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Luk 12:37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh
KJV Verse:

Luk 12:37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

 Greek Verse:

μακάριοι οἱ δοῦλοι ἐκεῖνοι, οὓς ἐλθὼν ὁ κύριος εὑρήσει γρηγοροῦντας: ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι περιζώσεται καὶ ἀνακλινεῖ αὐτοὺς καὶ παρελθὼν διακονήσει αὐτοῖς.

 Literal Alternative:

Lucky the slaves! Those whom, showing up, the master is going to discover being fully awake. Certainly, I tell you! Because he might gird himself and make them recline and, passing by, assist them. 

 Hidden Meaning:

No unique vocabulary here, but a lot of unusual words used referring to other verses. 

The word "blessed" in Greek is an adjective a noun meaning "happy" or "fortunate" but with the sense of favored by God. It can also mean "wealthy" in the sense of "the wealthy" (men with a fortune).

There is not "are". It is assumed because the subjects have no verb associated with them. This is more like a spoken exclamation than a written sentence. 

The word translated as "those" is an adjective that highlights its noun as in a specific place from a word that means "there." It appears after the noun. 

The noun translated as "servants" means "slave." It is translated as "servant" to update the Bible.

The word translated as "whom" is a demonstrative pronoun ("this" "that"), but it often acts as a pronoun ("the one that), especially a connective pronoun ("the one that") introducing a dependent clause.

The word translated as "the lord" is the same word that is often translated as "Lord" or "the Lord" in the NT. It also means "lord", "master of the house," and "head of the family." It is the specific terms for the master of slaves or servants, but it was a common term of respect both for those in authority and who were honored. It was the term people used to address Christ, even though he had no formal authority. Today, we would say "boss" or "chief".

There is no "when" in the Greek. 

The word translated as "comes" primarily means "to start out" but Christ usually uses it to mean "come" but not always. It indicates movement, especially its beginning, without indicating a direction toward or away from anything, so it works either as "come" or "go," but it is more like our phrase "being underway." Our English word "show up" captures both the "start" and "come" ideas.  The form is an adjective, modifying "lord", so "showing up". 

The term used for "find" is the source of our word, "heuristic," meaning enabling a person to find out something for themselves. It means "find out" and "discover."  It is the future tense, "shall discover". 

"Watching" is from a Greek verb that means "to become fully awake," and "to watch." 

The "verily" phrase is used frequently by Christ as a personal signature. Its vocabulary and meaning are discussed in detail in this article. Currently, "tell you true" is the translation I currently use. Christ makes fun of his frequent use of it. The word translated is as "verily" is an exclamation that means "truly" or "of a truth." It is an untranslated Aramaic word that is echoed by a similar Greek word, and a good piece of evidence that Christ taught in Greek, not Aramaic.

The word translated as "that" introduces a statement of fact or cause.

The Greek verb translated as "he shall gird himself"  means "to gird around ", that is to say, "brace around".  It is in the form is something that might happen at some time, in this case, when the master finds his servers awake. This uncommon verb was used once before two verses ago, Luke 12:35. 

The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis ("also") and, in a series, is best translated as "not only...but also." 

The word translated as "make...to sit down" means to "lean against" or "to be made to recline" by someone else, but here it is in the passive. In that form, it means "to recline" and "to sink" by oneself. Of course, at the time, people reclined to eat, but the sense of sinking below the patriarchs is part of its meaning. This is another uncommon word, used again in a few verses. 

The word translated as "the" is the Greek word commonly translated as pronouns in English. 

There is no Greek word meaning "to meat" here or any word having the sense of eating.  The idea comes only from the context. 

The Greek word translated as "and" is used as the conjunction "and", but it also is used to add emphasis ("also").   

The phrase "will come forth" is a verb that means "go by", "pass by", "outstrip" (in speed), and "pass away".  The sense is either "passing by" or "surpassing", since it is used as an adjective. It is not the future tense. 

The Greek verb translated as "serve" is means "to act as a servant", "to minister," and "to perform services." It is usually translated as "minister". It is from the same root as the Greek word usually translated as "minister". 

