Luke 13:33

Πλὴν δεῖ με σήμερον καὶ αὔριον καὶ τῇ ἐχομένῃ πορεύεσθαι· ὅτι οὐκ ἐνδέχεται προφήτην ἀπολέσθαι ἔξω Ἱερουσαλήμ.

RBT Greek Interlinear:

Strongs 4133; plēn; πλὴν; except/save; Conj

Strongs 1163; dei; δεῖ; must; V-PIA-3S

Strongs 1473; me; με; myself; PPro-A1S

Strongs 4594; sēmeron; σήμερον; today; Adv

Strongs 2532; kai; καὶ; and; Conj

Strongs 839; aurion; αὔριον; tomorrow; Adv

Strongs 2532; kai; καὶ; and; Conj

Strongs 3588; tē; τῇ; the; Art-DFS

Strongs 2192; echomenē; ἐχομένῃ; she who is being followed; V-PPM/P-DFS

Strongs 4198; poreuesthai; πορεύεσθαι; to lead across; V-PNM/P

Strongs 3754; hoti; ὅτι; that; Conj

Strongs 3756; ouk; οὐκ; not; Adv

Strongs 1735; endechetai; ἐνδέχεται; it is possible [for]; V-PIM/P-3S

Strongs 4396; prophētēn; προφήτην; prophet; N-AMS

Strongs 622; apolesthai; ἀπολέσθαι; to destroy; V-ANM

Strongs 1854; exō; ἔξω; outside; Prep

Strongs 2419; Ierousalēm; Ἰερουσαλήμ; Jerusalem; N-GFS

RBT Hebrew Literal:

The seed must die away (in the Beautiful Earth)

Except it is necessary for myself, today and tomorrow and on the one who is holding,⁵² to lead across because it is not permissible to destroy away a prophet outside of Foundation of Peace ("Jerusalem").⁵³

Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
But I must go to day and to morrow and the following: for it is not possible for a prophet to perish out of Jerusalem.

LITV Translation:
But today and tomorrow and on the following day I must travel on. For it is not possible for a prophet to perish outside Jerusalem.

ESV Translation:
Error retrieving verse.

Footnotes

52

Quite a beating to the written word here in an effort to figure out the "expression":

Johann Albrecht Bengel (1687–1752), a German Lutheran theologian, biblical scholar, and commentator says:

Τῇ ἐχομένῃ, (on the following day) This expression has a wider meaning than τῇ τρίτῃ, on the third day (the day after to-morrow), which is included in τῇ ἐχομένῃ.

τῇ ἐχομένῃ (from ἔχω) is not typically used in the sense of "following" in the context of "following day" or similar meanings:

1. Etymology and Primary Meaning: The participle ἐχομένῃ comes from the verb ἔχω, meaning "to have" or "to hold." Therefore, its primary meaning is associated with possession or state of holding, not following. It doesn’t normally extend to the idea of following in a temporal sense.

2. Possible Figurative Use: In some contexts, Ancient Greek does employ metaphorical meanings or figurative uses, but these would be rare and usually involve something akin to "holding to" or "adhering to" a path, rather than the literal sense of "following." This would be quite distant from the more conventional usage of "following."

3. "Following Day": For the expression "the following day" or "the next day," Ancient Greek typically uses phrases like:

   • ἡ ἐπομένη ἡμέρα (hē epomenē hēmera) — "the following day."

   • ἡ ἑξῆς ἡμέρα (hē exēs hēmera) — another common way to refer to the next or following day.

4. Examples in Literature: The phrase ἐχομένῃ in classical texts almost always relates to someone who "has" or "holds" something, rather than following in a temporal or sequential sense.

While τῇ ἐχομένῃ could, in a very broad and figurative context, be interpreted as relating to something that follows (such as in "holding to" a sequence or event), this is not its typical or standard use. For "following" in the sense of time (like "following day"), expressions like ἡ ἐπομένη ἡμέρα are used instead.

53

Already, the phrase, "for it is not possible for a prophet to perish out of Jerusalem" makes little sense. But there are two ways to read this and the morphology of "οὐκ ἐνδέχεται προφήτην ἀπολέσθαι" is open to both interpretations:

1. "Not allowed to destroy a prophet":

   • οὐκ ἐνδέχεται is primarily understood as "it is not permitted" or "it is not allowed." The verb ἐνδέχεται can imply something that is allowable or permissible, and the negation οὐκ indicates that this permission is denied.

   • The infinitive ἀπολέσθαι conveys the idea of destruction or loss, and when paired with ἐνδέχεται, it can imply a prohibition or restriction on that action.

2. "A prophet cannot be destroyed" (passive sense):

   • οὐκ ἐνδέχεται can also mean "it is not possible" or "it is not likely" (when used with a negation). This interpretation focuses on the impossibility of the event. However, this is not the normal word used in the NT to express "impossibility" (cf. ἀδύνατος impossible).

   • In this case, ἀπολέσθαι in the middle voice (meaning "to perish" or "to be lost") could be understood as the passive sense of destruction and thus the phrase would mean "a prophet cannot be destroyed," suggesting that such an event is impossible or would not happen. This reading gave rise to all sorts of speculation and confusion as to why or how this was impossible and "exceptions" as Bengel admits of a particular and serious contradiction:

     • "This phrase admits of exceptions: for instance, John the Baptist was “a prophet” who “perished out of Jerusalem.”—ἀπολέσθαι, perish) by a public judicial procedure."
       
       (Bengel's Gnomen on Luke 13:33)
       

Both interpretations are grammatically and morphologically valid based on the structure of the sentence. The key is choosing the reading that doesn't create serious contradictions.