Luke 7:4

4 And [when they] came to Jesus, they began imploring him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy [that] you grant this for him,

Luke 7:4 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 7:4

And when they came to Jesus
To that part of the city where he was; either at Peter's house, where he used to be when in this place; or rather it might be as he was passing along the streets, that they came up to him

they besought him instantly;
or with great vehemence and importunity; very studiously and carefully they urged the case, and pressed him much to it:

saying, he was worthy for whom he should do this;
or, "for whom thou shouldst do this", as the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions read, and some copies; and which reading connects the words best. This speech of theirs savours of their "pharisaic" tenet and notion of merit, and is very different from the sense the poor centurion had of himself.

Luke 7:4 In-Context

2 Now a certain centurion's slave, who was esteemed by him, {was sick} [and] was about to die.

3 So [when he] heard about Jesus, he sent Jewish elders to him, asking him that he would come [and] cure his slave.

4 And [when they] came to Jesus, they began imploring him earnestly, saying, "He is worthy [that] you grant this for him,

5 because he loves our nation and he himself built the synagogue for us."

6 So Jesus went with them. Now by this time he was not far away from the house, [and] the centurion sent friends, saying to him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy that you should come in under my roof.

Footnotes

• [a]. *Here "[when]" is supplied as a component of the participle ("came") which is understood as temporal
• [b]. The imperfect tense has been translated as ingressive here ("began imploring")