Luke 19:2-4

19:2 Now ¹  a man named Zacchaeus was there; he was a chief tax collector ²  and was rich. 19:3 He ³  was trying to get a look at Jesus, ⁴  but being a short man he could not see over the crowd. ⁵  19:4 So ⁶  he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree ⁷  to see him, because Jesus ⁸  was going to pass that way.

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¹ tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of a new character. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

² sn This is the one place in the NT the office of chief tax collector is noted. He would organize the other tax collectors and collect healthy commissions (see also the note on the word tax collector in 3:12).

³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁴ tn Grk “He was trying to see who Jesus was.”

⁵ tn Grk “and he was not able to because of the crowd, for he was short in stature.”

⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of Zacchaeus not being able to see over the crowd.

⁷ sn A sycamore tree would have large branches near the ground like an oak tree and would be fairly easy to climb. These trees reach a height of some 50 ft (about 15 m).

⁸ tn Grk “that one”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.