ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ 9:23-26
SBL Greek New Testament
23 Ἔλεγεν δὲ πρὸς πάντας· Εἴ τις θέλει ὀπίσω μου [a]ἔρχεσθαι, ἀρνησάσθω ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἀράτω τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ [b]καθ’ ἡμέραν, καὶ ἀκολουθείτω μοι. 24 ὃς γὰρ [c]ἂν θέλῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ σῶσαι, ἀπολέσει αὐτήν· ὃς δ’ ἂν ἀπολέσῃ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ, οὗτος σώσει αὐτήν. 25 τί γὰρ ὠφελεῖται ἄνθρωπος κερδήσας τὸν κόσμον ὅλον ἑαυτὸν δὲ ἀπολέσας ἢ ζημιωθείς; 26 ὃς γὰρ ἂν ἐπαισχυνθῇ με καὶ τοὺς ἐμοὺς λόγους, τοῦτον ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐπαισχυνθήσεται, ὅταν ἔλθῃ ἐν τῇ δόξῃ αὐτοῦ καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τῶν ἁγίων ἀγγέλων.
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- ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ 9:23 ἔρχεσθαι ἀρνησάσθω WH Treg NIV ] ἐλθεῖν ἀπαρνησάσθω RP
- ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ 9:23 καθ᾽ ἡμέραν WH Treg NIV ] – RP
- ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ 9:24 ἂν WH Treg NIV ] ἐὰν RP
Luke 9:23-26
New Testament for Everyone
23 He then spoke to them all. “If any of you want to come after me,” he said, “you must say no to yourselves, and pick up your cross every day, and follow me. 24 If you want to save your life, you’ll lose it; but if you lose your life because of me, you’ll save it. 25 What good will it do you if you win the entire world, but lose or forfeit your own self? 26 If you’re ashamed of me and my words, the son of man will be ashamed of you, when he comes in the glory which belongs to him, and to the father, and to the holy angels.
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Luke 9:23-26
Good News Translation
23 (A)And he said to them all, “If you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, take up your cross every day, and follow me. 24 (B)For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it, but if you lose your life for my sake, you will save it. 25 Will you gain anything if you win the whole world but are yourself lost or defeated? Of course not! 26 If you are ashamed of me and of my teaching, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
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Luke 9:23-26
New English Translation
A Call to Discipleship
23 Then[a] he said to them all,[b] “If anyone wants to become my follower,[c] he must deny[d] himself, take up his cross daily,[e] and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life[f] will lose it,[g] but whoever loses his life because of me[h] will save it. 25 For what does it benefit a person[i] if he gains the whole world but loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed[j] of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person[k] when he comes in his glory and in the glory[l] of the Father and of the holy angels.
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- Luke 9:23 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
- Luke 9:23 sn Here them all could be limited to the disciples, since Jesus was alone with them in v. 18. It could also be that by this time the crowd had followed and found him, and he addressed them, or this could be construed as a separate occasion from the discussion with the disciples in 9:18-22. The cost of discipleship is something Jesus was willing to tell both insiders and outsiders about. The rejection he felt would also fall on his followers.
- Luke 9:23 tn Grk “to come after me.”
- Luke 9:23 tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.
- Luke 9:23 sn Only Luke mentions taking up one’s cross daily. To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.
- Luke 9:24 tn Grk “his soul.” The Greek ψυχή (psuchē) has many different meanings depending on the context. The two primary meanings here are the earthly life (animate life, sometimes called “physical life”) and the inner life (the life that transcends the earthly life, sometimes called “the soul”). The fact that the Greek term can have both meanings creates in this verse both a paradox and a wordplay. The desire to preserve both aspects of ψυχή (psuchē) for oneself creates the tension here (cf. BDAG 1099 s.v. 1.a; 2.d,e). Translation of the Greek term ψυχή (psuchē) presents a particularly difficult problem in this verse. Most English versions since the KJV have translated the term “life.” This preserves the paradox of finding one’s “life” (in the sense of earthly life) while at the same time really losing it (in the sense of “soul” or transcendent inner life) and vice versa, but at the same time it obscures the wordplay that results from the same Greek word having multiple meanings. To translate as “soul,” however, gives the modern English reader the impression of the immortal soul at the expense of the earthly life. On the whole it is probably best to use the translation “life” and retain the paradox at the expense of the wordplay.
