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Healing a Leper

12 While[a] Jesus[b] was in one of the towns,[c] a man came[d] to him who was covered with[e] leprosy.[f] When[g] he saw Jesus, he bowed down with his face to the ground[h] and begged him,[i] “Lord, if[j] you are willing, you can make me clean.” 13 So[k] he stretched out his hand and touched[l] him, saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 Then[m] he ordered the man[n] to tell no one,[o] but commanded him,[p] “Go[q] and show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering[r] for your cleansing, as Moses commanded,[s] as a testimony to them.”[t] 15 But the news about him spread even more,[u] and large crowds were gathering together to hear him[v] and to be healed of their illnesses. 16 Yet Jesus himself[w] frequently withdrew[x] to the wilderness[y] and prayed.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 5:12 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.
  2. Luke 5:12 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  3. Luke 5:12 tn Or “cities.”
  4. Luke 5:12 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. Luke 5:12 tn Grk “full of leprosy” (an idiom for a severe condition).
  6. Luke 5:12 sn See the note on lepers in Luke 4:27.
  7. Luke 5:12 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 (idōn) has been taken temporally.
  8. Luke 5:12 tn Grk “he fell on his face”; an idiom for bowing down with one’s face to the ground.
  9. Luke 5:12 tn Grk “and begged him, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
  10. Luke 5:12 tn This is a third class condition. The report portrays the leper making no presumptions about whether Jesus will heal him or not.
  11. Luke 5:13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the response of Jesus to the man’s request.
  12. Luke 5:13 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).
  13. Luke 5:14 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  14. Luke 5:14 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  15. Luke 5:14 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.
  16. Luke 5:14 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.
  17. Luke 5:14 tn Grk “Going, show.” The participle ἀπελθών (apelthōn) has been translated as an attendant circumstance participle. Here the syntax also changes somewhat abruptly from indirect discourse to direct discourse.
  18. Luke 5:14 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.
  19. Luke 5:14 sn On the phrase as Moses commanded see Lev 14:1-32.
  20. Luke 5:14 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.
  21. Luke 5:15 sn That is, in spite of Jesus’ instructions to the man to tell no one about the healing (v. 14).
  22. Luke 5:15 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.
  23. Luke 5:16 tn Here αὐτός (autos) has been translated reflexively.
  24. Luke 5:16 tn Grk “was withdrawing” (ἦν ὑποχωρῶν, ēn hupochōrōn). The adverb “frequently” has been added in the translation to bring out what is most likely an iterative force to the imperfect. However, the imperfect might instead portray an ingressive idea: “he began to withdraw.” See ExSyn 542-43.
  25. Luke 5:16 tn Or “desert.”

A Leper Cleansed

12 And it happened that while he was in one of the towns, there was[a] a man covered with leprosy.[b] And when he[c] saw Jesus, he fell down on his face and[d] begged him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you are able to make me clean.” 13 And extending his[e] hand he touched him, saying, “I am willing; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy went away from him. 14 And he ordered him, “Tell no one, but go and[f] show yourself to the priest and bring the offering[g] for your cleansing just as Moses commanded, for a testimony to them. 15 But the report about him spread even more, and large crowds were gathering to hear him[h] and to be healed of their illnesses. 16 But he himself was withdrawing in the wilderness and praying.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 5:12 Literally “behold”
  2. Luke 5:12 Literally “full of leprosy”
  3. Luke 5:12 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal
  4. Luke 5:12 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“fell down”) has been translated as a finite verb
  5. Luke 5:13 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
  6. Luke 5:14 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“go”) has been translated as a finite verb
  7. Luke 5:14 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
  8. Luke 5:15 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation