4:16 Now 11 Jesus 12 came to Nazareth, 13 where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue 14 on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. 15 He 16 stood up to read, 17
7:24 When 26 John’s messengers had gone, Jesus 27 began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness 28 to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 29
8:22 One 30 day Jesus 31 got into a boat 32 with his disciples and said to them, “Let’s go across to the other side of the lake.” So 33 they set out,
10:1 After this 46 the Lord appointed seventy-two 47 others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town 48 and place where he himself was about to go.
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the consequential nature of the action.
2 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Simeon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Grk “So in the Spirit” or “So by the Spirit,” but since it refers to the Spirit’s direction the expanded translation “directed by the Spirit” is used here.
4 tn Grk “the temple.”
sn The temple courts is a reference to the larger temple area, not the holy place. Simeon was either in the court of the Gentiles or the court of women, since Mary was present.
5 tn Grk “to do for him according to the custom of the law.” See Luke 2:22-24.
6 sn Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees. The imagery of an “ax already laid at the root of the trees” is vivid, connoting sudden and catastrophic judgment for the unrepentant and unfruitful. The image of “fire” serves to further heighten the intensity of the judgment referred to. It is John’s way of summoning all people to return to God with all their heart and avoid his unquenchable wrath soon to be poured out. John’s language and imagery is probably ultimately drawn from the OT where Israel is referred to as a fruitless vine (Hos 10:1-2; Jer 2:21-22) and the image of an “ax” is used to indicate God’s judgment (Ps 74:5-6; Jer 46:22).
7 tn Grk “is”; the present tense (ἐκκόπτεται, ekkoptetai) has futuristic force here.
8 sn A winnowing fork is a pitchfork-like tool used to toss threshed grain in the air so that the wind blows away the chaff, leaving the grain to fall to the ground. The note of purging is highlighted by the use of imagery involving sifting though threshed grain for the useful kernels.
9 tn Or “granary,” “barn” (referring to a building used to store a farm’s produce rather than a building for housing livestock).
10 sn The image of fire that cannot be extinguished is from the OT: Job 20:26; Isa 34:8-10; 66:24.
11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
12 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 sn Nazareth was Jesus’ hometown (which is why he is known as Jesus of Nazareth) about 20 miles (30 km) southwest from Capernaum.
map For location see Map1-D3; Map2-C2; Map3-D5; Map4-C1; Map5-G3.
14 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.
15 tn Grk “according to his custom.”
16 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
17 sn In normative Judaism of the period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present. See the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2. First came the law, then the prophets, then someone was asked to speak on the texts. Normally one stood up to read out of respect for the scriptures, and then sat down (v. 20) to expound them.
18 tn Grk “Getting into”; the participle ἐμβάς (embas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
19 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
20 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
21 tn Grk “sitting down”; the participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
22 sn Wineskins were bags made of skin or leather, used for storing wine in NT times. As the new wine fermented and expanded, it would stretch the new wineskins. Putting new (unfermented) wine in old wineskins, which had already been stretched, would result in the bursting of the wineskins.
23 sn The background to the image pressed down, shaken together, running over is pouring out grain for measure in the marketplace. One often poured the grain into a container, shook it to level out the grain and then poured in some more. Those who are generous have generosity running over for them.
24 tn Grk “they will give”; that is, “pour.” The third person plural has been replaced by the passive in the translation.
25 tn Grk “by [the measure] with which you measure it will be measured back to you.”
26 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
27 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
28 tn Or “desert.”
29 tn There is a debate as to whether one should read this figuratively (“to see someone who is easily blown over?”) or literally (Grk “to see the wilderness vegetation?…No, to see a prophet”). Either view makes good sense, but the following examples suggest the question should be read literally and understood to point to the fact that a prophet drew them to the desert.
30 tn Grk “Now it happened that one.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here δέ (de) has not been translated either.
31 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
32 sn A boat that held all the disciples would be of significant size.
33 tn Grk “lake, and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the response to Jesus’ request. In addition, because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
34 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
35 tc See the tc note on “Gerasenes” in v. 26 for the same geographical options for the textual variants.
36 tn Grk “all the people of the surrounding region of the Gerasenes,” but according to L&N 1.80, “περίχωρος may include not only the surrounding region but also the point of reference, for example…‘the Gerasenes and the people living around them’ Lk 8:37.”
37 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
38 tn Or “to depart from them.”
39 sn Again there is great fear at God’s activity, but there is a different reaction. Some people want nothing to do with God’s presence. Mark 5:16 hints that economic reasons motivated their request.
40 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ departure was the result of the Gerasenes’ response. A new sentence was started in the translation at this point for stylistic reasons.
41 tn Grk “returned,” but the effect is that he departed from the Gerasene region.
