Luke 7:38-50
New American Standard Bible
38 and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and she wiped them with the hair of her head, and began kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself, “If this Man were (A)a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a [a]sinner!”
Parable of Two Debtors
40 And Jesus responded and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he [b]replied, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A moneylender had two debtors: the one owed five hundred [c](B)denarii, and the other, fifty. 42 When they (C)were unable to repay, he canceled the debts of both. So which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered and said, “I assume the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” 44 And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you (D)gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You [d](E)gave Me no kiss; but she has not stopped kissing My feet since the time I came in. 46 (F)You did not [e]anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. 47 For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but the one who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 And He said to her, “(G)Your sins have been forgiven.” 49 And then those who were reclining at the table with Him began saying [f]to themselves, “(H)Who is this Man who even forgives sins?” 50 And He said to the woman, “(I)Your faith has saved you; (J)go in peace.”
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Luke 7:38-50
The Message
Anointing His Feet
36-39 One of the Pharisees asked him over for a meal. He went to the Pharisee’s house and sat down at the dinner table. Just then a woman of the village, the town harlot, having learned that Jesus was a guest in the home of the Pharisee, came with a bottle of very expensive perfume and stood at his feet, weeping, raining tears on his feet. Letting down her hair, she dried his feet, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfume. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man was the prophet I thought he was, he would have known what kind of woman this is who is falling all over him.”
40 Jesus said to him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Oh? Tell me.”
41-42 “Two men were in debt to a banker. One owed five hundred silver pieces, the other fifty. Neither of them could pay up, and so the banker canceled both debts. Which of the two would be more grateful?”
43-47 Simon answered, “I suppose the one who was forgiven the most.”
“That’s right,” said Jesus. Then turning to the woman, but speaking to Simon, he said, “Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair. You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn’t quit kissing my feet. You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume. Impressive, isn’t it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.”
48 Then he spoke to her: “I forgive your sins.”
49 That set the dinner guests talking behind his back: “Who does he think he is, forgiving sins!”
50 He ignored them and said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
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Luke 7:38-50
New English Translation
38 As[a] she stood[b] behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. She[c] wiped them with her hair,[d] kissed[e] them,[f] and anointed[g] them with the perfumed oil. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this,[h] he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet,[i] he would know who and what kind of woman[j] this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” 40 So[k] Jesus answered him,[l] “Simon, I have something to say to you.” He replied,[m] “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A certain creditor[n] had two debtors; one owed him[o] 500 silver coins,[p] and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he canceled[q] the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered,[r] “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”[s] Jesus[t] said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then,[u] turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet,[v] but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss of greeting,[w] but from the time I entered she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet[x] with perfumed oil. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which were many, are forgiven, thus she loved much;[y] but the one who is forgiven little loves little.” 48 Then[z] Jesus[aa] said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”[ab] 49 But[ac] those who were at the table[ad] with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 He[ae] said to the woman, “Your faith[af] has saved you;[ag] go in peace.”
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- Luke 7:38 tn Grk “And standing.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
- Luke 7:38 tn Grk “standing”; the participle στᾶσα (stasa) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
- Luke 7:38 tn Grk “tears, and she.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
- Luke 7:38 tn Grk “with the hair of her head.”
- Luke 7:38 tn Grk “and kissed,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
- Luke 7:38 tn Grk “kissed his feet,” but this has been replaced by the pronoun “them” in keeping with contemporary English style.
- Luke 7:38 sn The series of verbs in this verse detail the woman’s every move, much as if the onlookers were watching her every step. That she attended the meal is not so surprising, as teachers often ate an open meal where listeners were welcome, but for her to approach Jesus was unusual and took great nerve, especially given her reputation.
- Luke 7:39 tn The word “this” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
- Luke 7:39 tn This is a good example of a second class (contrary to fact) Greek conditional sentence. The Pharisee said, in effect, “If this man were a prophet (but he is not)…”
- Luke 7:39 sn The Pharisees believed in a form of separationism that would have prevented them from any kind of association with such a sinful woman.
- Luke 7:40 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the connection with the preceding statement recording the Pharisee’s thoughts.
- Luke 7:40 tn Grk “answering, said to him.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “answered him.”sn Jesus answered him. Note that as the Pharisee is denying to himself that Jesus is a prophet, Jesus is reading his thoughts.
- Luke 7:40 tn Grk “he said.”
- Luke 7:41 sn A creditor was a moneylender, whose business was to lend money to others at a fixed rate of interest.
- Luke 7:41 tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
- Luke 7:41 tn Grk “five hundred denarii.”sn The silver coins were denarii. The denarius was worth about a day’s wage for a laborer; this would be an amount worth not quite two years’ pay. The debts were significant: They represented two months’ pay and one and three quarter years’ pay (20 months) based on a six day work week.
- Luke 7:42 tn The verb ἐχαρίσατο (echarisato) could be translated as “forgave.” Of course this pictures the forgiveness of God’s grace, which is not earned but bestowed with faith (see v. 49).
- Luke 7:43 tn Grk “answering, said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “answered.”
- Luke 7:43 tn Grk “the one to whom he forgave more” (see v. 42).
- Luke 7:43 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
- Luke 7:44 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
- Luke 7:44 sn It is discussed whether these acts in vv. 44-46 were required by the host. Most think they were not, but this makes the woman’s acts of respect all the more amazing.
- Luke 7:45 tn Grk “no kiss.” This refers to a formalized kiss of greeting, standard in that culture. To convey this to the modern reader, the words “of greeting” have been supplied to qualify what kind of kiss is meant.
- Luke 7:46 sn This event is not equivalent to the anointing of Jesus that takes place in the last week of his life (Matt 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9; John 12:1-8). That woman was not a sinner, and Jesus was eating in the home of Simon the leper, who, as a leper, could never be a Pharisee.
- Luke 7:47 tn Grk “for she loved much.” The connection between this statement and the preceding probably involves an ellipsis, to the effect that the ὅτι clause gives the evidence of forgiveness, not the ground. For similar examples of an “evidentiary” ὅτι, cf. Luke 1:22; 6:21; 13:2. See discussion in D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:703-5. Further evidence that this is the case here is the final statement: “the one who is forgiven little loves little” means that the one who is forgiven little is thus not able to love much. The REB renders this verse: “her great love proves that her many sins have been forgiven; where little has been forgiven, little love is shown.”sn She loved much. Jesus’ point is that the person who realizes how great a gift forgiveness is (because they have a deep sense of sin) has a great love for the one who forgives, that is, God. The woman’s acts of reverence to Jesus honored him as the one who brought God’s message of grace.
- Luke 7:48 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
- Luke 7:48 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Luke 7:48 sn Jesus showed his authority to forgive sins, something that was quite controversial. See Luke 5:17-26 and the next verse.
- Luke 7:49 tn Grk “And”; here καί (kai) has been translated as an adversative (contrastive).
- Luke 7:49 tn Grk “were reclining at table.”
- Luke 7:50 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
- Luke 7:50 sn On faith see Luke 5:20; 7:9; 8:25; 12:28; 17:6; 18:8; 22:32.
- Luke 7:50 sn The questioning did not stop Jesus. He declared authoritatively that the woman was forgiven by God (your faith has saved you). This event is a concrete example of Luke 5:31-32.
Luke 7:38-50
New Living Translation
38 Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”
40 Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.”
“Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.
41 Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver[a] to one and 50 pieces to the other. 42 But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”
43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.”
“That’s right,” Jesus said. 44 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.
47 “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” 48 Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?”
50 And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
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- 7:41 Greek 500 denarii. A denarius was equivalent to a laborer’s full day’s wage.
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