Luke 19:12

19:12 Therefore he said, “A nobleman ¹  went to a distant country to receive ²  for himself a kingdom and then return. ³ 

Luke 15:13

15:13 After ⁴  a few days, ⁵  the younger son gathered together all he had and left on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered ⁶  his wealth ⁷  with a wild lifestyle.

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¹ tn Grk “a man of noble birth” or “a man of noble status” (L&N 87.27).

² sn Note that the receiving of the kingdom takes place in the far country. This suggests that those in the far country recognize and acknowledge the king when his own citizens did not want him as king (v. 14; cf. John 1:11-12).

³ sn The background to this story about the nobleman who went…to receive for himself a kingdom had some parallels in the area’s recent history: Archelaus was appointed ethnarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea in 4 b.c., but the people did not like him. Herod the Great also made a similar journey to Rome where he was crowned King of Judea in 40 b.c., although he was not able to claim his kingdom until 37 b.c.

⁴ tn Grk “And after.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁵ tn Grk “after not many days.”

⁶ tn Or “wasted.” This verb is graphic; it means to scatter (L&N 57.151).

⁷ tn Or “estate” (the same word has been translated “estate” in v. 12).