1:55 as he promised 1 to our ancestors, 2 to Abraham and to his descendants 3 forever.”
2:31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples: 4
17:5 The 14 apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 15
23:6 Now when Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean.
1 tn Grk “as he spoke.” Since this is a reference to the covenant to Abraham, ἐλάλησεν (elalhsen) can be translated in context “as he promised.” God keeps his word.
2 tn Grk “fathers.”
3 tn Grk “his seed” (an idiom for offspring or descendants).
4 sn Is the phrase all peoples a reference to Israel alone, or to both Israel and the Gentiles? The following verse makes it clear that all peoples includes Gentiles, another key Lukan emphasis (Luke 24:47; Acts 10:34-43).
5 tn Or “shown to be right.” This is the same verb translated “acknowledged… justice” in v. 29, with a similar sense – including the notion of response. Wisdom’s children are those who respond to God through John and Jesus.
6 tn Or “by all those who follow her” (cf. CEV, NLT). Note that the parallel in Matt 11:19 reads “by her deeds.”
7 tn This is a present imperative, calling for a constant watch (L&N 24.32; ExSyn 721).
8 sn Here you is a singular pronoun, individualizing the application.
9 sn The double use of the city’s name betrays intense emotion.
10 tn Although the opening address (“Jerusalem, Jerusalem”) is direct (second person), the remainder of this sentence in the Greek text is third person (“who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her”). The following sentences then revert to second person (“your… you”), so to keep all this consistent in English, the third person pronouns in the present verse were translated as second person (“you who kill… sent to you”).
11 sn How often I have longed to gather your children. Jesus, like a lamenting prophet, speaks for God here, who longed to care tenderly for Israel and protect her.
12 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
13 tn Grk “you were not willing.”
14 tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
15 sn The request of the apostles, “Increase our faith,” is not a request for a gift of faith, but a request to increase the depth of their faith.
16 sn The term impossible is in the emphatic position in the Greek text. God makes the impossible possible.
17 tn The plural Greek term ἄνθρωποις (anqrwpois) is used here in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NASB 1995 update, “people”). Because of the contrast here between mere mortals and God (“impossible for men…possible for God”) the phrase “mere humans” has been used in the translation.
18 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the dilemma Jesus’ opponents faced.
19 sn Very few questions could have so completely revealed the wicked intentions of the religious leaders. Jesus’ question revealed the motivation of the religious leaders and exposed them for what they really were – hypocrites. They indicted themselves when they cited only two options and chose neither of them. The point of Luke 20:1-8 is that no matter what Jesus said in response to their question they were not going to believe it and would in the end use it against him.
20 sn See Luke 6:22, 27; 1 Cor 1:25-31.
21 sn By your endurance is a call to remain faithful, because trusting in Jesus is the means to life.
22 tc Some important Greek witnesses plus the majority of
23 tn Grk “your souls,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. In light of v. 16 that does not seem to be the case here. The entire phrase could be taken as an idiom meaning “you will save yourselves” (L&N 21.20), or (as in v. 18) this could refer to living ultimately in the presence of God.
24 tn There is debate in the textual tradition about the position of γάρ (gar) and whether v. 35 looks back to v. 34 or is independent. The textual evidence does slightly favor placing γάρ after the verb and thus linking it back to v. 34. The other reading looks like Isa 24:17. However, the construction is harsh and the translation prefers for stylistic reasons to start a new English sentence here.
25 tn Or “come upon.”
26 sn This judgment involves everyone: all who live on the face of the whole earth. No one will escape this evaluation.
27 tn Grk “in the temple.”
sn Luke’s gospel story proper ends where it began, in the temple courts (Luke 1:4-22). The conclusion is open-ended, because the story continues in Acts with what happened from Jerusalem onwards, once the promise of the Father (v. 49) came.
28 tc The Western text (D it) has αἰνοῦντες (ainounte", “praising”) here, while the Alexandrian
29 tc The majority of Greek