 Vocabulary:

μακάριοι (adj pl masc nom) "Blessed" is makarios which means "blessed", "prosperous", "happy", "fortunate," and "blissful." --

οἱ δοῦλοι (noun pl masc nom) "The servant" is doulos, which means a "slave," a "born bondsman," or "one made a slave." --

 ἐκεῖνοι, (adj pl masc nom) "Those" is ekeinos (kakeinos), which means "the person there", "that person", "that thing", "in that case", "in that way", "at that place," and "in that manner." 

οὓς (pron pl masc acc) "Whom" is hos, which means "this", "that", "he", "she", "which", "what", "who", "whosoever", "where", "for which reason," and many similar meanings. --

ἐλθὼν (part sg aor act masc nom) "He cometh" is erchomai, which means "to start," "to set out", "to come", "to go," and any kind of motion. It means both "to go" on a journey and "to arrive" at a place. --

ὁ κύριος (noun sg masc nom) "The lord" is kyrios (kurios), which means "having power", "being in authority" and "being in possession of." It also means "lord", "master of the house," and "head of the family." -

εὑρήσει (verb 3rd sg fut ind act) "Shall find" is heurisko, which means "to find", "to find out", "to discover", "to devise", "to invent", "to get," and "to gain." --

γρηγοροῦντας: (part pl pres act masc acc) "Watching" is from gregoreo, which means "to become fully awake," and "to watch."

 ἀμὴν (exclam) "Verily" is amen, which is the Hebrew, meaning "truly", "of a truth," and "so be it." It has no history in Greek of this meaning before the NT. However, this is also the infinitive form of the Greek verb amao, which means "to reap" or "to cut."

 λέγω (1st sg pres ind act) "I tell" is lego, which means "to recount", "to tell over", "to say", "to speak", "to teach", "to mean", "boast of", "tell of", "recite," nominate," and "command." It has a secondary meaning "pick out," "choose for oneself", "pick up", "gather", "count," and "recount." A less common word that is spelled the same means "to lay", "to lay asleep" and "to lull asleep." 

ὑμῖν (pron 2nd pl dat) "To you" is humin the plural form of su the pronoun of the second person, "you." 

ὅτι (adv/conj) "That" is hoti, which introduces a statement of fact "with regard to the fact that", "seeing that," and acts as a causal adverb meaning "for what", "because", "since," and "wherefore." --

περιζώσεται [uncommon](verb 3rd sg aor subj ind mid) "He shall gird himself" is perizōnnymi, which means "to gird round oneself", and "to gird oneself with".

καὶ (conj/adv) "And" is kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "but." After words implying sameness, "as" (the same opinion as you). Used in series, joins positive with negative "Not only...but also." Also used to give emphasis, "even", "also," and "just." 

ἀνακλινεῖ [uncommon](verb 3rd sg aor subj ind act) "Make them sit down," is from anaklino, which means "to lean one thing upon another", "to cause to recline at a table", "to push", "to put back", "to open," and, in the passive, "to lie", "to sink", "to lean back", "to recline," and "to slope upwards (of ground)."

αὐτοὺς (adj pl masc acc) "Them" is autos, which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself", "yourself", "himself", "herself", "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him", "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord." 

καὶ (conj/adv) "And" is kai, which is the conjunction joining phrases and clauses, "and," or "but." After words implying sameness, "as" (the same opinion as you). Used in series, joins positive with negative "Not only...but also." Also used to give emphasis, "even", "also," and "just."

παρελθὼν (part sg aor act masc nom) "Will come forth" is parerchomai, which means "go by", "pass by", "outstrip" (in speed), "pass away", "outwit", "past events" (in time), "disregard", "pass unnoticed," and "pass without heeding." 

διακονήσει (verb 3rd sg aor subj act ) "Serve" is from diakoneo, which "to act as a servant", "to minister," and "to perform services."

αὐτοῖς. (adj pl masc dat) "Them" is autos, which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself", "yourself", "himself", "herself", "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him", "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord." -- The word translated as "him" is the Greek word commonly translated as pronouns in English, but it has a few shades of meaning our pronouns do not have.  The word means "the same" when used as an adjective, and when used as a pronoun can mean "the true self" as opposed to appearances.

 Related Verses:

Luke 12:35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;

Luke 12:36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord,

Matthew 8:11 ...That many shall come from the east

Most Recent Question

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What words did Jesus use most frequently?
Answer:

The above word cloud was created from the Douay-Rheims translation. It is discussed on reddit at this link. 

However, there are some problems that are easy to spot. For example, many of these English words are not...

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