LUKE 14:5 SHEEP, DONKEY OR SON?

 BIBLE TRANSLATIONS

GRAND CANYON  BRIGHT ANGEL TRAIL

Sometimes we find variant readings in Bible manuscripts.   Even though there's no major doctrine changed by these different readings; we would like to know what Jesus said.  

Like finding similar pieces of a puzzle, there is only one piece that really fits and completes the picture.  Sometimes Bible translators must look at the context of the passage, and choose the one that best fits the conversation.

There are three different variants of Luke 14:5:

    1. Ox or an donkey (ass).

    2. Ox or a son.

    3. Ox or a sheep.

"And He answered them, saying, “Which of you shall have an ox or an ass fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath day?"                21st Century King James Version

 Then He said to them, “Which one of you, having a son or an ox that falls into a well, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?”  Amplified Version (AMP)

To make things more complicated other translations read:

Jesus said to them, `If your horse or cow falls into a hole, which one of you will not pull him out right away on the Sabbath day?'  Worldwide English (WE)

Then he said to them, “If an ass or a cow belonging to one of you fell into a well, wouldn’t you rescue him without the slightest hesitation even though it were the Sabbath?”  Phillips New Testament (JBPT)

Most translators eliminate #3 "sheep" because it is in Codex Bezae, and not in the majority of manuscripts.

To solve the MYSTERY, we may have to look at the entire passage.  Examine both readings.  Which one would Jesus say to the chief Pharisees and have the greatest impact.

"And it came to pass, on his going into the house of a certain one of the chiefs of the Pharisees, on a sabbath, to eat bread, that they were watching him,and lo, there was a certain dropsical man before him; and Jesus answering spake to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, `Is it lawful on the sabbath-day to heal?' and they were silent, and having taken hold of [him], he healed him, and let [him] go; and answering them he said, `Of which of you shall an ass or ox fall into a pit, and he will not immediately draw it up on the sabbath-day?'and they were not able to answer him again unto these things."  

Luke 14:1-6  Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

One Sabbath, when He went to eat at the house of one of the leading Pharisees, they were watching Him closely.  There in front of Him was a man whose body was swollen with fluid.  In response, Jesus asked the law experts and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?”  But they kept silent. He took the man, healed him, and sent him away.  And to them, He said, “Which of you whose son or ox falls into a well, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” To this they could find no answer."   

Luke 14:1-6  Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

No one arguing about the ox.  It would be a disaster if an ox fell into a well and if it would perish it would contaminate the drinking water.

Donkeys and mules are smart animals, they don't fall off the Grand Canyon everyday?  Why would they fall down a well?

If your son fell into a well, would you wait another day to rescue him?

Conclusion, if your translation reads, "ass and an ox," write a footnote in the margins for "son and an ox."   And keep the translation that you enjoy reading and studying.