Luke 10:39–42

10:39 She130 had a sister named Mary, who sat131 at the Lord’s feet132 and listened to what he said. 10:40 But Martha was distracted133 with all the preparations she had to make,134 so135 she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care136 that my sister has left me to do all the work137 alone? Tell138 her to help me.” 10:41 But the Lord139 answered her,140 “Martha, Martha,141 you are worried and troubled142 about many things, 10:42 but one thing143 is needed. Mary has chosen the best144 part; it will not be taken away from her.”

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130	tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
131	tn This reflexive makes it clear that Mary took the initiative in sitting by Jesus.
132	sn The description of Mary sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to him makes her sound like a disciple (compare Luke 8:35).
133	sn The term distracted means “to be pulled away” by something (L&N 25.238). It is a narrative comment that makes clear who is right in the account.
134	tn Grk “with much serving.”
135	tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the following was a result of Martha’s distraction.
136	tn The negative οὐ (ou) used with the verb expects a positive reply. Martha expected Jesus to respond and rebuke Mary.
137	tn Grk “has left me to serve alone.”
138	tn The conjunction οὖν (oun, “then, therefore”) has not been translated here.
139	tc Most mss (A B* C D W Θ Ψ f1, 13 𝔐 it) read “Jesus” instead of “the Lord” here, but κύριος (kurios, “Lord”) has the support of some weighty papyri, uncials, and other witnesses (𝔓3, [45],75 א B2 L 579 892 pc lat sa).
140	tn Grk “answering, said to her.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “answered her.”
141	sn The double vocative Martha, Martha communicates emotion.
142	tn Or “upset.” Here the meanings of μεριμνάω (merimnaō) and θορυβάζομαι (thorubazomai) reinforce each other (L&N 25.234).
143	tc Or, with some mss (𝔓3 [א] B C2 L 070vid f1 33 [579] pc), “few things are needed—or only one” (as well as other variants). The textual problem here is a difficult one to decide. The shorter reading is normally preferred, but it is not altogether clear how the variants would arise from it. However, the reading followed in the translation has good support (with some internal variations) from a number of witnesses (𝔓45, 75 A C* W Θ Ψ f13 𝔐 lat sa).
144	tn Or “better”; Grk “good.” This is an instance of the positive adjective used in place of the superlative adjective. According to ExSyn 298, this could also be treated as a positive for comparative (“better”).

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