Luke 17:30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

KJV: 

Luke 17:30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

LISTENERS HEARD: 

In accordance with these same things, it will be on the day the son of the man is uncovered by himself.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page): 

LOST IN TRANSLATION: 

This verse has a humorous edge to it. The final word is full of possible meanings.

The word translated as "even" means "down from", "down into", "against", but it has a number of special meanings including "in accordance with", "concerning", and "corresponding with", which is the sense here.

 The word translated as "thus" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.  The word means "the same" when used as an adjective and here the adjective is used as a plural neutral noun because of the presence of an article which gives it the sense of "the same things." 

The verb "shall it be" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics. -- When the verb "to be" appears early in the sentence before the subject, the sense is more like "it is" or, in the plural, "there are." 

The Greek word translated as "on the day" also means "time," in general, and refers specifically to the "daytime." The "on" comes from the indirect object form of the noun, which identifies a location in place or time.

There is no "when" in the original Greek.

The phrase "the son of man" is the common way Christ refers to himself. It is discussed in detail in this article. Its sense is "the child of the man." The word translated as "son" more generally means "child" or "descendant". The Greek word for "of man" in the singular means "person" and "humanity" and "people" and "peoples" in the plural.

"Is revealed" is a compound form of the word meaning "to cover" and "to hide "with an "away from" which reverses its meaning, so it means to "uncover", "unmask",  or "reveal". It is not a  passive verb as translated, but a form where something is done to oneself by oneself, "be uncovered by himself" or "is unmasked by himself.". This is the last word in the phrase so it plays the role of a punchline.  It suggests that "the son of man" is hidden or masked, but it also suggests he is clothed and will strip himself naked, which certainly happened at his execution.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV : 

κατὰ (prep) "Even" is kata, which, as a preposition, means "downwards", "down from", "down into", "against", "down toward", "opposite", "separately", "individually", "at a time", "towards", "in accordance with", "concerning", "corresponding with", "during the course of a period," and "severally." As an adverb, it means "according as", "just as", "in so far as", "wherefore", "like as if" and "exactly as."

τὰ αὐτὰ (adj pl neut acc ) "Thus" 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." In the adverbial form, it  means "just here" or "exactly there." 

ἔσται (verb 3rd sg fut ind mid ) "Shall it be" is eimi, which means "to be", "to exist", "to be the case," of circumstance and events "to happen",  and "is possible."

ἡμέρᾳ (noun sg fem dat) "Day" is hemera, which, as a noun, means "day" "a state or time of life", "a time (poetic)", "day break" and "day time." It is also and also has a second meaning, of "quiet", "tame (animals)", "cultivated (crops)," and "civilized (people)."

υἱὸς ( noun sg masc nom ) "The Son" is huios, which means a "son," and more generally, a "child." It is used generally to refer to any male descendant. -- The word translated as "son" more generally means "child" or "children". It can refer to all offspring in later generations, just like "father" refers to all previous generations. Jesus also used it metaphorically to describe those who follow a way of thought or set of beliefs that descend from an individual. More about it in this article.

τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (noun sg masc gen) "Of man" is anthropos, which is "man," and, in plural, "mankind." It also means "humanity" and that which is human and opposed to that which is animal or inanimate.

ἀποκαλύπτεται. ( verb 3rd sg pres ind mp) "Is revealed" is apokalypto, which means to "uncover", "disclose", "reveal," unmask", ""make bare."become known," (middle passive) "reveal one's whole mind," (passive) "be made known," and as an adjective, "naked," and "shameless." It is the opposite of kaluptô, "to cover" and "to hide."

Front Page Date: 

Sep 28 2018