Luke 6:39-42

6:39 He also told them a parable: “Someone who is blind cannot lead another who is blind, can he? ¹  Won’t they both fall ²  into a pit? 6:40 A disciple ³  is not greater than ⁴  his teacher, but everyone when fully trained will be like his teacher. 6:41 Why ⁵  do you see the speck ⁶  in your brother’s eye, but fail to see ⁷  the beam of wood ⁸  in your own? 6:42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while you yourself don’t see the beam in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

[6:39]  ¹ tn Questions prefaced with μή (mh) in Greek anticipate a negative answer. This can sometimes be indicated by using a “tag” at the end in English (here it is “can he?”).

[6:39]  ² sn The picture of a blind man leading a blind man is a warning to watch who one follows: Won’t they both fall into a pit? The sermon has been about religious choices and reacting graciously to those who oppose the followers of Jesus. Here Jesus’ point was to be careful who you follow and where they are taking you.

[6:40]  ³ tn Or “student.”

[6:40]  ⁴ tn Or “significantly different.” The idea, as the next phrase shows, is that teachers build followers who go the same direction they do.

[6:41]  ⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[6:41]  ⁶ sn A speck (also twice in v. 42) refers to a small piece of wood, chaff, or straw (L&N 3.66).

[6:41]  ⁷ tn Or “do not notice.”

[6:41]  ⁸ sn The beam of wood (also twice in v. 42) refers to a big piece of wood, the main beam of a building, in contrast to the speck in the other’s eye (L&N 7.78).