Luke 14:7

Ἔλεγε δὲ πρὸς τοὺς κεκλημένους παραβολήν, ἐπέχων πῶς τὰς πρωτοκλισίας ἐξελέγοντο, λέγων πρὸς αὐτούς,

RBT Greek Interlinear:

Strongs 2036; Elegen; Ἔλεγεν; Was saying; V-IIA-3S

Strongs 1161; de; δὲ; and; Conj

Strongs 4314; pros; πρὸς; toward; Prep

Strongs 3588; tous; τοὺς; the; Art-AMP

Strongs 2564; keklēmenous; κεκλημένους; those who have been invited; V-RPM/P-AMP

Strongs 3850; parabolēn; παραβολήν; a comparison; N-AFS

Strongs 1907; epechōn; ἐπέχων; he who is remarking; V-PPA-NMS

Strongs 4459; pōs; πῶς; what; Conj

Strongs 3588; tas; τὰς; the; Art-AFP

Strongs 4411; prōtoklisias; πρωτοκλισίας; first places; N-AFP

Strongs 1586; exelegonto; ἐξελέγοντο; they were choosing out; V-IIM-3P

Strongs 3004; legōn; λέγων; he who is saying; V-PPA-NMS

Strongs 4314; pros; πρὸς; toward; Prep

Strongs 846; autous; αὐτούς; themselves; PPro-AM3P

RBT Hebrew Literal:

Invited to the Wedding

And he was speaking a comparison toward the ones who have been summoned, he who is holding back on⁵⁴ how they kept choosing out the First Reclining Couches, he who is saying toward themselves,

Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
And he spake a parable to the called, fixing his attention how they chose out the first places at table; saying to them,

LITV Translation:
And He spoke a parable to those who had been invited, noting how they were choosing out the chief seats, saying to them,

ESV Translation:
Error retrieving verse.

Footnotes

54

Primary Semantic Field of ἐπέχω

1. Literal physical restraint:

• Il. 14.241: ἐπὶ θρήνυϊ πόδας ἐπέσχεθον — “held his feet upon the footstool”

• Eur. Hec. 1283: στόμα ἐπέχε — “he held back his mouth” (i.e., stopped speaking)

• Soph. Aj. 847: ἐπ. ἡνίαν — “he held the reins back” (restrained the horses)

In these senses, ἐπέχω denotes holding back or restraining either motion, speech, or physical action.

2. Reflexive restraint / delay / waiting:

• Often used in the middle (with implied subject reflexivity) to mean:

  • “to wait,”

  • “to restrain oneself,”

  • “to suspend action or speech”

Examples:

• Od. 21.186: ἐπέχων — “he held back [from stringing the bow]”

• Soph. El. 1369: ἐπέχων — “he refrained / waited”

This becomes especially prominent in Thucydides, Sophocles, Herodotus, and Xenophon, where it frequently implies strategic delay or tactical restraint.

Extended / Figurative Senses

Though ἐπέχω develops attentional or intellectual meanings (e.g., to direct the mind, to fix thought upon), these are derivative—emerging from the core image of holding in or suspending motion.

The Pyrrhonist "suspension of judgment" (ἐπέχειν τὴν κρίσιν) is a clear intellectualization of the earlier concrete action: not moving forward, not deciding—holding back.