Translation commentary on Luke 9:40

Exegesis:

hina ekbalōsin auto ‘that they cast him out.’ hina points to the intended result. For ekballō cf. 4.29.

kai ouk ēdunēthēsan ‘and they could not.’ The aorist tense, referring to a punctiliar event, implies that they tried but failed.

Translation:

In Foe ‘begged’ and ‘could’ are in the near past tense, implying that the conversation referred to took place earlier on the day of speaking.

Cast out, or, ‘caused to come out,’ see 4.35.

They could not, or, where necessary, ‘they were not able to do so (or, to do what I asked, or, to cast it out).’

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.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 9:40

9:40

I begged Your disciples to drive it out: The father had already pleaded with the other disciples to cast out the demon. This apparently happened before Jesus and the three disciples came back down the mountain.

disciples: The word disciples also occurs in 9:14b. See the note there for a more complete description of this term.

to drive it out: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as to drive it out is literally “to cast/throw it out.” To drive out an unclean spirit means to cause an evil spirit to stop controlling a person. Jesus (or the disciples) did this by commanding the spirit/spirits to leave. See the note at 9:1b for more information.

but they were unable: The phrase they were unable means that the disciples were not able to make the demon leave the man’s son. They tried, but they were not successful.

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