Luke 6:9 I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath

Spoken to
The Pharisees

This verse is addressed to the man with the withered hand when the Pharisees are watching to see if he would hal on the Sabbath.

KJV

Luke 6:9 I will ask you one thing; Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?

NIV

Luke 6:9 “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

LISTENERS HEARD

I consult you whether it is allowed on the Sabbath to do good or to injure? to rescue a person or to destroy?

MY TAKE

Doing good is often not allowed.

GREEK ORDER

Ἐπερωτῶ   ὑμᾶς,   εἰ            ἔξεστιν             τῷ σαββάτῳ ἀγαθοποιῆσαι       κακοποιῆσαι,
I inquire of you     whether  it is allowed on the Sabbath  to do good      or to injure?

ψυχὴν     σῶσαι      ἀπολέσαι;
a person to rescue or to destroy?

                        

LOST IN TRANSLATION

The word translated as "lawful" does not reference the law. It means "it is not allowed." Jesus is not asking about what is commanded by the Divine, but what is allowed by priests. The commandment declare the Sabbath as a day of rest, but the priest defined the thirty-nine categories of work that are prohibited. Jesus moves the question from the type of work to its results. The "do good or do evil" are uncommon verbs for Jesus.  Their root means "to make." The prefixes mean "good" and "evil," the intent before the action. Jesus does not say save or destroy a "life," but "self" (see this explanation). By doing good or evil, we are saving ourselves as well as others.

 

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
5

I will(WT) ask(CW) you [one thing(OS)]; Is it lawful(CW) on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life(CW), or to destroy it?

  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "will" indicates the future tense, but that is not the tense here.
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "ask" is not the common word usually translated as "ask."
  • OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word translated as "one thing" existed in the KJV Greek source but not the source we use today.
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "lawful" is more specific than the word's meaning.
  • CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the common word usually translated as "life."
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
5

I ask you, which(CW) is lawful(CW) on the Sabbath to do good, or to do evil? to save life(CW), or to destroy it?

I will(WT) ask(CW) you [one thing(OS)]; Is it lawful(CW) on the Sabbath to do good, or to do evil? to save life(CW), or to destroy it?

  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "which" is not the common word usually translated as "which."
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "lawful" is more specific than the word's meaning.
  • CW --Confusing Word -- The "ask" is not the common word usually translated as "ask."
  • CW --Confusing Word -- This is not the common word usually translated as "life."
EACH WORD of KJV

I  -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.

will -- (WT) This helping verb "will" indicates the future tense, but the verb is not the future.

ask   -- (CW) The word translated as "ask" means "consult," inquire of," and "ask." It is used extremely commonly in the narrative parts of the NT, but Jesus the word rarely. Jesus usually uses another Greek word for this common idea.  Here, this word is used twice with Caiaphas and Pilot, when he is being "interrogated.," which is the best translation for how Jesus uses it. This is not the word usually translated as "ask."

you -- The "you" here is the second-person, plural pronoun in the form of an object of the action or preposition. As the object of a preposition, an accusative object indicates movement towards something or a position reached as a result of that movement.

one thing; -- (OS) There is nothing in the Greek that can be translated as "one thing" in the source we use today but it does exist in the source that the KJV translators used. In today's source this word is the "if/whether" that expresses a condition but it means nothing regarding whether that condition It also means "if ever," "in case," and "whenever" when citing a possibility.  It also means "if ever" and "whenever." When citing a fact  instead of a possibility, the sense is more  "whether," "since" or "as sure as."

is -- This helping verb indicates the present tense of the verb. It is used here to form the present, progressive tense, which doesn't exist in Greek but which can smooth the flow of English sentences.

it -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.

lawful: -- (CW) "Lawful" is a verb, which means "it is possible" and "it is allowed." It generally refers to something within someone's power, or, in this case with the negative, something outside of someone's power. This word does not, as it might seem, refer directly to Biblical law. This translation is more specific than the word's meaning.

on  -- This word "on" comes from the dative case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is a "to" for the English indirect object. However, the translator can choose other prepositions: "with,"  "in,"   "of,"  "as," "by," "for," "at," or "on" depending on the context.  

the   -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article; without a noun, it has the sense of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. 

sabbath  The word translated as "sabbath" is the Greek version of the Hebrew word "shabbat" meaning "rest" or "day of rest".  

to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the verb requires a "to" in English.

do good -- The verb translated as "to do good" means "to do good", "to do well", "to act rightly," and "to exert a beneficial influence." It combines the verb meaning "to make" or "to perform" with the common Greek adjective meaning "useful", "worthwhile," and "of high quality." See this article on "good" and this one on "evil."

