Luke 23:34

Ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἔλεγε, Πάτερ, ἄφες αὐτοῖς· οὐ γὰρ οἴδασι τί ποιοῦσι. Διαμεριζόμενοι δὲ τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ, ἔβαλον κλῆρον.

RBT Greek Interlinear:

Strongs 3588; Ho; Ὁ; the; Art-NMS

Strongs 1161; de; δὲ; and; Conj

Strongs 2424; Iēsous; Ἰησοῦς; Salvation; N-NMS

Strongs 2036; elegen; ἔλεγεν; was/kept saying; V-IIA-3S

Strongs 3962; Pater; Πάτερ; Father; N-VMS

Strongs 863; aphes; ἄφες; hurl away; V-AMA-2S

Strongs 846; autois; αὐτοῖς; to themselves; PPro-DM3P

Strongs 3756; ou; οὐ; no; Adv

Strongs 1063; gar; γὰρ; for; Conj

Strongs 1492; oidasin; οἴδασιν; they have seen; V-RIA-3P

Strongs 5101; ti; τί; who; IPro-ANS

Strongs 4160; poiousin; ποιοῦσιν; they are making; V-PIA-3P

Strongs 1266; diamerizomenoi; διαμεριζόμενοι; those who are dividing; V-PPM-NMP

Strongs 1161; de; δὲ; and; Conj

Strongs 3588; ta; τὰ; the; Art-ANP

Strongs 2440; himatia; ἱμάτια; garments; N-ANP

Strongs 846; autou; αὐτοῦ; himself; PPro-GM3S

Strongs 906; ebalon; ἔβαλον; they cast; V-AIA-3P

Strongs 2819; klērous; κλήρους; lots; N-AMP

RBT Hebrew Literal:

Dividing up, Making himself incomplete

And the Salvation kept saying,⁹² "Father, send/hurl away to themselves! For they have not seen who they are making!" And those who are apportioning the Outer Garments of Himself, they cast lots/allotments.

Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
And Jesus said, Father, let them go; for they know not what they do. And having divided his garments, they cast lots.

LITV Translation:
And Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. And dividing His garments, they cast a lot. Psa. 22:18

ESV Translation:
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.

Footnotes

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The Greek verb ἔλεγεν is the imperfect active indicative of λέγω (“to say”), and properly conveys continuous or repeated action in the past.

While most English translations render it simply as “he said,” this corresponds more directly to the aorist form εἶπεν, which denotes a punctiliar or completed action. In contrast, the imperfect form ἔλεγεν should be translated as “he was saying,” “he kept saying,” or “he used to say,” preserving its imperfective aspect.

Rendering it as “he said,” covers up this meaning and is grammatically imprecise, as it fails to communicate the ongoing or habitual nature of the action encoded in the Greek tense. For rigorous exegetical or linguistic work, the imperfect sense must be maintained.