11:8a

I tell you: Jesus used the phrase I tell you to emphasize what he was saying. Jesus used these same words in 10:12.

I: The pronoun I here refers to a different person than the “I” in 11:7d. Here Jesus himself was speaking. He was no longer quoting the man who was unwilling to get out of bed. In some languages, it may be necessary to supply a phrase that clarifies this meaning. For example:

⌊Then Jesus said/added,⌋ “I tell you…”

you: The pronoun you here means “you disciples.”

11:8b

even though he will not get up to provide for him because of his friendship: You will need to consider several issues as you translate this complex phrase:

Issue 1—Pronouns

You will need to pay attention to the pronouns here. Notice that if you changed the “he” in 11:5b to “you,” here you will need to:

(a) change the word him to “you”

(b) change the word his to “your”

For example:

even if he will not get up and give you(sing) the bread because he is your friend

Issue 2—Meaning and restructuring

This complex phrase is literally “even if he will not get up and give him bread because he is his friend.” This means that friendship may not be a good enough reason for the man to get out of bed. The man may not be willing to get out of bed just because the man who asked for bread was his friend. Some other ways to translate this are:

• Reorder the phrases and put because of his friendship first. For example:

even if their friendship will not cause the man to get up and give him the bread
-or-
even though they are friends, this will not make the man get up and give him the bread

• Omit the word though and make the clause a complete sentence. For example:

He may not get up and give you the bread, just because you are his friend (Contemporary English Version)

Translate this in a way that is natural in your language.

because of his friendship: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as because of his friendship is literally “because he is his friend” in Greek. This probably means “the man in bed is a friend of the man at the door.” However, in some languages it may be best to say:

they were friends
-or-
you(dual) are friends

11:8c

yet because: Verse 11:8c introduces the reason why the man will get up. This reason contrasts with the reason in 11:8b. Even if friendship does not make the man get up, there is another reason why he will certainly get up. The Berean Standard Bible introduces this contrasting reason with the words yet because. Another way to translate this is:

But (Contemporary English Version)

In some languages you may not need a specific word to connect the contrasting reasons in these verse parts. For example:

What will cause him to get up to give you(sing) what you need is…

the man’s persistence: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the man’s persistence is literally “his shamelessness.” There are two ways to interpret this phrase:

(1) It refers to the shamelessness of the man in bed. According to this interpretation, the man in bed will get up so that people will not consider him to be shameless. He will get up because he wants to avoid shame and embarrassment. For example:

he will get up and give you what you want so his reputation won’t be damaged (New Living Translation (1996))

(New Living Translation (1996))

(2) It refers to the shamelessness of the man at the door. According to this interpretation, the word “shamelessness” in this context includes the ideas of both boldness and persistence. The man at the door was bold enough to go to his friend in the middle of the night and repeatedly ask for bread. For example:

he will get up and give you everything you need because you are not ashamed to keep on asking (Good News Translation)

(Berean Standard Bible, Good News Translation, King James Version, Revised Standard Version, New International Version, New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New Century Version, God’s Word, New Living Translation (2004), NET Bible, Contemporary English Version)

Although most English versions and commentaries support interpretation (2), it is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) for the following reasons:

(a) Interpretation (1) best fits the cultural context. In that culture, everyone would expect a man to feed his guest. If he had no food, he would go and borrow food, even in the middle of the night. Such an action would not be considered “shameless.” In contrast, someone who refused to provide food for a neighbor’s guest would be considered a shameless person.

(b) This interpretation best fits the meaning of the Greek word that is literally “shamelessness.” Many English versions translate this word as “persistence” or “boldness.” But the word is not used in this sense elsewhere, nor does the context explicitly indicate that the man at the door repeatedly called out or knocked.

persistence: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as persistence means “lack of sensitivity to what is proper,” “shamelessness.” In the cultural context described in this parable, this word contains implied information. The man would get up and give his friend some food because his neighbors might consider him shameless if he did not give him the food. The man needed to do what was culturally appropriate and show hospitality to a guest in the village.

Some other ways to translate this phrase are:

his ⌊desire to avoid⌋ shame
-or-

⌊his desire⌋ to protect his honor/reputation
-or-
he does not want to lose face
-or-
he does not want to be criticized
-or-
he does not want his name destroyed

General Comment on 11:8a–c

In some languages, it may be helpful to say what motivated the man to get up before saying what did not motivate him to get up. One way to reorder 11:8a–c is:

8aI tell you(plur), 8cbecause of his ⌊desire to avoid⌋ shame, he will get up and give you the bread. 8bFriendship by itself may not get him up!
-or-

8aListen, 8cthat man will get up and give you as much as you need to avoid shame/embarrassment. 8bHe may not get up just because you and he are friends!

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