17:18
Was no one found except this foreigner to return and give glory to God?: This is another rhetorical question. Jesus asked this question to emphasize his surprise and disappointment that only the foreigner returned to praise God. The implied answer to the question is “no one except the Samaritan has returned to praise God.”
Some ways to translate this rhetorical question are:
• As a rhetorical question. For example:
Is this Samaritan the only one who came back to thank God? (New Century Version)
-or-
Why is this foreigner the only one who came back to give thanks to God? (Good News Translation)
• As a statement or statements. For example:
Only this foreigner came back to praise God. (God’s Word)
-or-
But look! This foreigner was the only one ⌊of the ten men⌋ to come back to praise God.
-or-
Just this foreigner came back to thank God. ⌊I am amazed/disappointed⌋ to see that none of the other nine men came back.
Translate this surprise and disappointment in a way that is natural in your language.
found except this foreigner to return: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as found is used in the sense “to appear, to be seen.” It does not imply that God (or someone) was literally searching for a person who would return and give thanks. The word found emphasizes that no one had returned except the foreigner.
In some languages it may not be natural to use a word that means found. It may even wrongly imply that someone was lost. If this is true in your language, you may need to translate the meaning without this word, as several English versions do. For example:
Why was this foreigner the only one who came back to thank God? (Contemporary English Version)
to return and give glory to God: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as give glory refers here to thanking or praising God. Some other ways to translate give glory to God are:
praise/thank God
-or-
say thank you to God
except this foreigner: In this context the word foreigner refers to a person who is not a Jew. Jesus was surprised that none of the Jews whom he had healed came back to thank him. Only the Samaritan came back. Another way to translate this phrase is:
except this one who is not a Jew
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