- Luke 9:24 sn The point of the saying whoever wants to save his life will lose it is that if one comes to Jesus then rejection by many will certainly follow. If self-protection is a key motivation, then one will not respond to Jesus and will not be saved. One who is willing to risk rejection will respond and find true life.
- Luke 9:24 tn Or “for my sake.” The traditional rendering “for my sake” can be understood in the sense of “for my benefit,” but the Greek term ἕνεκα (heneka) indicates the cause or reason for something (BDAG 334 s.v. 1).
- Luke 9:25 tn Grk “a man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos) is used in a generic sense here to refer to both men and women.
- Luke 9:26 sn How one responds now to Jesus and his teaching is a reflection of how Jesus, as the Son of Man who judges, will respond then in the final judgment.
- Luke 9:26 tn This pronoun (τοῦτον, touton) is in emphatic position in its own clause in the Greek text: “of that person the Son of Man will be ashamed…”
- Luke 9:26 tn Grk “in the glory of him and of the Father and of the holy angels.” “Glory” is repeated here in the translation for clarity and smoothness because the literal phrase is unacceptably awkward in contemporary English.
Luke 9:23-26
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition
23 Then he said to them all, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. 25 What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves? 26 Those who are ashamed of me and of my words, of them the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
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ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ 14:26-27
SBL Greek New Testament
26 Εἴ τις ἔρχεται πρός με καὶ οὐ μισεῖ τὸν πατέρα [a]ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τὰ τέκνα καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τὰς ἀδελφάς, ἔτι [b]τε καὶ τὴν [c]ψυχὴν ἑαυτοῦ, οὐ δύναται [d]εἶναί μου μαθητής. 27 [e]ὅστις οὐ βαστάζει τὸν σταυρὸν [f]ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἔρχεται ὀπίσω μου, οὐ δύναται εἶναί μου μαθητής.
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- ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ 14:26 ἑαυτοῦ WH NIV ] αὐτοῦ Treg RP
- ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ 14:26 τε WH Treg NIV ] δέ RP
- ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ 14:26 ψυχὴν ἑαυτοῦ WH NIV ] ἑαυτοῦ ψυχήν Treg RP
- ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ 14:26 εἶναί μου μαθητής WH Treg NIV ] μου μαθητὴς εἶναι RP
- ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ 14:27 ὅστις WH NA ] καὶ ὅστις Treg NIV RP
- ΚΑΤΑ ΛΟΥΚΑΝ 14:27 ἑαυτοῦ WH NIV ] αὐτοῦ Treg; αὑτοῦ RP
Luke 14:26-27
New Testament for Everyone
26 “If any of you come to me,” he said to them, “and don’t hate your father and your mother, your wife and your children, your brothers and your sisters—yes, and even your own life!—you can’t be my disciple. 27 If you don’t pick up your own cross and come after me, you can’t be my disciple.
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Luke 14:26-27
Good News Translation
26 (A)“Those who come to me cannot be my disciples unless they love me more than they love father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and themselves as well. 27 (B)Those who do not carry their own cross and come after me cannot be my disciples.
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Luke 14:26-27
New English Translation
26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate[a] his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life,[b] he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross[c] and follow[d] me cannot be my disciple.
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- Luke 14:26 tn This figurative use operates on a relative scale. God is to be loved more than family or self.
- Luke 14:26 tn Grk “his own soul,” but ψυχή (psuchē) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.
- Luke 14:27 sn It was customary practice in a Roman crucifixion for the prisoner to be made to carry his own cross. Jesus is speaking figuratively here in the context of rejection. If the priority is not one’s allegiance to Jesus, then one will not follow him in the face of possible rejection; see Luke 9:23.
- Luke 14:27 tn Grk “and come after.” In combination with the verb ἔρχομαι (erchomai) the improper preposition ὀπίσω (opisō) means “follow.”
Luke 14:26-27
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition
26 ‘Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
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