independentparticipialpurposecausecontentconditionaldashed = verbless / suspended
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The man with dropsy — a sabbath test at the Pharisee's table 14:1–6
vv. 1–2 — the watched meal and the man placed before him
1
Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ ἐλθεῖν αὐτὸν εἰς οἶκόν τινος τῶν ἀρχόντων [τῶν] Φαρισαίων σαββάτῳ φαγεῖν ἄρτονindependent — Septuagintal ἐγένετο-frame; ἐν τῷ + infinitive = 'when' — a sabbath meal at a leader's table
καὶ αὐτοὶ ἦσαν παρατηρούμενοι αὐτόν.independent — apodotic καί; periphrastic imperfect — παρατηρέω, surveillance with hostile intent
2
καὶ ἰδοὺ ἄνθρωπός τις ἦν ὑδρωπικὸς ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ.independent — ἰδού spotlights the afflicted man 'before him' — the bait of the test; ὑδρωπικός a NT hapax
vv. 3–6 — the ἔξεστιν question, the healing, the unanswerable argument
3
καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν πρὸς τοὺς νομικοὺς καὶ Φαρισαίους λέγων·independent — ἀποκριθείς — he 'answers' their unspoken watching; the question put to the experts first
ἔξεστιν τῷ σαββάτῳ θεραπεῦσαι ἢ οὔ;content — the ἔξεστιν question — Jesus seizes the initiative before acting
4
οἱ δὲ ἡσύχασαν.independent — ingressive aorist — the experts fall silent; the floor is his
καὶ ἐπιλαβόμενοςparticipial — preposed aorist participle — the grasp before the healing verb; leans on ἰάσατο
ἰάσατο αὐτὸνindependent — the deed done in the silence
καὶ ἀπέλυσεν.independent — the man dismissed — removed from the contest he was bait for
5
καὶ πρὸς αὐτοὺς εἶπεν·independent — the argument follows the act
τίνος ὑμῶν υἱὸς ἢ βοῦς εἰς φρέαρ πεσεῖται,content — the rescue argument — υἱὸς ἢ βοῦς printed; the ὄνος ('donkey') variant noted
καὶ οὐκ εὐθέως ἀνασπάσει αὐτὸν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ τοῦ σαββάτου;content — interrogative οὐκ expects 'yes' — their own sabbath mercy convicts them
6
καὶ οὐκ ἴσχυσαν ἀνταποκριθῆναι πρὸς ταῦτα.independent — ἀνταποκρίνομαι, answer back — the controversy closes in silence, as it began
Places at the table — the humbled and the exalted 14:7–11
v. 7 — the frame: he watches them choose the best couches
7
Ἔλεγεν δὲ πρὸς τοὺς κεκλημένους παραβολήν,independent — inceptive imperfect — the table-parable begins; κεκλημένους, the chapter's keyword καλέω enters
ἐπέχων πῶς τὰς πρωτοκλισίας ἐξελέγοντο,participial — causal-circumstantial — the jockeying for πρωτοκλισίαι prompts the parable; indirect question kept in line
λέγων πρὸς αὐτούς·participial — pleonastic speech-participle — the frame for vv. 8–11
vv. 8–9 — the prohibition and its feared outcome: the walk of shame
8
ὅταν κληθῇς ὑπό τινος εἰς γάμους,conditional — temporal ὅταν protasis (typed cnd) — forward-leaning on the prohibition
μὴ κατακλιθῇς εἰς τὴν πρωτοκλισίαν,content — prohibitive subjunctive — do not presume the top couch
μήποτε ἐντιμότερός σου ᾖ κεκλημένος ὑπ' αὐτοῦ,purpose — μήποτε clause of apprehension (typed pur) — the periphrastic perfect: the rival already stands invited
9
καὶ ἐλθὼν ὁ σὲ καὶ αὐτὸν καλέσας ἐρεῖ σοι·purpose — coordinate with the μήποτε clause — the host who called both holds the seating rights
δὸς τούτῳ τόπον,content — the dreaded sentence — one curt imperative
