17:7 “Would any one of you say 2 to your slave 3 who comes in from the field after plowing or shepherding sheep, ‘Come at once and sit down for a meal’? 4 17:8 Won’t 5 the master 6 instead say to him, ‘Get my dinner ready, and make yourself ready 7 to serve me while 8 I eat and drink. Then 9 you may eat and drink’?
1 tn Although 1 Cor 3:9 is frequently understood to mean, “we are coworkers with God,” such a view assumes that the genitive θεοῦ (qeou) is associative because of its relationship to συνεργοί (sunergoi). However, not only is a genitive of association not required by the syntax (cf. ExSyn 130), but the context is decidedly against it: Paul and Apollos are insignificant compared to the God whom they serve (vv. 5-8).
2 tn Grk “Who among you, having a slave… would say to him.”
3 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.
4 tn Grk “and recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away. See BDAG 70 s.v. ἀναπίπτω 1.
5 tn The question includes a Greek particle, οὐχί (ouci), that expects a positive reply. The slave is expected to prepare a meal before eating himself.
6 tn Grk “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Grk “and gird yourself” (with an apron or towel, in preparation for service).
8 tn BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 2.b, “to denote contemporaneousness as long as, while… w. subjunctive… Lk 17:8.”
9 tn Grk “after these things.”
10 tn The recitative ὅτι (Joti) after λέγετε (legete) has not been translated.
11 tn Grk “lift up your eyes” (an idiom). BDAG 357 s.v. ἐπαίρω 1 has “look up” here.
12 tn That is, “ripe.”
13 tn Or “a reward”; see L&N 38.14 and 57.173. This is something of a wordplay.
14 tn The recitative ὅτι (Joti) after ἀληθινός (alhqino") has not been translated.
15 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
16 tn Or “sensible.”