What Does Luke 17:7 Mean in the King James?
But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat?
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The servant’s return from the field does not end his service; the master’s authority reaches all the way to the meal.
THE MEANING
This verse shows a working arrangement in which returning from labor does not set the terms of rest. The servant moves from work in the field to service at the household table, under the same authority. The question makes that continuation plain.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The false belief is that finishing hard work automatically gives the worker control over when they rest. The verse exposes an arrangement where service continues even after the fieldwork ends.
THE ROOT
ποιμαίνοντα
poimainonta
GROWS FROM
ποιμαν-
poiman-
to shepherd or tend a flock
“feeding cattle” in this verse is poimainonta. The Greek identifies this task with shepherding, linking the servant’s work to the word-family for shepherd and flock. Alongside feeding, it carries the sense of tending; the same worker tends a flock in the field and remains under command at the household table.
ALSO GROWS
poimēn: shepherd
ποιμήν
The task shares its word-family with the shepherd, showing that the servant is tending rather than merely supplying food.
poimnē: flock
ποίμνη
The flock is what this kind of tending gathers and cares for, giving the fieldwork a sense of ongoing responsibility.
THE PATTERN
A meal can show who directs service and who receives care.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.THE THREAD
Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.The phrase about making servants sit down to meat returns, but the direction of service changes: here the lord serves them. The paired meal scenes make the arrangement in Luke 17:7 visible by showing authority turn toward those who serve.
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