καὶ τότε ἄρξῃ μετὰ αἰσχύνης τὸν ἔσχατον τόπον κατέχειν.purpose — the chain's last link — μετὰ αἰσχύνης, the public demotion; only the last place is left
vv. 10–11 — the counter-counsel and the reversal maxim
10
ἀλλ' ὅταν κληθῇς,conditional — the answering ὅταν protasis — forward-leaning on the command
πορευθεὶς ἀνάπεσε εἰς τὸν ἔσχατον τόπον,content — attendant πορευθείς + imperative — choose the ἔσχατος τόπος yourself
ἵνα ὅταν ἔλθῃ ὁ κεκληκώς σε ἐρεῖ σοι·purpose — ἵνα with future ἐρεῖ (Koine mixing) — the embedded ὅταν clause kept in line
φίλε, προσανάβηθι ἀνώτερον·content — φίλε — the address the shamed man never hears; προσαναβαίνω a NT hapax (cf. Prov 25:6–7)
τότε ἔσται σοι δόξα ἐνώπιον πάντων τῶν συνανακειμένων σοι.content — τότε answers the τότε of v. 9 — δόξα conferred, not seized, before all
11
ὅτι πᾶς ὁ ὑψῶν ἑαυτὸν ταπεινωθήσεται,cause — the reversal maxim grounding the whole counsel — divine passive: God does the humbling
καὶ ὁ ταπεινῶν ἑαυτὸν ὑψωθήσεται.cause — the chiasm's answering half (cf. 18:14) — the etiquette lesson becomes eschatology
Whom to invite — guests who cannot repay 14:12–14
v. 12 — to the host: not those who can reciprocate
12
Ἔλεγεν δὲ καὶ τῷ κεκληκότι αὐτόν·independent — the guests corrected, now the host — τῷ κεκληκότι, καλέω again
ὅταν ποιῇς ἄριστον ἢ δεῖπνον,conditional — ὅταν protasis (typed cnd) — forward-leaning on the prohibition
μὴ φώνει τοὺς φίλους σου μηδὲ τοὺς ἀδελφούς σου μηδὲ τοὺς συγγενεῖς σου μηδὲ γείτονας πλουσίους,content — present prohibition — do not make a habit of it; the fourfold μηδέ list of reciprocators
μήποτε καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀντικαλέσωσίν σεpurpose — μήποτε clause (typed pur) — ἀντικαλέω, invite back, a NT hapax: the economy of reciprocity
καὶ γένηται ἀνταπόδομά σοι.purpose — the feared outcome is being paid back — repayment here forfeits repayment there (v. 14)
vv. 13–14 — the four who cannot repay, and the blessing
13
ἀλλ' ὅταν δοχὴν ποιῇς,conditional — the answering ὅταν protasis — δοχή, a reception-feast
κάλει πτωχούς, ἀναπείρους, χωλούς, τυφλούς·content — the asyndetic four — the same list the master will send for in v. 21
14
καὶ μακάριος ἔσῃ,content — the beatitude on the unrepayable host
ὅτι οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἀνταποδοῦναί σοι,cause — the paradoxical ground — their inability is precisely the blessing
ἀνταποδοθήσεται γάρ σοι ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει τῶν δικαίων.cause — γάρ — divine passive: God repays; the deferred ἀνταπόδομα of v. 12 arrives at the resurrection
The parable of the great banquet 14:15–24
v. 15 — the guest's beatitude that prompts the parable
15
Ἀκούσας δέ τις τῶν συνανακειμένων ταῦταparticipial — preposed aorist participle with its subject — leans on εἶπεν
εἶπεν αὐτῷ·independent — the pious interjection from the couches
μακάριος ὅστις φάγεται ἄρτον ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ.content — verbless beatitude — comfortable eschatology; the parable will test who actually comes
vv. 16–17 — the great dinner and the summons: come, it is ready
16
ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ·independent — the speech-frame for the whole parable, vv. 16–24
