Luk 17:6 | NET2full | 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 ^{▼▼tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.} the Lord replied, ^{▼▼tn Grk “said.”} “If ^{▼▼tn This is a mixed condition, with ἄν (an) in the apodosis.} you had faith the size of ^{▼▼tn Grk “faith as,” “faith like.”} a mustard seed, you could say to this black mulberry ^{▼▼sn 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,’ ^{▼▼tn The passives here (ἐκριζώθητι and φυτεύθητι, ekrizōthēti and phuteuthēti) 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 ^{▼▼tn The verb is aorist, though it looks at a future event, another rhetorical touch to communicate certainty of the effect of faith.} you.