What Does Luke 10:40 Mean?
But Martha was pulled around by much serving, and she came to him and said, Lord, does it not weigh on you that my sister has left me behind to serve alone? Tell her, therefore, to take hold with me.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.THE KEY
The word behind “help me” means taking hold alongside someone, so Martha’s complaint exposes service as a burden she wants shared, while her appeal turns that need into a command.
THE MEANING
You can be surrounded by useful work and still feel alone within it. Here, service has pulled Martha in many directions; she asks Jesus to make Mary join her. The verse holds both the need for shared labor and the pressure of trying to secure it through command.
THE ROOT
περιεσπᾶτο
periespato
GROWS FROM
σπάω (spáō), with περί (perí)
To draw or pull; with perí, to pull around or draw away.
The Greek pictures Martha being pulled around by the much serving. “Cumbered” carries more than having a lot to do: the work is drawing her attention in every direction.
ALSO GROWS
apospáō: Draw away, withdraw.
ἀποσπάω
The same root can describe being drawn away from where one was; here, many tasks pull Martha away from steadiness.
diaspáō: Pull apart, tear apart.
διασπάω
This branch makes the image sharper: the pull can scatter or divide, like Martha’s attention amid much serving.
συναντιλάβηται
synantilabētai
GROWS FROM
λαμβάνω
lambánō
To take or receive; compounded here as taking hold alongside another.
“take hold with” in this verse is synantilabētai. Martha’s request uses a verb that pictures taking hold alongside someone. The word reveals the shared grip she wants, while her appeal asks Jesus to make that sharing happen.
ALSO GROWS
paralambánō: Take along, receive.
παραλαμβάνω
This compound of the same root suggests taking someone or something along, bringing another into the work.
epilambánomai: Take hold of, grasp.
ἐπιλαμβάνομαι
This branch makes the physical sense of “help” visible: support involves getting a grip, not merely noticing the need.
THE PATTERN
Scripture presents shared work as one way the strain of service is borne.
Two are better than one, because they have good wages for their toil.Carry one another's weights, and so you fill up the instruction of the Anointed One.THE THREAD
Carry one another's weights, and so you fill up the instruction of the Anointed One.Martha asks for someone to take hold alongside her; Galatians names this shared bearing as a way of carrying one another’s burdens. The connection brings the weight of her request into view while leaving Jesus’ answer for the next line.
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