What Does Luke 14:30 Mean?
saying, This man began to build, and had no strength to finish.
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
Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.THE KEY
An unfinished work exposes the gap between beginning and having the strength to carry it through.
THE MEANING
A beginning leaves evidence in the world, and unfinished work exposes the limit it meets. When that limit is visible to others, incompletion can become an occasion for ridicule, as the surrounding words say.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Starting is not the same as having the capacity to finish; an impressive beginning does not guarantee completion.
THE ROOT
ἐκτελέσαι
ektelesai
GROWS FROM
τελ- (tel-), from τελέω (teleō)
To bring to an end, complete, accomplish.
The English “finish” can sound like merely stopping, while the Greek names bringing a work all the way to its end. Beside it, the verb translated “was able” evokes having strength, exposing the gap between beginning and carrying through.
ALSO GROWS
telos: End, goal
τέλος
The work’s end is the point the builder fails to reach.
epiteleō: Complete, carry through
ἐπιτελέω
This related verb is used for bringing a work to completion in Philippians 1:6.
ἴσχυσεν
ischysen
GROWS FROM
ἰσχυ-
ischy-
To be strong, have strength, prevail.
“had no strength to finish” in this verse is ischysen. The phrase describes a failure of strength to carry the task through, rather than a failure to start. The unfinished build makes visible the limit of what the builder can sustain.
ALSO GROWS
ischys: Strength, might
ἰσχύς
This noun makes explicit the force implied by the builder’s inability.
ischyros: Strong, powerful
ἰσχυρός
This related adjective names the strength the builder lacks for completing the work.
THE PATTERN
A work’s beginning does not settle its outcome; preparation and sustaining power determine whether it reaches completion.
Set your work firm outside, and set it firm for yourself in the field; afterward build your house.The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will also finish it, and you will perceive that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.Being confident of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will finish it until the day of Jesus the Anointed One.THE THREAD
Being confident of this very thing, that the one who began a good work in you will finish it until the day of Jesus the Anointed One.Luke’s “finish” comes from the τελ- (tel-) word family, meaning to bring something to completion. Philippians uses the related ἐπιτελέω (epiteleō), “complete, carry through”: Luke shows a builder unable to finish, while Philippians speaks of God bringing the good work in you to completion.
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