Luke 3:14

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

Then some soldiers also questioned him, saying, "And what should we do?" He replied to them, "Do not extort money from anyone or accuse anyone falsely; be content with your wages."

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Ἐπηρώτων δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ στρατευόμενοι, λέγοντες, Καὶ ἡμεῖς τί ποιήσομεν; Καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς, Μηδένα διασείσητε, μηδὲ συκοφαντήσητε· καὶ ἀρκεῖσθε τοῖς ὀψωνίοις ὑμῶν.

Transliteration

Eperōtōn de him also strateuomenoi, legontes, And we what shall-we-poiesomen? And eipen pros them, No-one diaseisete, neither sykophantesete; and arkeisthe with-the opsōniois of-you.

Grammar Details

• *Eperōtōn*: imperfect, active, indicative, 3rd person, plural - were asking
• *de*: postpositive particle - and/but/now
• *strateuomenoi*: present middle/passive participle, nominative, masculine, plural - soldiers/those serving as soldiers
• *legontes*: present active participle, nominative, masculine, plural - saying
• *poiesomen*: future, active, indicative, 1st person, plural - we will do
• *eipen*: aorist, active, indicative, 3rd person, singular - said
• *pros*: preposition with accusative - to/toward
• *diaseisete*: aorist, active, subjunctive, 2nd person, plural - extort/shake violently
• *sykophantesete*: aorist, active, subjunctive, 2nd person, plural - falsely accuse/defraud
• *arkeisthe*: present, passive, imperative, 2nd person, plural - be content
• *opsōniois*: dative, neuter, plural - wages/pay

Word Meanings

• *Eperōtōn*: were asking/were questioning/were inquiring
• *strateuomenoi*: soldiers/those serving as soldiers/military men
• *legontes*: saying/speaking/declaring
• *poiesomen*: we will do/we shall do/we should do
• *eipen*: said/spoke/told
• *diaseisete*: extort/intimidate/shake down/harass
• *sykophantesete*: falsely accuse/blackmail/defraud
• *arkeisthe*: be content/be satisfied/be sufficient
• *opsōniois*: wages/pay/allowance

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  And the soldiers likewise asked of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said to them, Do violence to no man, nor accuse anyone falsely; and be content with your wages.

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  And soldiers also asked him, saying, And we, what must we do? And he said unto them, Extort from no man by violence, neither accuse [any one] wrongfully; and be content with your wages.

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

• Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

  The soudyoures lyke wyse demaunded of hym sayinge: and what shall we do? And he sayde to them: Do violence to noo ma: nether trouble eny man wrongfully: but be content with youre wages.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Then ye soudyours axed him likewyse, and sayde: What shal we do then? And he sayde vnto the: Do no man violence ner wronge, and be content with youre wages.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  The souldiers likewise demaunded of him, saying, And what shall we doe? And he saide vnto them, Doe violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  The souldiours lykewyse demaunded of hym, saying: And what shall we do? And he saide vnto them: Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your wages.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse [any] falsely; and be content with your wages.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  Soldiers also asked him, saying, "What about us? What must we do?" He said to them, "Extort from no one by violence, neither accuse anyone wrongfully. Be content with your wages."

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  And questioning him also were those warring, saying, `And we, what shall we do?' and he said unto them, `Do violence to no one, nor accuse falsely, and be content with your wages.'

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And soldiers also asked him, saying, And we, what must we do? And he said unto them, Extort from no man by violence, neither accuse `any one' wrongfully; and be content with your wages.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  And soldiers also asked him, saying, And we, what must we do? And he said unto them, Extort from no man by violence, neither accuse [any one] wrongfully; and be content with your wages. [

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  And men of the army put questions to him, saying, And what have we to do? And he said to them, Do no violent acts to any man, and do not take anything without right, and let your payment be enough for you.

• World English Bible (2000)

  Soldiers also asked him, saying, "What about us? What must we do?" He said to them, "Extort from no one by violence, neither accuse anyone wrongfully. Be content with your wages."

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  Then some soldiers also asked him,“And as for us– what should we do?” He told them,“Take money from no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your pay.”

Referenced Verses

• Exod 23:1 : 1 Do not spread a false report, and do not join hands with a wicked person to be a malicious witness.
• Phil 4:11 : 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
• 1 Tim 6:8-9 : 8 If we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
• Heb 13:5-6 : 5 Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have, for He has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' 6 So we can confidently say: 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'
• Lev 19:11 : 11 Do not steal. Do not deceive or lie to one another.
• Exod 20:16 : 16 You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
• Matt 8:5 : 5 When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him,
• Luke 19:8 : 8 But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! I am giving half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay back four times as much."
• Acts 10:7 : 7 When the angel who spoke to Cornelius had departed, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants.
• Rom 13:9-9 : 9 For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this statement: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law.
• Phil 2:15 : 15 so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverted generation. Among them, you shine as lights in the world,
• Rev 12:10 : 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: 'Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Messiah. For the accuser of our siblings, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.'
• Titus 2:3 : 3 Likewise, older women are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not enslaved to much wine, teachers of good things.