Luk 17:6 | NETfull | STEP | So the Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this black mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled out by the roots and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

Luke 17:6

6 So ^{▼▼ Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.} the Lord replied, ^{▼▼ Grk “said.”} “If ^{▼▼ This is a mixed condition, with ἄν (an) in the apodosis.} you had faith the size of ^{▼▼ Grk “faith as,” “faith like.”} a mustard seed, you could say to this black mulberry ^{▼▼ A black mulberry tree is a deciduous fruit tree that grows about 20 ft (6 m) tall and has black juicy berries. This tree has an extensive root system, so to pull it up would be a major operation.} tree, ‘Be pulled out by the roots and planted in the sea,’ ^{▼▼ The passives here (ἐκριζώθητι and φυτεύθητι, ekrizōthēti and futeuqēti) are probably a circumlocution for God performing the action (the so-called divine passive, see ExSyn 437–38). The issue is not the amount of faith (which in the example is only very tiny), but its presence, which can accomplish impossible things. To cause a tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea is impossible. The expression is a rhetorical idiom. It is like saying a camel can go through the eye of a needle (Luke 18:25).} and it would obey ^{▼▼ The verb is aorist, though it looks at a future event, another rhetorical touch to communicate certainty of the effect of faith.} you.