After Jesus appoints the seventy and is sending them out.
Luke 10:3 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.
Luke 10:3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.
Go out! Look! I send you off as lambs in a competition of wolves.
There is a key missing word here in the Greek It primarily means "middle" but with the "in" preposition used here it also has the meaning of "in competition with." Jesus is saying his followers are going out to compete with wolves. It also means "difference" so it accentuates the differences between the lambs and the wolves.
The Greek word for "wolves" means wolves or jackals, but it is also the name for anything shaped like a hook, representing the claw. It is in the possessive modifying "competition," and "difference."
The wolves are much fewer, but they are always hungry and pretend to be sheep.
- CW --Confusing Word -- The "your ways" does not capture the prefix's specific meaning of "away."
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "middle" is not shown in the English translation.
- CW --Confusing Word -- The "go" without "away" does not capture the word's specific meaning in this situation.
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "see" is not shown in the English translation. "
- MW - Missing Word -- The word "competition" is not shown in the English translation.
Go - "Go" is a Greek verb that means literally "go over" or "bring under." Jesus uses it to mean "go away" and "depart.-
your ways: -- (CW) This completes the meaning of the verb. It is from the prefix that means "away."
behold, -- "Behold" is a verbal command meaning "See!" and "Look!" It is from the most common word meaning "to see" in Greek. In a humorous vein, it is also an adverbial exclamation like we use the phrase "ta-da" in a magic show, or "voila" in French which means "see there". "Look here!" or "See there!" comes closest in English. Jesus uses it both ways.
I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.
send --- The "send forth" here is a word that means "to send off" and "dispatch." It is the source of our word "apostle." This word is not the simple "send" but a more complex one that means "send out" or "send from."
you -- The "you" here is the second-person, plural pronoun in the form of an object of the action or preposition.
forth - This completes the meaning of the verb. It is from the prefix.
as -- The word translated as "as" has a very broad meaning, translated as "when," "where," "just as," "like," and related words. It means "how" only in an exclamation with and adjective or adverb like "how wonderful." This is not the word usually translated as "how."
lambs -- "Lamb" is the Greek word that primarily means "wool" and, by extension, "sheep" or "lamb". It appears only once in the Gospels, here. The common word usually translated as sheep that Jesus uses as a metaphor for his followers is more generic, referring theoretically to any form of herd animal.
among -- The word translated as "among" means "in," "within," "with" (an instrument), "by" (near), "by" (means of), "during" (time), or "among" with an indirect-object form object. With the direct object form, it means "into," "on," and "for." When referring to time, it means "during." It can mean "on," "at," or "by" in the sense of "near."
missing "competition" -- (MW) The untranslated word "competition" generally means "middle" but has a lot of special meanings with different prepositions. One of those with the "in" is "offer for competition" and "middle point." It also means "difference." It can mean "front" with verbs of speaking because it means the person talking or being addressed.
wolves. -- The Greek word for "wolves" means wolves or jackals, but it is also the name for anything shaped like a hook. It is in the possessive modifying "midst", "competition," and "difference." The wolves are not a flock or a group, though many, but separated and in competition with a group.
Go - "Go" is a Greek verb that means literally "go over" or "bring under." Jesus uses it to mean "go away" and "depart.-
missing "see" -- (MW) The untranslated word "See!" and "Look!" It is from the most common word meaning "to see" in Greek. In a humorous vein, it is also an adverbial exclamation like we use the phrase "ta-da" in a magic show, or "voila" in French which means "see there". "Look here!" or "See there!" comes closest in English. Jesus uses it both ways.
