Luke 3:14

3:14 Then some soldiers ¹  also asked him, “And as for us – what should we do?” ²  He told them, “Take money from no one by violence ³  or by false accusation, ⁴  and be content with your pay.”

Luke 23:8

23:8 When ⁵  Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform ⁶  some miraculous sign. ⁷ 

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¹ tn Grk “And soldiers.”

² tn Grk “And what should we ourselves do?”

³ tn Or “Rob no one.” The term διασείσητε (diaseishte) here refers to “shaking someone.” In this context it refers to taking financial advantage of someone through violence, so it refers essentially to robbery. Soldiers are to perform their tasks faithfully. A changed person is to carry out his tasks in life faithfully and without grumbling.

⁴ tn The term translated “accusation” (συκοφαντήσητε, sukofanthshte) refers to a procedure by which someone could bring charges against an individual and be paid a part of the fine imposed by the court. Soldiers could do this to supplement their pay, and would thus be tempted to make false accusations.

⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁶ tn Grk “to see some sign performed by him.” Here the passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style.

⁷ sn Herod, hoping to see him perform some miraculous sign, seems to have treated Jesus as a curiosity (cf. 9:7-9).