Luke 12.13-21 Translation Notes

Luke 12.13-21 Translation Notes

Εἶπενδέτιςἐκτοῦὄχλουαὐτῷ· διδάσκαλε, εἰπὲτῷἀδελφῷμουμερίσασθαιμετ᾽ἐμοῦτὴνκληρονομίαν.

LEB Now someone from the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me!"

KJV And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.

DRA And one of the multitude said to him: Master, speak to my brother that he divide the inheritance with me.

ESV aSomeone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."

NET Thensomeone from the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tellmy brother to divide the inheritance with me."

NRS Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me."

NIV Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."

TNIV Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."

NJB A man in the crowd said to him, 'Master, tell my brother to give me a share of our inheritance.'

NLT Then someone called from the crowd, "Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father's estate with me."

MSG Someone out of the crowd said, "Teacher, order my brother to give me a fair share of the family inheritance."

What additional information would you want to make sense of what is going on here?
The person addresses Jesus as διδάσκαλε. (Teacher or Master?) Where else is someone addressed in this way? Is it always used as a respectful form of address?

ὁδὲεἶπεναὐτῷ· ἄνθρωπε, τίςμεκατέστησενκριτὴνἢμεριστὴνἐφ᾽ὑμᾶς;

LEB But he said to him, "Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?"

KJV And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?

DRA But he said to him: Man, who hath appointed me judge, or divider, over you?

ESV But he said to him, a"Man, bwho made me a judge or arbitrator over you?"

NET But Jesussaid to him, "Man,who made me a judge or arbitrator between you two?"

NRS But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?"

NIV Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?"

TNIV Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?"

NJB He said to him, 'My friend, who appointed me your judge, or the arbitrator of your claims?'

NLT Jesus replied, "Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?"

MSG He replied, "Mister, what makes you think it's any of my business to be a judge or mediator for you?"

Jesus addresses the person as ἄνθρωπε. Is this a negative, neutral, or positive form of address?
Though it makes little difference in translation, note the text critical issues with κριτὴνἢμεριστὴν.
What is the correct answer to Jesus' question?

εἶπενδὲπρὸςαὐτούς· ὁρᾶτεκαὶφυλάσσεσθεἀπὸπάσηςπλεονεξίας, ὅτιοὐκἐντῷπερισσεύειντινὶἡζωὴαὐτοῦἐστινἐκτῶνὑπαρχόντωναὐτῷ.

LEB And he said to them, "Watch out and guard yourselves from all greediness, because not even when someone has an abundance «does»his life consist of his possessions."

KJV And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

DRA And he said to them: Take heed and beware of all covetousness; for a man's life doth not consist in the abundance of things which he possesseth.

ESV And he said to them, a"Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

NET Thenhe said to them, "Watch out and guard yourself fromall types of greed,because one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

NRS And he said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."

NIV Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."a

TNIV Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions."a

NJB Then he said to them, 'Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for life does not consist in possessions, even when someone has more than he needs.'

NLT Then he said, "Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own."

MSG Speaking to the people, he went on, "Take care! Protect yourself against the least bit of greed. Life is not defined by what you have, even when you have a lot."

What voice is φυλάσσεσθε? What is its force here?
What is πλεονεξίας? Is this vice more of a Hebraic (Old Testament) or Greco-Roman one?
ἐντῷπερισσεύειν: Note its emphatic position. What kind of construction is this?
In the last half of the verse, what idea is included in the LEB, NJB, and MSG that is not in the other versions?
Is it an appropriate rendering of the Greek?
Note how the NRSV and NLT manage inclusive language in this verse.

Εἶπενδὲπαραβολὴνπρὸςαὐτοὺςλέγων· ἀνθρώπουτινὸςπλουσίουεὐφόρησενἡχώρα.

LEB And he told a parable to them, saying, "The land of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.

KJV And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

DRA And he spoke a similitude to them, saying: The land of a certain rich man brought forth plenty of fruits.

ESV And he told them a parable, saying, a"The land of a rich man produced plentifully,

NET He thentold them a parable:"The land of a certain rich man producedan abundant crop,

NRS Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly.

NIV And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.

TNIV And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.

NJB Then he told them a parable, 'There was once a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his land,

NLT Then he told them a story: "A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops.

MSG Then he told them this story: "The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop.

Note the construction:Εἶπεν(δὲ)... λέγων. Where else in the Bible is this used?
What does this indicate?
Note the emphatic position of ἀνθρώπουτινὸςπλουσίου.

καὶδιελογίζετοἐνἑαυτῷλέγων· τίποιήσω, ὅτιοὐκἔχωποῦσυνάξωτοὺςκαρπούςμου;

LEB And he reasoned to himself, saying, 'What should I do? For I do not have anywhere I can gather in my crops.'

KJV And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

DRA And he thought within himself, saying: What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

ESV and he thought to himself, a'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?'

