12
While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell facedown and begged Him, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
Berean Standard Bible · CC0
Greek — tap a word ↓
Kai egeneto en auton tō einai en mia tōn poleōn kai anēr idou plērēs lepras de idōn ton Iēsoun pesōn epi prosōpon edeēthē autou legōn Kyrie ean thelēs dynasai katharisai me
Word by word31 · parsed
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
Coordinating καί, carrying the Septuagintal rhythm.
√ γίνομαι — to cause to be ("gen"-erate), iVerbAorist Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
γίνομαι: to come to be, to happen The Septuagintal narrative opener. Luke, who elsewhere writes polished Greek, keeps this Hebraic hinge at the start of the episode, setting the healing inside the idiom of Israel's own scriptures rather than the idiom of Greek biography.
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Neuter Singular
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Infinitive Active
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
√ εἷς — oneAdjectiveDative Feminine Singular
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Plural
√ πόλις — a town (properly, with walls, of greater or less size)NounGenitive Feminine Plural
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
√ ἀνήρ — a man (properly as an individual male)NounNominative Masculine Singular
√ ἰδού — used as imperative lo!VerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
ἰδού: behold, lo A frozen aorist imperative doing the work of a pointing finger. Pulpit takes it as eyewitness residue: the expression reproduces exactly the scene as the eye-witness remembered it, a man who should not have been there suddenly standing in the road.
√ πλήρης — replete, or covered overAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
πλήρης: full, replete, covered over The word grades the case. By Leviticus 13:13 a whiteness that had covered the whole body could actually be pronounced clean, so Luke's "full" is not that verdict but its opposite: the disease at its worst and still under sentence. Cambridge calls the state a living death, indicated by bare head, rent clothes, and covered lip.
√ λέπρα — scaliness, iNounGenitive Feminine Singular
λέπρα: scaliness, leprosy A rare noun, standing in only four verses of the Greek New Testament, and in every one of them it is being removed by Jesus. Under Leviticus 13 the condition was handled less as sickness than as uncleanness, which is why the cure will have to be certified by a priest and not by a physician.
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
√ ὁράω — by extension, to attend toVerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
√ Ἰησοῦς — Jesus (iNounAccusative Masculine Singular
√ πίπτω — to fall (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
πίπτω: to fall Aorist participle. Luke alone records the posture; Ellicott notes that the falling on his face is peculiar to, and characteristic of, St. Luke, and explains the more general "worshipping" of St. Mark. The man cannot come close, so he goes down.
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
√ πρόσωπον — the front (as being towards view), iNounAccusative Neuter Singular
√ δέομαι — to beg (as binding oneself), iVerbAorist Indicative Passive3rd Person Singular
δέομαι: to beg, to bind oneself in petition The verb of formal supplication, the one Luke uses for prayer to God (Luke 22:32, Acts 8:22). Coupled with Κύριε and the prostration, the request has the shape of worship before it has the shape of a medical appeal.
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
√ κύριος — supreme in authority, iNounVocative Masculine Singular
κύριος: lord, supreme in authority Vocative. On any reading it is at least deep respect; in Luke's vocabulary, where the same title runs through the Septuagint quotations of the first two chapters, it is the address a man uses when he has decided the only question left is what this person wants.
√ ἐάν — a conditional particleConjunction
Conditional particle with the subjunctive; nothing is conceded about the outcome.
√ θέλω — to determine (as an active option from subjective impulseVerbPresent Subjunctive Active2nd Person Singular
θέλω: to will, to determine from active choice Present subjunctive in a third class condition. Strong's glosses the root as determination from subjective impulse, an act of choice rather than mere wish. The leper puts the whole weight of his case on the choice of Jesus, and v. 13 will answer with the identical verb in the indicative.
√ δύναμαι — to be able or possibleVerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive2nd Person Singular
δύναμαι: to be able, to have power Present indicative, unconditioned. Henry reads the pair exactly: strong confidence and deep humility are united in the words of this leper. The confidence is in the indicative, the humility in the subjunctive beside it.
√ καθαρίζω — to cleanse (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Infinitive Active
καθαρίζω: to cleanse Aorist infinitive. Not "heal" but "cleanse," the category of Leviticus: what the man wants is not primarily relief from symptoms but restoration to the camp, the congregation, and the sanctuary.
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative 1st Person Singular