Luke 11:26

11:26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so ¹  the last state of that person ²  is worse than the first.” ³ 

Luke 12:1

Fear God, Not People

12:1 Meanwhile, ⁴  when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus ⁵  began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against ⁶  the yeast of the Pharisees, ⁷  which is hypocrisy. ⁸ 

Luke 14:18

14:18 But one after another they all ⁹  began to make excuses. ¹⁰  The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, ¹¹  and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me.’ ¹² 

Luke 14:28

14:28 For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t sit down ¹³  first and compute the cost ¹⁴  to see if he has enough money to complete it?

Luke 14:31

14:31 Or what king, going out to confront another king in battle, will not sit down ¹⁵  first and determine whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose ¹⁶  the one coming against him with twenty thousand?

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¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding point of the story.

² tn Grk “man.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.

³ sn The point of the story is that to fail to respond is to risk a worse fate than when one started.

⁴ tn The phrase ἐν οἷς (en Jois) can be translated “meanwhile.”

⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn According to L&N 27.59, “to pay attention to, to keep on the lookout for, to be alert for, to be on your guard against.” This is another Lukan present imperative calling for constant vigilance.

⁷ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

⁸ sn The pursuit of popularity can lead to hypocrisy, if one is not careful.

⁹ tn Or “all unanimously” (BDAG 107 s.v. ἀπό 6). "One after another" is suggested by L&N 61.2.

¹⁰ sn To make excuses and cancel at this point was an insult in the culture of the time. Regardless of customs concerning responses to invitations, refusal at this point was rude.

¹¹ sn I have bought a field. An examination of newly bought land was a common practice. It was this person’s priority.

¹² sn The expression Please excuse me is probably a polite way of refusing, given the dynamics of the situation, although it is important to note that an initial acceptance had probably been indicated and it was now a bit late for a refusal. The semantic equivalent of the phrase may well be “please accept my apologies.”

¹³ tn The participle καθίσας (kaqisas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹⁴ tn The first illustration involves checking to see if enough funds exist to build a watchtower. Both ψηφίζω (yhfizw, “compute”) and δαπάνη (dapanh, “cost”) are economic terms.

¹⁵ tn The participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹⁶ tn On the meaning of this verb see also L&N 55.3, “to meet in battle, to face in battle.”