Luke 9:43-50

9:43 Then ¹  they were all astonished at the mighty power ²  of God.

Another Prediction of Jesus’ Suffering

But while the entire crowd ³  was amazed at everything Jesus ⁴  was doing, he said to his disciples, 9:44 “Take these words to heart, ⁵  for the Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.” ⁶  9:45 But they did not understand this statement; its meaning ⁷  had been concealed ⁸  from them, so that they could not grasp it. Yet ⁹  they were afraid to ask him about this statement.

Concerning the Greatest

9:46 Now an argument started among the disciples ¹⁰  as to which of them might be ¹¹  the greatest. 9:47 But when Jesus discerned their innermost thoughts, ¹²  he took a child, had him stand by ¹³  his side, 9:48 and said to them, “Whoever welcomes ¹⁴  this child ¹⁵  in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me, for the one who is least among you all is the one who is great.” ¹⁶ 

On the Right Side

9:49 John answered, ¹⁷  “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop ¹⁸  him because he is not a disciple ¹⁹  along with us.” 9:50 But Jesus said to him, “Do not stop him, for whoever is not against you is for you.”

[9:43]  ¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the response at the conclusion of the account.

[9:43]  ² sn The revelation of the mighty power of God was the manifestation of God’s power shown through Jesus. See Acts 10:38.

[9:43]  ³ tn Grk “all”; the referent (the crowd) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:43]  ⁴ tc Most mss, especially the later ones (A C W Θ Ψ 0115 ˹³ 33 892 Ï al), actually supply ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς (Jo Ihsous, “Jesus”) here. Since the earliest and best witnesses, along with many others (Ì⁷⁵ א B D L Ξ Ë¹ 579 700 1241 2542 pc lat), lack the name, and since scribes were unlikely to intentionally omit it, the shorter reading is preferred as the original reading.

[9:44]  ⁵ tn Grk “Place these words into your ears,” an idiom. The meaning is either “do not forget these words” (L&N 29.5) or “Listen carefully to these words” (L&N 24.64). See also Exod 17:14. For a variation of this expression, see Luke 8:8.

[9:44]  ⁶ tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is considered by some to be used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NRSV, “into human hands”; TEV, “to the power of human beings”). However, because this can be taken as a specific reference to the group responsible for Jesus’ arrest, where it is unlikely women were present (cf. Matt 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:2-12), the word “men” has been retained in the translation. There may also be a slight wordplay with “the Son of Man” earlier in the verse.

[9:45]  ⁹ tn Grk “it”; the referent (the meaning of the statement) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:45]  ¹⁰ sn The passive verb had been concealed probably indicates that some force was preventing them from responding. It is debated whether God or Satan is meant here. By 24:25 it is clear that their lack of response is their own responsibility. The only way to reverse this is to pay careful attention as v. 44a urges.

[9:45]  ¹¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to indicate that in spite of their lack of understanding, the disciples were afraid to ask about it. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

[9:46]  ¹³ tn Grk “among them”; the referent (the disciples) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[9:46]  ¹⁴ tn The use of the optative mood means the answer is not clear (BDF §§267.2.3; 385.2.2).

[9:47]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “knowing the thoughts of their hearts” (an idiom).

[9:47]  ¹⁸ tn On this use of παρά (para), see BDF §239.1.1.

[9:48]  ²¹ tn This verb, δέχομαι (decomai), is a term of hospitality (L&N 34.53).

[9:48]  ²² sn Children were very insignificant in ancient culture, so this child would be the perfect object lesson to counter the disciples’ selfish ambitions.

[9:48]  ²³ tn Grk “among you all, this one is great.” The absence of a comparative term here makes the point that comparison should not be done.

[9:49]  ²⁵ tn Grk “And answering, John said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “John answered.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[9:49]  ²⁶ tc The translation follows the reading that has Luke’s normal imperfect here (ἐκωλύομεν, ekwluomen; found in Ì^75vid א B L Ξ 579 892 1241). Most mss, however, have an aorist (ἐκωλύσαμεν, ekwlusamen; found in A C D W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 33 Ï co), which would be translated “we forbade him.” The imperfect enjoys the best external and internal support.

[9:49]  ²⁷ tn Grk “does not follow with us.” BDAG 36 s.v. ἀκολουθέω 2 indicates that the pronoun σοι (soi, “you”) is to be supplied after the verb in this particular instance; the translation in the text best represents this nuance.