ἄνθρωπός τις ἐποίει δεῖπνον μέγα,content — the parable opens — imperfect ἐποίει, the preparations under way
καὶ ἐκάλεσεν πολλούςcontent — the first invitation — ἐκάλεσεν, accepted in advance by custom
17
καὶ ἀπέστειλεν τὸν δοῦλον αὐτοῦ τῇ ὥρᾳ τοῦ δείπνουcontent — the second, customary summons at the hour itself
εἰπεῖν τοῖς κεκλημένοις·purpose — purpose infinitive — τοῖς κεκλημένοις, the standing state of invitedness
ἔρχεσθε,content — one word of summons
ὅτι ἤδη ἕτοιμά ἐστιν.cause — ἤδη — the readiness is the reason; nothing remains to wait for
vv. 18–20 — the three excuses: field, oxen, wife
18
καὶ ἤρξαντο ἀπὸ μιᾶς πάντες παραιτεῖσθαι.content — ἀπὸ μιᾶς — the elliptical idiom: with one accord; παραιτέομαι, beg off
ὁ πρῶτος εἶπεν αὐτῷ·content — excuse-frame one
ἀγρὸν ἠγόρασαcontent — property first — the purchase already made outweighs the acceptance already given
καὶ ἔχω ἀνάγκην ἐξελθὼν ἰδεῖν αὐτόν·content — ἔχω ἀνάγκην — a manufactured 'necessity': no one inspects a field after buying it
ἐρωτῶ σε,content — the polite formula begins
ἔχε με παρῃτημένον.content — ἔχε με παρῃτημένον — 'consider me excused'; the refrain the second will repeat verbatim
19
καὶ ἕτερος εἶπεν·content — excuse-frame two
ζεύγη βοῶν ἠγόρασα πέντεcontent — the same verb ἠγόρασα — commerce again; five yoke marks a substantial farmer
καὶ πορεύομαι δοκιμάσαι αὐτά·content — futuristic present πορεύομαι — already on his way away from the feast
ἐρωτῶ σε,content — the formula, word for word
ἔχε με παρῃτημένον.content — the refrain repeated verbatim — excuse as liturgy
20
καὶ ἕτερος εἶπεν·content — excuse-frame three
γυναῖκα ἔγημαcontent — the third pleads Deut 24:5 — but a wedding does not cancel a dinner
καὶ διὰ τοῦτο οὐ δύναμαι ἐλθεῖν.content — no ἐρωτῶ σε — the courtesy is dropped: a blunt οὐ δύναμαι
vv. 21–23 — the report, the anger, the two dispatches
21
καὶ παραγενόμενος ὁ δοῦλοςparticipial — preposed participle with its subject — leans on ἀπήγγειλεν
ἀπήγγειλεν τῷ κυρίῳ αὐτοῦ ταῦτα.content — the refusals carried home
τότε ὀργισθεὶς ὁ οἰκοδεσπότηςparticipial — preposed ingressive participle — the anger before the command; leans on εἶπεν
εἶπεν τῷ δούλῳ αὐτοῦ·content — the first dispatch-frame
ἔξελθε ταχέως εἰς τὰς πλατείας καὶ ῥύμας τῆς πόλεως,content — ταχέως — the dinner is hot; the mission turns to the city's margins
καὶ τοὺς πτωχοὺς καὶ ἀναπείρους καὶ τυφλοὺς καὶ χωλοὺς εἰσάγαγε ὧδε.content — the fronted objects — the same four Jesus told his host to invite (v. 13)
22
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ δοῦλος·content — the report-frame
κύριε, γέγονεν ὃ ἐπέταξας,content — perfect γέγονεν — done and standing done; the relative kept in line
καὶ ἔτι τόπος ἐστίν.content — ἔτι τόπος — the line that keeps the door open
23
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ κύριος πρὸς τὸν δοῦλον·content — the second dispatch-frame
ἔξελθε εἰς τὰς ὁδοὺς καὶ φραγμοὺςcontent — beyond the city walls now — the roads and hedgerows: the outsiders' outsiders
καὶ ἀνάγκασον εἰσελθεῖν,content — ἀνάγκασον — the urgency of hospitality toward those who cannot believe they are meant (not coercion; Augustine's misuse noted)
ἵνα γεμισθῇ μου ὁ οἶκος·purpose — the stated purpose — a full house, whoever fills it
v. 24 — the verdict: none of those invited will taste it
