle ἰδών (idwn) has been taken temporally.

[5:12]  ⁸ tn Grk “he fell on his face”; an idiom for bowing down with one’s face to the ground.

[5:12]  ⁹ tn Grk “and begged him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.

[5:12]  ¹⁰ tn This is a third class condition. The report portrays the leper making no presumptions about whether Jesus will heal him or not.

[5:13]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the response of Jesus to the man’s request.

[5:13]  ¹² sn Touched. This touch would have rendered Jesus ceremonially unclean (Lev 14:46; also Mishnah, m. Nega’im 3.1; 11.1; 12.1; 13.6-12).

[5:14]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[5:14]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:14]  ¹⁵ sn The silence ordered by Jesus was probably meant to last only until the cleansing took place with the priests and sought to prevent Jesus’ healings from becoming the central focus of the people’s reaction to him. See also 4:35, 41; 8:56 for other cases where Jesus asks for silence with reference to miracles.

[5:14]  ¹⁶ tn The words “commanded him” are not in the Greek text but have been supplied for clarity. This verse moves from indirect to direct discourse. This abrupt change is very awkward, so the words have been supplied to smooth out the transition.

[5:14]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “Going, show.” The participle ἀπελθών (apelqwn) has been translated as an attendant circumstance participle. Here the syntax also changes somewhat abruptly from indirect discourse to direct discourse.

[5:14]  ¹⁸ tn The words “the offering” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

[5:14]  ¹⁹ sn On the phrase as Moses commanded see Lev 14:1-32.

[5:14]  ²⁰ tn Or “as an indictment against them”; or “as proof to the people.” This phrase could be taken as referring to a positive witness to the priests, a negative testimony against them, or as a testimony to the community that the man had indeed been cured. In any case, the testimony shows that Jesus is healing and ministering to those in need.

[5:15]  ²¹ sn That is, in spite of Jesus’ instructions to the man to tell no one about the healing (v. 14).

[5:15]  ²² tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.