Exegesis:

ho Pharisaios ho kalesas auton ‘the Pharisee who had invited him.’

eipen en haeutō ‘he said to himself.’

houtos ei en prophētēs ‘if this man were (really) a prophet,’ but, in the Pharisee’s judgment, he is not. houtos suggests contempt. As v. 16 shows, people considered Jesus a prophet.

tis kai potapē hē gunē hētis haptetai autou ‘who and of what sort the woman is who clings to him,’ with estin understood. For potapos cf. on 1.29; here it is used with a note of contempt, as appears from the explanatory clause that follows, i.e. hoti hamartōlos estin (see below).

hoti hamartōlos estin ‘that she is a sinner,’ explaining tis kai potapē.

Translation:

For invited see on 14.7. The rendering may have to coincide with that of “asked to eat with him” in v. 36.

Said to himself, cf. on 3.8.

If this man were … (etc.). The speaker does not expect his supposition to come true, as is indicated in some languages by the use of a modal verbal form, a comparable suffix joined to the verb or, as here, to the noun ‘prophet’ (Javanese), or a specific adverb, particle, or conjunction (Bahasa Indonesia RC), but in other languages (e.g. Batak Toba) the mood is left implicit and to be concluded from the context, i.e. from the fact that in Jesus’ behaviour towards the woman there is nothing to corroborate the supposition.

Know, i.e. realize, recognize.

Who and what sort of woman this is. The double predicate ‘who and what sort’ may make necessary that the introductory verb is repeated, as e.g. in, ‘he would already know who this woman (is), he would also know the manner-of life of this woman,’ or with some variation, ‘he knows this woman … and recognizes her behaviour’ (Batak Toba). Shifting to a single predicate the rendering of the phrase may become, ‘who this woman is’ (Sranan Tongo), ‘the doings (lit. the-like-this-and-like-that) of this woman’ (Sundanese), ‘what kind of individual this woman is.’

For she is a sinner, preferably, ‘that (or, namely, that) she is a sinner.’ This interpretation implies that this clause is also governed by the introductory ‘he would have known.’

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.