Section 15:8–10

Jesus told a parable about a woman looking for her lost coin

The parable about the lost coin in 15:8–10 is similar to the parable in the last section about the lost sheep. It has a similar theme, and it contains some similar words and phrases. You should translate these words and phrases in similar ways, if possible. In this parable a woman searched diligently for a lost coin until she found it. She then invited her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her that she had found the coin.

Some other headings for this section are:

The Lost Coin (Good News Translation)
-or-
A woman was happy to find a lost coin

Paragraph 15:8–10

15:8a–d

Or what woman who has ten silver coins and loses one of them does not light a lamp, sweep her house, and search carefully until she finds it?: Jesus used this rhetorical question to emphasize what a woman would do if she lost a valuable coin. She would certainly search carefully for the coin until she found it.

Here are some other ways to translate this verse.

• As an introductory statement and a shorter rhetorical question. For example: Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? (New International Version)

• As two rhetorical questions. For example:

What will a woman do if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them? Won’t she light a lamp, sweep the floor, and look carefully until she finds it? (Contemporary English Version)

• As two or more statements. For example:

Suppose there is a woman who has ten silver coins but loses one of them. ⌊We all know what she would do.⌋ She would light a lamp and sweep the entire house, searching carefully until she found the coin.

15:8a–b

Or: In Greek, this verse begins with a conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as “Or.” This conjunction introduces a parable that has the same theme as the preceding parable. Another way to introduce a similar example like this is:

In the same way
-or-
Here is another example

See how you introduced the second example in 14:31, which begins in the same way.

If you put a section heading before this verse, you may want to indicate at the beginning of the verse that Jesus was still speaking. For example:

Jesus told the people another story. (Contemporary English Version)
-or-

⌊Jesus continued⌋

ten silver coins: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as ten silver coins is literally “ten drachmas,” as in the New Jerusalem Bible. A drachma was a Greek coin made of silver. It was worth about one day’s pay for a common worker. Some other ways to translate this expression are:

• Use a general word or expression that does not specify the name of the coin. For example:

ten silver coins (Good News Translation)

• Use an expression that explains the value of the coins. For example:

money worth the pay/wages for ten days of work

• Use a transliterated or borrowed term. In Muslim countries, the Arabic term “dirham” may be an option.

You may also want to include a footnote with more information. For example:

Each of these coins was worth as much as an ordinary worker earned for one day of work.

15:8c–d

light a lamp: The type of lamp that Jesus referred to here was probably a small container with a wick. It burned oil.

Some ways to translate it are:

• Use a specific type of lamp that people use in your culture. A type that burns oil or kerosene is a good option.

• Use a different type of light, such as a pitch-pine torch or a candle.

• Use a general word for lamp or light.

If you use a specific type of lamp from your culture, do not use a word that refers only to a modern type of lamp or only to a pressurized lamp.

See how you translated the word “lamp” in 11:33a.

sweep her house: The phrase sweep her house means to brush the floor with a broom, usually to clean it. For example:

sweep the floor (Contemporary English Version)

However, in this context the woman swept the floor in order to search it for the missing coin. In some cultures people would not search a floor by sweeping it. If that is true in your culture, you may want to use a more general expression. For example:

search the floor/house

A similar expression occurs in 11:25b.

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