24
λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖνcontent — still the master's speech, but plural ὑμῖν — the parable's voice merges into Jesus' address to the table
ὅτι οὐδεὶς τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐκείνων τῶν κεκλημένων γεύσεταί μου τοῦ δείπνου.content — the verdict on the κεκλημένοι — the answer to the beatitude of v. 15: invited is not eating
The cost of discipleship — hating, bearing, counting, renouncing 14:25–33
v. 25 — the scene shifts: the crowds on the road
25
Συνεπορεύοντο δὲ αὐτῷ ὄχλοι πολλοί,independent — durative imperfect — the easy company the sayings will sift
καὶ στραφεὶςparticipial — preposed participle — the deliberate about-face to the crowd; leans on εἶπεν
εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς·independent — the speech-frame for vv. 26–35
vv. 26–27 — the refrain's first two strikes: family and cross
26
εἴ τις ἔρχεται πρός μεconditional — εἰ protasis — forward-leaning on the refrain below
καὶ οὐ μισεῖ τὸν πατέρα ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τὴν μητέρα καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τὰ τέκνα καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς καὶ τὰς ἀδελφὰς ἔτι τε καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἑαυτοῦ,conditional — coordinate protasis — μισεῖ the Semitic comparative ('love less,' cf. Matt 10:37), climaxing in one's own ψυχή
οὐ δύναται εἶναί μου μαθητής.content — the refrain, first strike — not 'may not' but 'cannot'
27
ὅστις οὐ βαστάζει τὸν σταυρὸν ἑαυτοῦ καὶ ἔρχεται ὀπίσω μου,conditional — indefinite relative ὅστις as protasis (typed cnd) — the condemned man's own beam, carried behind Jesus
οὐ δύναται εἶναί μου μαθητής.content — the refrain, second strike — word for word
vv. 28–30 — the tower-builder: count before you lay a stone
28
τίς γὰρ ἐξ ὑμῶν θέλων πύργον οἰκοδομῆσαι οὐχὶ πρῶτον καθίσας ψηφίζει τὴν δαπάνην,content — Τίς γὰρ ἐξ ὑμῶν — the rhetorical question expecting 'no one'; καθίσας, the deliberate sitting-down; δαπάνη a NT hapax
εἰ ἔχει εἰς ἀπαρτισμόν;content — indirect question — ἀπαρτισμός, completion, a NT hapax
29
ἵνα μήποτε θέντος αὐτοῦ θεμέλιον καὶ μὴ ἰσχύοντος ἐκτελέσαι πάντες οἱ θεωροῦντες ἄρξωνται αὐτῷ ἐμπαίζεινpurpose — ἵνα μήποτε — the feared outcome; double genitive absolute kept in line
30
λέγοντες ὅτιparticipial — speech-participle with recitative ὅτι — the mockers get a script
οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἤρξατο οἰκοδομεῖνcontent — contemptuous οὗτος — 'this fellow'
καὶ οὐκ ἴσχυσεν ἐκτελέσαι.content — the taunt — the half-built tower as public monument to an uncounted cost
vv. 31–32 — the king at war: ten thousand against twenty
31
ἢ τίς βασιλεὺς πορευόμενος ἑτέρῳ βασιλεῖ συμβαλεῖν εἰς πόλεμον οὐχὶ καθίσας πρῶτον βουλεύσεταιcontent — the second Τίς-question, raised in stakes — from a farm tower to a kingdom; καθίσας πρῶτον again
εἰ δυνατός ἐστιν ἐν δέκα χιλιάσιν ὑπαντῆσαι τῷ μετὰ εἴκοσι χιλιάδων ἐρχομένῳ ἐπ' αὐτόν;content — indirect question — the arithmetic of two-to-one; the enemy is already ἐρχομένῳ, on the way
32
εἰ δὲ μή γε,conditional — elliptical protasis ('otherwise') — forward-leaning on ἐρωτᾷ
ἔτι αὐτοῦ πόρρω ὄντοςparticipial — genitive absolute — terms are sought before the armies close; leans on ἐρωτᾷ
