^7:41“A certain creditor¹⁴⁵ had two debtors; one owed him¹⁴⁶ five hundred silver coins,¹⁴⁷ and the other fifty. ^7:42When they could not pay, he canceled¹⁴⁸ the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” ^7:43Simon answered,¹⁴⁹ “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”¹⁵⁰ Jesus¹⁵¹ said to him, “You have judged rightly.” ^7:44Then,¹⁵² turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet,¹⁵³ but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ^7:45You gave me no kiss of greeting,¹⁵⁴ but from the time I entered she has not stopped kissing my feet. ^7:46You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet¹⁵⁵ with perfumed oil. ^7:47Therefore I tell you, her sins, which were many, are forgiven, thus she loved much;¹⁵⁶ but the one who is forgiven little loves little.”

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Footnotes

145 A creditor was a moneylender, whose business was to lend money to others at a fixed rate of interest.
146 The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
147 Grk “five hundred denarii.” The silver coins were denarii. The denarius was worth about a day’s wage for a laborer; this would be an amount worth not quite two years’ pay. The debts were significant: They represented two months’ pay and one and three quarter years’ pay (20 months) based on a six day work week.
148 The verb ἐχαρίσατο (echarisato) could be translated as “forgave.” Of course this pictures the forgiveness of God’s grace, which is not earned but bestowed with faith (see v. 49).
149 Grk “answering, said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “answered.”
150 Grk “the one to whom he forgave more” (see v. 42).
151 Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
152 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
153 It is discussed whether these acts in vv. 44–46 were required by the host. Most think they were not, but this makes the woman’s acts of respect all the more amazing.
154 Grk “no kiss.” This refers to a formalized kiss of greeting, standard in that culture. To convey this to the modern reader, the words “of greeting” have been supplied to qualify what kind of kiss is meant.
155 This event is not equivalent to the anointing of Jesus that takes place in the last week of his life (Matt 26:6–13; Mark 14:3–9; John 12:1–8). That woman was not a sinner, and Jesus was eating in the home of Simon the leper, who, as a leper, could never be a Pharisee.
156 Grk “for she loved much.” The connection between this statement and the preceding probably involves an ellipsis, to the effect that the ὅτι clause gives the evidence of forgiveness, not the ground. For similar examples of an “evidentiary” ὅτι, cf. Luke 1:22; 6:21; 13:2. See discussion in D. L. Bock, Luke [], 1:. Further evidence that this is the case here is the final statement: “the one who is forgiven little loves little” means that the one who is forgiven little is thus not able to love much. The renders this verse: “her great love proves that her many sins have been forgiven; where little has been forgiven, little love is shown.” She loved much. Jesus’ point is that the person who realizes how great a gift forgiveness is (because they have a deep sense of sin) has a great love for the one who forgives, that is, God. The woman’s acts of reverence to Jesus honored him as the one who brought God’s message of grace.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“A creditor had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Since they could not pay it back, he graciously forgave them both. So, which of them will love him more?”

Simon answered, “I suppose the one he forgave more.”

“You have judged correctly,” he told him. Turning to the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she, with her tears, has washed my feet and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she hasn’t stopped kissing my feet since I came in. You didn’t anoint my head with olive oil, but she has anointed my feet with perfume. Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little, loves little.”

NLTNew Living Translation

Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”

Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.”

“That’s right,” Jesus said. Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.

“I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“There were two debtors who owed a certain creditor. One owed five hundred denarii and the other fifty. When they were not able to repay him, he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose that it is the one to whom he forgave more.” And he said to him, “You have judged correctly.” And turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered into your house. You did not give me water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but from the time I entered, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not anoint my head with olive oil, but she anointed my feet with perfumed oil. For this reason I tell you, her sins—which were many—have been forgiven, for she loved much. But the one to whom little is forgiven loves little.”

KJV 1900King James Version

There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

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