 

or "Or" is translated from a Greek word that means primarily "or" but serves as "than" in a comparison.

to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the verb requires a "to" in English.

do evil: The verb translated as "to do evil" means "to do ill", "to play the knave," and "to do mischief," and "to injure." It combines the verb meaning "to make" or "to perform" with the common Greek adjective meaning many different forms of "bad," including "ugly", "low born", "craven," and "ill." In the NT, it is often translated as "evil." More about it in this article.

to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the verb requires a "to" in English.

save -- "Save" is the Greek word that means "to keep alive" when applied to people or "to keep safe" when applied to things. Jesus uses it to mean "rescue" in most cases.

life -- (CW) The word translated here as "life" is psyche, a common word in Greek, familiar in English, meaning "life," "soul," "consciousness," and "a sense of self." It is used for different aspects of "self," the emotional self, the conscious self, the intellectual self. It has a clear sense of the conscious self and is often translated as "life" in the Gospels. Jesus uses it to specifically mean our identity in our worldly life, the role we play on earth, what we might call the "social self," or what we commonly call our "ego." Since "life" is commonly translated from another Greek word. When "self" doesn't work, "person" offers less confusion. See this article for detail about this word.

or: "Or" is translated from a Greek word that means primarily "or" but serves as "than" in a comparison.

to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the verb requires a "to" in English.

destroy - -- The word translated as  "kill" to "destroy" or "demolish" and can be "perish" in the passive. However, it can also mean to "lose" things. Its literal meaning from its root is "destroy from" or "ruin from." It is often used in the middle voice to describe people losing or destroying themselves. This is not the common word for "kill," which is used in the parallel of this verse.

it - - There is no Greek pronoun here, but Greek does not need pronouns when the object can be assumed from the context. In English, they are added for the subject-verb-object form of our sentences.

 

EACH WORD of NIV

I  -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.

ask   -- (CW) The word translated as "ask" means "consult," inquire of," and "ask." It is used extremely commonly in the narrative parts of the NT, but Jesus the word rarely. Jesus usually uses another Greek word for this common idea.  Here, this word is used twice with Caiaphas and Pilot, when he is being "interrogated.," which is the best translation for how Jesus uses it. This is not the word usually translated as "ask."

you -- The "you" here is the second-person, plural pronoun in the form of an object of the action or preposition. As the object of a preposition, an accusative object indicates movement towards something or a position reached as a result of that movement.

which -- (CW) The "which" here is used to express conditions "if" (implying nothing about its fulfillment) or indirect and direct questions, "whether."It also means "if ever" and "whenever." When used in an "if" clause, the verb is the subjunctive form of possibility. When citing a fact  the sense is more  "whether," "since" or "as sure as."

lawful: -- (CW) "Lawful" is a verb, which means "it is possible" and "it is allowed." It generally refers to something within someone's power, or, in this case with the negative, something outside of someone's power. This word does not, as it might seem, refer directly to Biblical law. This translation is more specific than the word's meaning.

on  -- This word "on" comes from the dative case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English. The most common is a "to" for the English indirect object. However, the translator can choose other prepositions: "with,"  "in,"   "of,"  "as," "by," "for," "at," or "on" depending on the context.  

the   -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article; without a noun, it has the sense of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. 

Sabbath  --   The word translated as "ssabbath" is the Greek version of the Hebrew word "shabbat" meaning "rest" or "day of rest".   This noun is plural, not singular.

to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the verb requires a "to" in English.

do good -- The verb translated as "to do good" means "to do good", "to do well", "to act rightly," and "to exert a beneficial influence." It combines the verb meaning "to make" or "to perform" with the common Greek adjective meaning "useful", "worthwhile," and "of high quality." See this article on "good" and this one on "evil."