πρεσβείαν ἀποστείλαςparticipial — preposed aorist participle — the embassy before the asking
ἐρωτᾷ τὰ πρὸς εἰρήνην.content — τὰ πρὸς εἰρήνην — the prudent surrender of the man who counted
v. 33 — the application: the refrain's third strike
33
οὕτως οὖν πᾶς ἐξ ὑμῶν ὃς οὐκ ἀποτάσσεται πᾶσιν τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ ὑπάρχουσιν οὐ δύναται εἶναί μου μαθητής.content — οὕτως οὖν draws the moral of both parables — ἀποτάσσεται, say farewell to; the refrain's third and final strike, embedded relative kept in line
Salt that loses its taste 14:34–35
34
Καλὸν οὖν τὸ ἅλας·independent — verbless maxim — οὖν ties the salt-saying to the discipleship just defined
ἐὰν δὲ καὶ τὸ ἅλας μωρανθῇ,conditional — third-class protasis — μωραίνω, go insipid (lit. 'become foolish'); leans forward on the question
ἐν τίνι ἀρτυθήσεται;independent — the unanswerable question — nothing salts the salt (cf. Matt 5:13; Mark 9:50)
35
οὔτε εἰς γῆν οὔτε εἰς κοπρίαν εὔθετόν ἐστιν,independent — οὔτε … οὔτε — useless even as fertilizer: savorless discipleship has no lower use
ἔξω βάλλουσιν αὐτό.independent — impersonal plural — it simply gets discarded; asyndeton makes it a verdict
ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω.independent — the formulaic call to attention — the chapter of invitations ends by asking who is listening
Analysis. Luke 14 is one long sabbath dinner-party that keeps turning into teaching, and the layout shows a chapter built of speech: short purple narrative frames flush left — ἐγένετο, εἶπεν, Ἔλεγεν, Συνεπορεύοντο — and beneath each one a blue column of quoted material that does the real work. Three shapes recur. First, the ὅταν protases of table-instruction (vv. 8, 10, 12, 13) lean forward, anchor-less, on the command below them, each trailing a μήποτε chain that spells out the feared outcome (the shame-walk to the last place in vv. 8–9 nests four deep, down to the host's δὸς τούτῳ τόπον). Second, the great banquet (vv. 15–24) is a parable told entirely inside one speech-frame (ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, v. 16), so its own speakers — the three excuse-makers, the servant, the twice-dispatching master — hang as frames-within-the-frame, each excuse ending in the verbatim refrain ἐρωτῶ σε, ἔχε με παρῃτημένον until the third simply says οὐ δύναμαι ἐλθεῖν; the closing λέγω γὰρ ὑμῖν (v. 24) is kept inside the master's speech, but the plural ὑμῖν is flagged as the point where the master's voice merges into Jesus' own. Third, the discipleship refrain οὐ δύναται εἶναί μου μαθητής strikes three times (vv. 26, 27, 33), each time as the apodosis of a forward-leaning condition — εἴ τις, ὅστις, and the ὃς-relative of v. 33 — with the two cost-counting questions (tower-builder, king at war) standing between the second and third strike. Cruxes taken or noted: υἱὸς ἢ βοῦς is printed at v. 5 (the ὄνος variant noted); μισεῖ in v. 26 is glossed as the Semitic comparative ('love less') in the tag while 'hate' stands in the text; ἀνάγκασον εἰσελθεῖν (v. 23) is rendered as urgent hospitality, not coercion; and the guest's beatitude of v. 15 is kept verbless, as is the Καλὸν οὖν τὸ ἅλας that opens the salt-coda.