4:26a

Yet: This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that is often translated as “and.” Some English versions, such as the English Standard Version, translate it that way. However, the events in 4:26 are the opposite of what one might expect would happen to the widows in Israel. For this reason, many English versions, like the Berean Standard Bible, translate this conjunction as “but” or “yet.” For example:

But (New Century Version)
-or-
and yet (New American Standard Bible)

Elijah was not sent to any of them: The verb phrase was not sent is passive. Some ways to translate this are:

• Use a passive clause. For example:

Elijah was sent to none of those widows (New Century Version)

• Use an active clause. God is the implied subject. For example:

⌊God⌋ did not send him to any of them

Elijah: Elijah is the name of man who was a well-known prophet. Jesus did not explicitly call him a prophet. But Jesus did call Elisha a prophet in 4:27a. For this reason, you may also translate the name Elijah as “the prophet Elijah.”

not…any of them: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as not…any of them is literally “none of them.” The word them refers to the many widows in Israel (in 4:25a). Another way to translate this is:

none of those widows (New Century Version)

4:26b

but: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as but is translated in some versions as “except” (God’s Word, New King James Version, New Revised Standard Version). It indicates a contrast between the widows to whom Elijah was not sent (in 4:26a) and the one widow to whom he was sent (in 4:26b).

If you began 4:26a with the conjunction “but,” it may not be natural to also begin 4:26b with the same conjunction. Some other ways to begin 4:26b are:

He was sent instead (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Rather

to the widow: The phrase to the widow is an ellipsis. In this context it means:

⌊Elijah was sent⌋ to a widow
-or-

⌊God sent Elijah⌋ to a widow

of Zarephath in Sidon: The word Zarephath is the name of the town where the widow lived. This town was a Gentile town in another country north of Israel. It was near the city of Sidon.

It may be important to make it clear in your translation that Zarephath was not a town in the country of Israel. For example:

⌊who lived outside Israel⌋ in Zarephath near Sidon

General Comment on 4:26a–b

Luke 4:26a tells what did not happen and 4:26b tells what did happen. In some languages it may be more natural to change the order of 4:26a 4:26b in order to say first what did happen. For example:

26bBut ⌊God⌋ sent Elijah to a ⌊Gentile⌋ widow in Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, 26aand not to one of the widows in Israel.

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