Luke 18:14

Λέγω ὑμῖν, κατέβη οὗτος δεδικαιωμένος εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ ἢ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος· ὅτι πᾶς ὁ ὑψῶν ἑαυτὸν ταπεινωθήσεται, ὁ δὲ ταπεινῶν ἑαυτὸν ὑψωθήσεται.

RBT Greek Interlinear:

Strongs 3004; legō; λέγω; I am saying; V-PIA-1S

Strongs 4771; hymin; ὑμῖν; to yourselves; PPro-D2P

Strongs 2597; katebē; κατέβη; climbed down; V-AIA-3S

Strongs 3778; houtos; οὗτος; this one; DPro-NMS

Strongs 1344; dedikaiōmenos; δεδικαιωμένος; he who has been justified; V-RPM/P-NMS

Strongs 1519; eis; εἰς; into; Prep

Strongs 3588; ton; τὸν; the; Art-AMS

Strongs 3624; oikon; οἶκον; house; N-AMS

Strongs 846; autou; αὐτοῦ; himself; PPro-GM3S

Strongs 3844; par’; παρ’; close beside; Prep

Strongs 1565; ekeinon; ἐκεῖνον; that one; DPro-AMS

Strongs 3754; hoti; ὅτι; that; Conj

Strongs 3956; pas; πᾶς; all; Adj-NMS

Strongs 3588; ho; ὁ; the; Art-NMS

Strongs 5312; hypsōn; ὑψῶν; he who is lifting high; V-PPA-NMS

Strongs 1438; heauton; ἑαυτὸν; himself; RefPro-AM3S

Strongs 5013; tapeinōthēsetai; ταπεινωθήσεται; will be humbled; V-FIP-3S

Strongs 3588; ho; ὁ; the; Art-NMS

Strongs 1161; de; δὲ; and; Conj

Strongs 5013; tapeinōn; ταπεινῶν; he who is humbling; V-PPA-NMS

Strongs 1438; heauton; ἑαυτὸν; himself; RefPro-AM3S

Strongs 5312; hypsōthēsetai; ὑψωθήσεται; will be lifted high; V-FIP-3S

RBT Hebrew Literal:

I am saying to yourselves, this one climbed down, he who has been acquitted, into the Household of Himself close beside that one!⁶⁸ For everyone who is exalting high his own self will be humiliated, and the one who is humiliating his own self— he will be exalted high!"

Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
I say to you, this one went down to his house justified rather than that one: for every one lifting up himself shall be humbled; and he humbling himself shall be lifted up.

LITV Translation:
I say to you, this one went down to his house having been justified, rather than that one. For everyone exalting himself will be humbled. And the one humbling himself will be exalted.

ESV Translation:
Error retrieving verse.

Footnotes

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παρ' with the accusative, according to LSJ, Bailly, Thayer's, etc. primarily indicates proximity or direction, often denoting physical movement towards or along something (e.g., "near," "alongside"). This usage is seen in expressions like "towards the ships" or "alongside the coast."

However, παρ' can also extend metaphorically, especially when used to convey a sense of comparison, origin, or relation (e.g., "in relation to," "from the side of"). In such cases, the accusative would be used not to mark physical direction, but a figurative or relational reference.

The problem with this lies in the ambiguity and the use of a past tense "he descended rather than" which is simply not a coherent saying. Also, the word "rather" was added in. The fact that translations such as the KJV place "rather" in italics reflects their translators' awareness that the word is not present in the Greek text but is supplied interpretively to reflect what they believe to be the intended sense:

"this man went down to his house justified rather than the other:"

(KJV)

Furthermore, the variant readings of later manuscripts bear witness to the awkwardness — κατέβη οὗτος δεδικαιωμένος εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ ἢ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος — attested in some later manuscripts, shows that early copyists and readers perceived παρ’ ἐκεῖνον as ambiguous or problematic. Problematic enough to change it. This change introduces ἢ γὰρ ("for rather" or "for than"), a construction that makes the contrast unambiguously comparative, likely motivated by the desire to clarify what they assumed the original seemed to imply but did not state overtly.

Textually, the presence of such a gloss reveals that the original reading — while syntactically sound — lacked sufficient clarity for later audiences, prompting them to "correct" it. This in turn provides indirect but strong support for the conclusion that the παρ’ ἐκεῖνον construction was not the most natural or expected way to express a comparative contrast.

To express unambiguously in Greek the sense “this man went down justified and not the other,” the clearest classical or Koine formulation would be:

οὗτος ἔβη δεδικαιωμένος εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ, οὐχ ὁ ἕτερος.
This one went down to his house justified, not the other.

Alternatively, if one wants to be explicit with syntactic clarity, one would write:

οὗτος ἔβη δεδικαιωμένος εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ ἀντὶ ἐκείνου.
This one went down to his house justified instead of that one.

This second version introduces the explicit ἀντὶ ἐκείνου — “instead of that one”, a construction well-attested for expressing substitution, exchange, comparison, etc. (cf. LSJ. ἀντί, A.III). This would eliminate ambiguity for both ancient and modern readers.

(cf. Thayer's entry on παρά, and Bailly's treatment of the preposition).