Luk 11:7 | NETfull | STEP | Then he will reply from inside, ‘Do not bother me. The door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything.’

Luke 11:7

7 Then ^{▼▼ Κἀκεῖνος (kakeinos) has been translated “Then he.”} he will reply ^{▼▼ Grk “answering, he will say.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “he will reply.”} from inside, ‘Do not bother me. The door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed. ^{▼▼ Grk “my children are with me in the bed.” In Jewish homes in the time of Jesus, the beds were often all together in one room; thus the householder may be speaking of individual beds (using a collective singular) rather than a common bed.} I cannot get up and give you anything.’ ^{▼▼ The syntax of vv. 6–7 is complex. In the Greek text Jesus’ words in v. 6 begin as a question. Some see Jesus’ question ending at v. 6, but the reply starting in v. 8 favors extending the question through the entire illustration. The translation breaks up the long sentence at the beginning of v. 7 and translates Jesus’ words as a statement for reasons of English style.}