14:10a

But: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But introduces a command that contrasts with the command in 14:8b: “do not take the place of honor (14:8b)…but rather…take the lowest place (14:10a).” Most English versions use a similar contrasting conjunction or exclamation. For example:

No (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
Instead (Good News Translation)

However, in some languages, this contrast with 14:8b may not be clear. Your readers may connect the command in 14:10a to the immediately preceding result in 14:9c: “you will be humiliated.” If that is true in your language, you may want to introduce 14:10a as a command that is based on the fact that people do not want to be humiliated. For example:

So when you are invited (New Century Version)

Some versions also leave the connection implied. For example:

When you are invited to be a guest (Contemporary English Version)

Indicate the connection between the commands in 14:10a and 14:8b in a clear and natural way in your language.

when you are invited: In some languages it may be necessary to indicate the place to which you are invited. Supply the same word or phrase as in 14:8a. It may also be necessary to indicate that you actually arrive at the feast. For example:

But when ⌊you arrive⌋ ⌊at a wedding feast to which⌋ you have been invited

In other languages it may be redundant to repeat the information in this clause, since it is clear from 14:8a. If that is true in your language, you may want to leave this information implied. For example:

Instead, take the lowest place… (New Living Translation (2004))

you: As in 14:8a Jesus continued to refer to any of his listeners. Use an appropriate form in your language.

go and sit in the last place: The Greek expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as go and sit in the last place is the same as the expression translated as “take the last place” in 14:9c. You may translate it with the same expression here if that is good style in your language. If it is not natural to repeat the same expression, you may use a similar expression, as the Berean Standard Bible has done.

go and sit: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as go and sit is more literally “go and take.” Some English versions, such as the Revised Standard Version, translate it that way. The verb “go” refers here to what the guest should do after he arrives at the feast. He should go to the least important place. Some English versions use the verb “take” here, and since the action of going to a seat is already implied in English by the verb “take,” some versions, such as the New International Version, have left the verb “go” implied. You may do what is natural in your language here.

14:10b

so that: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as so that introduces the purpose for taking the lowest place at the feast (14:10a). Jesus told his listeners what they should do at a feast in order to be honored by the host.

In some languages it may be more natural to begin a new sentence here. See the examples in the next note.

your host will come and tell you: The clause your host will come probably refers to the host coming to the place where you and the other guests are seated. It probably does not imply that the host had not yet come to the feast. It is good to translate in a way that avoids implying that. For example:

Then when your host sees you, he will come and say (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
so that when your host approaches he will say to you (NET Bible)
-or-
When the host comes to you, he may say (New Century Version)

and tell you: The words and tell you introduce a direct quotation of what the host would say. In some languages it may be more natural to use indirect speech here. For example:

he will tell you to move to a better seat

14:10c

Friend: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as Friend was a common and polite way for one man to address another. If this would not be natural in your language, you may use another polite form of address, such as “Brother” or “Sir.” In some languages it may also be necessary to use a pronoun with the term of address. For example:

My friend (Contemporary English Version)

move up to a better place: The expression that the Berean Standard Bible translates as move up to a better place is literally “go up to a higher place.” It means “go and take one of the seats intended for the more important guests.” The new seat was better in the sense than it was considered to be a place of honor. See how you translated “place of honor” in 14:8b.

In some languages it may not be natural to talk about moving to a “better place” unless one first mentions the original place. For example:

⌊That place is not good enough for you!⌋ Here is a place that is better.

14:10d

Then: Here the word Then introduces the result of 14:10a–c. When the host finds his guest in such an unimportant seat, he may tell him to take a more important one. Other ways to express this result are:

This will bring you honor (Good News Translation)
-or-
In this way you will receive honor

you will be honored in front of everyone at the table with you: In Greek this clause is more literally “(there) will be for you honor before all your fellow guests.” In this context it indicates that all the other people at the feast will see the host honoring the guest. Some other ways to translate this are:

all your fellow-guests will see the respect in which you are held (Revised English Bible)
-or-
all the others will see how much ⌊the host⌋ respects you

© 2009, 2010, 2013 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.