 

or "Or" is translated from a Greek word that means primarily "or" but serves as "than" in a comparison.

to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the verb requires a "to" in English.

do evil: The verb translated as "to do evil" means "to do ill", "to play the knave," and "to do mischief," and "to injure." It combines the verb meaning "to make" or "to perform" with the common Greek adjective meaning many different forms of "bad," including "ugly", "low born", "craven," and "ill." In the NT, it is often translated as "evil." More about it in this article.

to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the verb requires a "to" in English.

save -- "Save" is the Greek word that means "to keep alive" when applied to people or "to keep safe" when applied to things. Jesus uses it to mean "rescue" in most cases.

life -- (CW) The word translated here as "soul" is psyche, a common word in Greek, familiar in English, meaning "life," "soul," "consciousness," and "a sense of self." It is used for different aspects of "self," the emotional self, the conscious self, the intellectual self. It has a clear sense of the conscious self and is often translated as "life" in the Gospels. Jesus uses it to specifically mean our identity in our worldly life, the role we play on earth, what we might call the "social self," or what we commonly call our "ego." See this article for detail about this word.

or: "Or" is translated from a Greek word that means primarily "or" but serves as "than" in a comparison.

to -- This "to" is added because the infinitive form of the verb requires a "to" in English.

destroy - -- The word translated as  "kill" to "destroy" or "demolish" and can be "perish" in the passive. However, it can also mean to "lose" things. Its literal meaning from its root is "destroy from" or "ruin from." It is often used in the middle voice to describe people losing or destroying themselves. This is not the common word for "kill," which is used in the parallel of this verse.

it - - There is no Greek pronoun here, but Greek does not need pronouns when the object can be assumed from the context. In English, they are added for the subject-verb-object form of our sentences.

 

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

Ἐπερωτῶ  [2 verses](verb 1st sg pres ind act)  "I will ask"is eperotao, which means "consult", "inquire of", and "ask".

ὑμᾶς [210 verses](pron 2nd pl acc) "You" is humas which is the plural objective form of the second-person pronoun, "you."

εἰ [90 verses](conj) "If" is ei, which is the particle used to express conditions "if" (implying nothing about its fulfillment) or indirect questions, "whether." It also means "if ever," "in case," and "whenever" when citing a possibility.When citing a fact with a declarative verb, indicative, instead of one of possibility, the sense is more  "whether," "since" or "as sure as." It is combined with various conjunctions to create derivative conditions.

ἔξεστιν [7 verses] (verb 3rd sg pres ind act )  "Is it lawful" is exesti, which means "to be allowed," "is possible," and "to be in one's power." -- "It is lawful" is a verb, which means "it is possible" and "it is allowed." It generally refers to something within someone's power, or, in this case with the negative, something outside of someone's power. This word does not, as it might seem, refer directly to Biblical law.

τῷ [821 verses](article sg masc dat)  "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").

σαββάτῳ [17 verses](noun sg masc dat)  "On the sabbath days" is from sabbaton, which means "Sabbath", "seven days of week," and "first day of week."

ἀγαθοποιῆσαι   [4 verses](verb aor inf act ) "Do good" is from agathopoieo, which means "to do good", "to do well", "to act rightly," and "to exert a beneficial influence."

 [92 verses](conj) "Or" is which is a particle meaning "either", "or," or "than." --

κακοποιῆσαι,  [2 verses] (verb aor inf act) "Do evil" is kakopoieo, which means "to do ill", "to play the knave," and "to do mischief," and "to injure."

ψυχὴν  [33 verses](noun sg fem acc ) "Life" is psyche, which means "breath," "life," "self," "personality," "spirit," and "soul." It is also used to describe "the spirit" of things. It is also often translated as "soul."

σῶσαι  [25 verse](verb aor inf act) "Save" is sozo (soizo), which means "save from death," "keep alive," "keep safe," "preserve," "maintain," "keep in mind," "carry off safely," and "rescue."

[92 verses](conj/adv)  "Or" is which is a particle meaning "either", "or," or "than." -- "Or" is translated from a Greek word that means primarily "or" but serves as "than" in a comparison.

ἀπολέσαι; [43 verses] (verb aor inf act) is apollymi, which means "to demolish," "to lay waste," "to lose" things, "to perish," "to die," "to cease to exist," and "to be undone." Its literal meaning from its root is "destroy from" or "ruin from."

Wordplay

The "kill" also means "to destroy a reputation" and Jesus often uses it when his position is challenged. 

parallel comparison

The word translated as "kill" here is a different Greek word from the other parallels of this verse.

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