I -- This is from the first-person, singular form of the verb.
am -- This helping verb indicates the present tense of the verb. It is used here to form the present, progressive tense, which doesn't exist in Greek but which can smooth the flow of English sentences.
sending -- The "send out" here is a word that means "to send off" and "dispatch." It is the source of our word "apostle." This word is not the simple "send" but a more complex one that means "send out" or "send from."
you -- The "you" here is the second-person, plural pronoun in the form of an object of the action or preposition.
out - This completes the meaning of the verb. It is from the prefix.
like -- The word translated as "as" has a very broad meaning, translated as "when," "where," "just as," "like," and related words. It means "how" only in an exclamation with and adjective or adverb like "how wonderful." This is not the word usually translated as "how."
lambs -- "Lamb" is the Greek word that primarily means "wool" and, by extension, "sheep" or "lamb". It appears only once in the Gospels, here. The common word usually translated as sheep that Jesus uses as a metaphor for his followers is more generic, referring theoretically to any form of herd animal.
among -- The word translated as "among" means "in," "within," "with" (an instrument), "by" (near), "by" (means of), "during" (time), or "among" with an indirect-object form object. With the direct object form, it means "into," "on," and "for." When referring to time, it means "during." It can mean "on," "at," or "by" in the sense of "near."
missing "competition" -- (MW) The untranslated word "competition" generally means "middle" but has a lot of special meanings with different prepositions. One of those with the "in" is "offer for competition" and "middle point." It also means "difference." It can mean "front" with verbs of speaking because it means the person talking or being addressed.
wolves. -- The Greek word for "wolves" means wolves or jackals, but it is also the name for anything shaped like a hook. It is in the possessive modifying "midst", "competition," and "difference." The wolves are not a flock or a group, though many, but separated and in competition with a group.
ὑπάγετε. [47 verses] (verb 2nd pl pres imperat act) "Go your way" is hypago, which means "to lead under," "to bring under," "to bring a person before judgment," "to lead on by degrees," "to take away from beneath," "to withdraw," "to go away," "to retire," "to draw off," and "off with you." -
Ἰδοὺ [52 verses](adv, verb 2nd sg aor imperat mid) "Behold" is idou, which means "to behold," "to see," and "to perceive." It acts as an adverbial phrase in this form meaning "Lo! Behold!" and "See there!' It is a form of the verb eido, which means "to see." This Greek word was translated into the Latin ecce, "behold."
ἀποστέλλω [60 verses](1st sg pres find act) "Send" is apostello, which means "to send off," "to send away," or "to dispatch."
ὑμᾶς [210 verses](pron 2nd pl acc) "You" is humas which is the plural objective form of the second-person pronoun, "you." As the object of a preposition, an accusative object indicates movement towards something or a position reached as a result of that movement.
ὡς (167 verses](adv/conj) "As" is hos, an adverb which means to "thus," "as," "when," "where," "like," "just as," "so far as," "as much as can be," "that," "in order that," "nearly (with numbers)," and "know that." It means "how" only in an exclamation with and adjective or adverb like "how wonderful."
ἄρνας [1 verse] (noun pl fem acc) "Lambs" is aren, which means primarily "wool", and, by extension, "lamb", and "sheep."
ἐν [413 verses](prep) "Among" is en, which means, with its usual indirect (dative) object, "in," "on," "at," "by," "among," "within," "surrounded by," "in one's hands," "in one's power," "during," and "with." With a direct (accusative) object, it means "into," "on," and "for." Referring to time, it means. "in the course of" or "during."
μέσῳ [11 verses] (adj sg masc dat) "Midst" is mesos, which means "middle," "middle point," "midway between," "offered for competition," "deposited," "by the middle," "by the waist," "impartial," "inter-mediate," "indeterminate," "things indifferent (neither good nor bad)," "middling," "moderate," "midst," "intervening space," "intervening," "difference," "in a moderate degree," "in the mean," and "equator."
λύκων:[4 verses] (noun pl masc gen) "Wolves"" is lykos (lukos), which means "wolf", "grisly", "jackals", "anything shaped like a hook", "a kind of noose," and "an engine of war for defending gates."
The differences between Matthew 10:16 are slight but on is interesting because it is so typical of Luke's work. The Greek word "lambs" used here is a word that is used nowhere else in the Gospels. This is especially interesting because Jesus uses the common term for "sheep" a lot and Luke certainly knew that.