42 tn Grk “and behold, a.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, καί (kai) has not been translated here; instead a new sentence was started in the translation. 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).
43 tn The Greek here is slightly ambiguous; the subject of the verb “screams” could be either the son or the spirit.
44 sn The reaction is like an epileptic fit (see L&N 14.27). See the parallel in Matt 17:14-20.
45 tn Or “bruising,” or “crushing.” This verb appears to allude to the damage caused when it throws him to the ground. According to L&N 19.46 it is difficult to know from this verb precisely what the symptoms caused by the demon were, but it is clear they must have involved severe pain. The multiple details given in the account show how gruesome the condition of the boy was.
46 tn Grk “And after these things.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
47 tc There is a difficult textual problem here and in v. 17, where the number is either “seventy” (א A C L W Θ Ξ Ψ Ë1,13 Ï and several church fathers and early versions) or “seventy-two” (Ì75 B D 0181 pc lat as well as other versions and fathers). The more difficult reading is “seventy-two,” since scribes would be prone to assimilate this passage to several OT passages that refer to groups of seventy people (Num 11:13-17; Deut 10:22; Judg 8:30; 2 Kgs 10:1 et al.); this reading also has slightly better ms support. “Seventy” could be the preferred reading if scribes drew from the tradition of the number of translators of the LXX, which the Letter of Aristeas puts at seventy-two (TCGNT 127), although this is far less likely. All things considered, “seventy-two” is a much more difficult reading and accounts for the rise of the other. Only Luke notes a second larger mission like the one in 9:1-6.
48 tn Or “city.”
49 tn Grk “answering, said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “replied.”
50 sn The journey from Jerusalem to Jericho was 17 mi (27 km), descending some 1800 ft (540 m) in altitude. It was known for its danger because the road ran through areas of desert and caves where the robbers hid.
51 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
52 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
53 tn Grk “and beat,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
54 sn That is, in a state between life and death; severely wounded.
55 tn Grk “will show,” but in this reflective context such a demonstration is a warning or exhortation.
56 sn The actual performer of the killing is not here specified. It could be understood to be God (so NASB, NRSV) but it could simply emphasize that, after a killing has taken place, it is God who casts the person into hell.
57 tn The direct object (“you”) is understood.
58 sn The word translated hell is “Gehenna” (γέεννα, geenna), a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew words ge hinnom (“Valley of Hinnom”). This was the valley along the south side of Jerusalem. In OT times it was used for human sacrifices to the pagan god Molech (cf. Jer 7:31; 19:5-6; 32:35), and it came to be used as a place where human excrement and rubbish were disposed of and burned. In the intertestamental period, it came to be used symbolically as the place of divine punishment (cf. 1 En. 27:2, 90:26; 4 Ezra 7:36).
59 tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.
60 tn Grk “grass in the field.”
61 tn Grk “which is in the field today.”
62 tn Grk “into the oven.” The expanded translation “into the fire to heat the oven” has been used to avoid misunderstanding; most items put into modern ovens are put there to be baked, not burned.
sn The oven was most likely a rounded clay oven used for baking bread, which was heated by burning wood and dried grass.
63 sn The phrase how much more is a typical form of rabbinic argumentation, from the lesser to the greater. If God cares for the little things, surely he will care for the more important things.
64 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
65 tc Here “son,” found in Ì45,75 (A) B W Ï, is the preferred reading. The other reading, “donkey” (found in א K L Ψ Ë1,13 33 579 892 1241 2542 al lat bo), looks like an assimilation to Luke 13:15 and Deut 22:4; Isa 32:20, and was perhaps motivated by an attempt to soften the unusual collocation of “son” and “ox.” The Western ms D differs from all others and reads “sheep.”
66 tn This term refers to the heavy upper stone of a grinding mill (L&N 7.70; BDAG 660 s.v. μυλικός).
sn The punishment of drowning with a heavy weight attached is extremely gruesome and reflects Jesus’ views concerning those who cause others who believe in him to sin.
67 tn Grk “if a millstone were tied…and he were thrown.” The conditional construction in Greek has been translated by English infinitives: “to have… and be thrown.”
68 tn Or “to stumble.” This verb, σκανδαλίσῃ (skandalish), has the same root as the noun σκάνδαλον (skandalon) in 17:1, translated “stumbling blocks”; this wordplay is difficult to reproduce in English. It is possible that the primary cause of offense here would be leading disciples (“little ones”) astray in a similar fashion.
69 tn Grk “behold.”
70 sn Since women usually carried these jars, it would have been no problem for Peter and John to recognize the man Jesus was referring to.
71 sn Jesus is portrayed throughout Luke 22-23 as very aware of what will happen, almost directing events. Here this is indicated by his prediction that a man carrying a jar of water will meet you.