NET sohe thought to himself,'What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?'

NRS And he thought to himself, 'What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?'

NIV He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'

TNIV He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'

NJB thought to himself, "What am I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops."

NLT He said to himself, 'What should I do? I don't have room for all my crops.'

MSG He talked to himself: "What can I do? My barn isn't big enough for this harvest.'

Note the tense of διελογίζετοand what it implies.
Note that the form of ποιήσω could either be an Aorist Subjunctive or a Future Indicative. Which is the better choice here, and what difference does it make?

καὶεἶπεν· τοῦτοποιήσω, καθελῶμουτὰςἀποθήκαςκαὶμείζοναςοἰκοδομήσωκαὶσυνάξωἐκεῖπάντατὸνσῖτονκαὶτὰἀγαθάμου

LEB And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and I will gather in there all my grain and possessions.

KJV And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

DRA And he said: This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and will build greater; and into them will I gather all things that are grown to me, and my goods.

ESV And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my abarns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

NET Thenhe said, 'Iwill do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

NRS Then he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

NIV "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

TNIV "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain.

NJB Then he said, "This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them,

NLT Then he said, 'I know! I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I'll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods.

MSG Then he said, "Here's what I'll do: I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I'll gather in all my grain and goods,

Note that the form of ποιήσω could either be an Aorist Subjunctive or a Future Indicative. Which is the better choice here, and what difference does it make?

καὶἐρῶτῇψυχῇμου, ψυχή, ἔχειςπολλὰἀγαθὰκείμεναεἰςἔτηπολλά· ἀναπαύου, φάγε, πίε, εὐφραίνου.

LEB And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many possessions stored up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, celebrate!" '

KJV And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

DRA And I will say to my soul: Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years take thy rest; eat, drink, make good cheer.

ESV And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up afor many years; relax, beat, drink, be merry.'

NET And I will say to myself,"You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!"'

NRS And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.'

NIV And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."'

TNIV And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '

NJB and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time."

NLT And I'll sit back and say to myself, "My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!" '

MSG and I'll say to myself, Self, you've done well! You've got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life!'

What are the tenses of the four imperatives? Is there a logic for why each is the tense it is?
ἀναπαύου
φάγε
πίε
εὐφραίνου
In Luke-Acts, is it a good or bad thing to "celebrate" / ευφραινω?
EXTRA if you have time: Find other instances where imperative forms of εσθιωandπινω occur together in a verse.Any interesting ones?
Remember that another way to express a command is with the use of the 1st person plural hortatory subjunctive. Where else do the two words occur in this form?
You should find a reference to a verse in 1 Corinthians. Check the footnote in the NET Bible at this verse to find other OT references.

εἶπενδὲαὐτῷὁθεός· ἄφρων, ταύτῃτῇνυκτὶτὴνψυχήνσουἀπαιτοῦσινἀπὸσοῦ· ἃδὲἡτοίμασας, τίνιἔσται;

LEB But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your lifeis demanded from you, and the things which you have prepared--whose will they be?'

KJV But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

DRA But God said to him: Thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee: and whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?

ESV But God said to him, a'Fool! yThis night dyour soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, bwhose will they be?'

NET But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your lifewill be demanded back fromyou, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

NRS But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'

NIV "But God said to him, 'You fool!a This very night your life will be demanded from you.b Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'c

TNIV "But God said to him, 'You fool!a This very night your life will be demanded from you.b Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself ?'c

NJB But God said to him, "Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?"

NLT "But God said to him, 'You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?'

MSG "Just then God showed up and said, "Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods--who gets it?'

There is a rich biblical vocabulary for talking about foolishness. Where would you look to find synonyms?
How do you deal with this verse alongside Matthew 5.22?
How do you want to deal with ψυχήin this verse and the previous one?
Note carefully the voice and person and number of ἀπαιτοῦσιν. What exactly is the subject? (What is the nearest antecedent?)
Note the emphatic position of ἃ δὲἡτοίμασας.

οὕτωςὁθησαυρίζωνἑαυτῷκαὶμὴεἰςθεὸνπλουτῶν.

LEB So is the one who stores up treasure for himself, and who is not rich toward God!"

KJV So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

DRA So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God.

ESV So is the one awho lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."

NET So it is with the one who stores up riches for himself,but is not rich toward God."

NRS So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God."

NIV "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."a

TNIV "This is how it will be with those who store up things for themselves but are not rich toward God."a

NJB So it is when someone stores up treasure for himself instead of becoming rich in the sight of God.'

NLT "Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God."

MSG "That's what happens when you fill your barn with Self and not with God."

What exactly does it mean to be εἰςθεὸνπλουτῶν?
Note that verse 21 is omitted in Codex Bezae (D). Some regard it to be an example of a "Western non-Interpolation." Look it up!