Translation commentary on Luke 6:9

Exegesis:

eperōtō humas, ei exestin ‘I ask you whether it is permitted.’ For eperōtō cf. on 2.46; for exestin on v. 2.

agathopoiēsai ē kakopoiēsai ‘to do good or to do harm.’

agathopoieō ‘to do good,’ in the sense of helping.

kakopoieō ‘to do wrong’ or ‘to harm,’ here probably in the latter meaning.

psuchēn sōsai ē apolesai ‘to save life or to destroy (it),’ an explanation of what agathopoiēsai ē kakopoiēsai refer to. psuchē (cf. on 1.46) means here ‘human life’ nor ‘living person.’ apollumi means ‘to destroy,’ rather than “to let perish” (Twentieth Century New Testament, cf. also Nieuwe Vertaling and Willibrord).

Translation:

Said to them. A specification of the pronoun may be necessary, e.g. ‘to the men who were watching’ (Javanese).

I ask you helps to bring out the decisive character of the subsequent question, hence ‘I put this question to you’ (cf. New English Bible, Balinese).

Is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm…?, a question anticipating the answer: only to do good (is lawful on the sabbath). Idiom may require finite verbal forms, e.g. ‘that we do good or do harm’ (cf. Tzeltal, Tboli). A question, asking for a choice between two (or more) alternatives may require a specific connective, e.g. ‘or-else’ (lit. if not so) (Sranan Tongo), or an interrogative pronoun meaning ‘which-one-out-of-two (or more)’ (Javanese). To do good or to do harm, or, ‘to do what is good or to do what is harmful/bad’ (Tae,’ Batak Toba). It may be necessary to add an object, ‘to do a person good or to do him harm.’

To save life, or, ‘to save a person,’ ‘to save a person’s life.’ The verb is used here in the sense of ‘to deliver from bodily harm.’ Some renderings used here are, ‘to spare (lit. hide) a person’s life’ (Sranan Tongo), ‘to snatch away life from danger’ (Cuyono).

To destroy it, or, ‘to destroy/kill him, or, that person.’

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 6:9

6:9a

Then: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then introduces the next development in the conflict. Most English versions translate it here as “Then.” A few versions translate it as “And” (Revised Standard Version). Connect verses 6:8 and 6:9 in the way that is most natural in your language.

Jesus said to them: Jesus asked the Pharisees and the teachers of the law a question. In some languages, it may be natural to translate this as:

Jesus asked them

them: The pronoun them refers to the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. They were the people who wanted to accuse Jesus. The pronoun does not refer to the whole crowd.

6:9b–d

I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?: This is a rhetorical question. It emphasizes a fact that everyone knew to be true: It was lawful on the Sabbath to do good, not evil. It was also lawful to save life, not to kill. Jesus emphasized this fact in order to challenge the Pharisees and teachers of the law. He challenged them to admit that healing the man on the Sabbath was lawful.

There are at least two ways to translate this rebuke:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it? (New Living Translation (2004))

• As a statement and a challenge. For example:

We know that it is lawful on the Sabbath to do good, and not to do harm. We know that it is lawful to save life, and not to kill. Do you agree with this?
-or-
I want you to consider whether our law permits us to do good or to do evil on the rest day. Tell me whether it permits us to save a person’s life or to kill him.

Use whichever form is most natural in your language to emphasize a fact that everyone knows is true and to express a challenge.

6:9b

I ask you: The phrase I ask you introduces a question. Some other ways to translate this are:

I have a question for you. (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Here is a question:
-or-
Consider this:

which is lawful: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as lawful means “permitted ⌊in the religious law⌋.” It is the same word that was used in 6:2b and 6:4b. You should translate it in the same way here. Some other ways to translate this word are:

Does the law permit (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
Is it legal (New Living Translation (1996))
-or-
what is the right thing (God’s Word)

Sabbath: For advice on translating the word Sabbath, see the note at 6:1a.

6:9c

to do good or to do evil: The terms good and evil are very general terms. Use general terms to describe what is morally good/right and what is morally evil/wrong. You could also use a term that means to help people and a term that means to hurt or harm people. For example:

To help or to harm? (Good News Translation)
-or-
to help ⌊someone⌋ or to harm ⌊someone⌋

6:9d

to save life: The phrase to save life in this context refers to saving someone from danger or distress. If you cannot speak generally about saving life, you could say:

to save/rescue a person
-or-
to save/rescue a person ⌊from danger/death⌋

See save, Meaning 1a, in the Glossary.

to destroy it: The phrase to destroy it means “to destroy a life” or “to kill.” If you have an expression similar to “save a life,” use an expression here that contrasts with it, even if your expression does not use the word “destroy.” If you must speak about saving a person, then you could simply say “to kill” or “to kill a person” here.

General Comment on 6:9b–d

In some languages, it may be clearer to express 6:9b–d as four separate questions or statements. For example:

Does our Law allow ⌊us⌋ to do good on the Sabbath? Or does it allow ⌊us⌋ to do evil? Does it allow us to save ⌊someone’s⌋ life? Or does it allow ⌊us⌋ to kill ⌊someone⌋?

In other languages, it may be more natural to express 6:9b–d as two questions. One question could refer to the actions of doing good and saving life. The other question could refer to the actions of doing evil and killing. For example:

Is it lawful to do good and to save ⌊a⌋ life? Or it is lawful to do evil and to kill ⌊someone⌋?

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