King James Version

Luke 8:9

And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?

Study

Greek

Tap a word to see its meaning.

The KJV’s Greek text (Textus Receptus) adds “saying” (λέγοντες·) before What here. The KJV’s Greek text (Textus Receptus) word order differs here.

Ἐπηρώτωνepērōtōnaskedἐπερωτάω (eperōtaō)verb, imperfect active indicative, 3rd person plural — “asked”, an ongoing action in the pastG1905I interrogate, question, demand of.askedδὲdebutδέconjunction — “but”G1161a weak adversative particle, generally placed second in its clause; but, on the other hand, and.This verse uses “but”.αὐτὸνautonhimαὐτός (autos)personal pronoun, accusative, singular, masculine — “him”, the object formG846he, she, it, they, them, same.himοἱhoitheὁ (ho)article, nominative, plural, masculine — “the”, the subject formG3588the, the definite article.μαθηταὶmathētaidiscipleμαθητής (mathētēs)noun, nominative, plural, masculine — “disciple”, the subject formG3101a learner, disciple, pupil.This verse uses “disciple”.αὐτοῦautouthisαὐτός (autos)personal pronoun, genitive, singular, masculine — “this”, the of-formG846he, she, it, they, them, same.thisτίςtiswhich?τίςinterrogative or indefinite pronoun, nominative, singular, feminine — “which?”, the subject formG5101who, which, what, why.This verse uses “which”.αὕτηhautēthisοὗτος (houtos)demonstrative pronoun, nominative, singular, feminine — “this”, the subject formG3778this; he, she, it.This verse uses “this”.εἴηeiēbeεἰμί (eimi)verb, present active optative, 3rd person singular — “be”, an ongoing or repeated actionG1510I am, exist.beἡhētheὁ (ho)article, nominative, singular, feminine — “the”, the subject formG3588the, the definite article.παραβολήparabolēparableπαραβολήnoun, nominative, singular, feminine — “parable”, the subject formG3850(a) a comparison, (b) a parable, often of those uttered by our Lord, (c) a proverb, an adage.

Textus Receptus Words Not in the SBL Text

λέγοντεςlegontessayingλέγω (legō)verb, present active participle, nominative, plural, masculine — “saying”, an ongoing or repeated actionG3004(denoting speech in progress), (a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command.

Literal (Young’s Literal Translation)

And his disciples were questioning him, saying, 'What may this simile be?'

Compare Public-Domain Translations

The King James Version remains the text of this page and the canonical URL.

American Standard Version (1901)

And his disciples asked him what this parable might be.

Young’s Literal Translation

And his disciples were questioning him, saying, 'What may this simile be?'

World English Bible

Then his disciples asked him, “What does this parable mean?”

Darby Translation

And his disciples asked him [saying], What may this parable be?

Douay-Rheims