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Luke 7:11–15

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Raising a Widow’s Son

7:11Soon35 afterward36 Jesus37 went to a town38 called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. 7:12As he approached the town gate, a man39 who had died was being carried out,40 the only son of his mother (who41 was a widow42), and a large crowd from the town43 was with her. 7:13When44 the Lord saw her, he had compassion45 for her and said to her, “Do not weep.”467:14Then47 he came up48 and touched49 the bier,50 and those who carried it stood still. He51 said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 7:15So52 the dead man53 sat up and began to speak, and Jesus54 gave him back55 to his mother.

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Footnotes

  1. 35 Grk “And it happened that soon.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
  2. 36 Several variants to ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ (egeneto en tō) are found before the adverb ἑξῆς (hexēs), all of them clarifying by the use of the feminine article that the next day is meant (τῇ [tē] in D; ἐγένετο τῇ in W; ἐγένετο ἐν τῇ in א* C K 565 892 1424 ). But these readings are decidedly secondary, for they are more specific than Luke usually is, and involve an unparalleled construction (, article + ἡμέρα [hēmera] + ἑξῆς; elsewhere, when Luke uses this adverb, the noun it modifies is either implied or after the adverb [cf. Luke 9:37; Acts 21:1; 25:17; 27:18)]. The reading adopted for the translation is a more general time indicator; the article τῷ modifies an implied χρόνῳ (chronō), with the general sense of “soon afterward.”
  3. 37 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  4. 38 The term πόλις (polis) can refer to a small town, which is what Nain was. It was about six miles southeast of Nazareth.
  5. 39 Grk “behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis ( 468 1).
  6. 40 That is, carried out for burial. This was a funeral procession.
  7. 41 Grk “and she.” The clause introduced by καί (kai) has been translated as a relative clause for the sake of English style.
  8. 42 The description of the woman as a widow would mean that she was now socially alone and without protection in 1st century Jewish culture.
  9. 43 Or “city.”
  10. 44 Grk “And seeing her, the Lord.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. The participle ἰδών (idōn) has been taken temporally.
  11. 45 He had compassion. It is unusual for Luke to note such emotion by Jesus, though the other Synoptics tend to mention it (Matt 14:14; Mark 6:34; Matt 15:32; Mark 8:2).
  12. 46 The verb κλαίω (klaiō) denotes the loud wailing or lamenting typical of 1st century Jewish mourning.
  13. 47 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
  14. 48 Grk “coming up, he touched.” The participle προσελθών (proselthōn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
  15. 49 The act of having touched the bier would have rendered Jesus ceremonially unclean, but it did not matter to him, since he was expressing his personal concern (Num 19:11, 16).
  16. 50 Although sometimes translated “coffin,” the bier was actually a stretcher or wooden plank on which the corpse was transported to the place of burial. See L&N 6.109.
  17. 51 Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
  18. 52 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of Jesus’ command.
  19. 53 Or “the deceased.”
  20. 54 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  21. 55 In the context, the verb δίδωμι (didōmi) has been translated “gave back” rather than simply “gave.”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”

Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Afterward he was on his way to a town called Nain. His disciples and a large crowd were traveling with him. Just as he neared the gate of the town, a dead man was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the town was also with her. When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said, “Don’t weep.” Then he came up and touched the open coffin, and the pallbearers stopped. And he said, “Young man, I tell you, get up!”

The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

NLTNew Living Translation

Soon afterward Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.” Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And it happened that on the next day he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. And as he approached the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, his mother’s only son, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep!” And he came up and touched the bier, and those who were carrying it stopped. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and he gave him to his mother.

KJV 1900King James Version

And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people. Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.