4:38 After Jesus left 5 the synagogue, he entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus 6 to help her. 7
17:20 Now at one point 20 the Pharisees 21 asked Jesus 22 when the kingdom of God 23 was coming, so he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs 24 to be observed,
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 Grk “Arising from the synagogue, he entered.” The participle ἀναστάς (anastas) has been taken temporally here, and the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Grk “they asked him about her.” It is clear from the context that they were concerned about her physical condition. The verb “to help” in the translation makes this explicit.
8 tn Grk “Getting into”; the participle ἐμβάς (embas) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
9 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
10 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
11 tn Grk “sitting down”; the participle καθίσας (kaqisa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
12 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
13 tc See the tc note on “Gerasenes” in v. 26 for the same geographical options for the textual variants.
14 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.”
15 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
16 tn Or “to depart from them.”
17 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.
18 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.
19 tn Grk “returned,” but the effect is that he departed from the Gerasene region.
20 tn The words “at one point” are supplied to indicate that the following incident is not necessarily in chronological sequence with the preceding event.
21 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
22 tn Grk “having been asked by the Pharisees.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style, and the direct object, Jesus, has been supplied from the context.
23 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.
24 tn Or “is not coming in a way that it can be closely watched” (L&N 24.48). Although there are differing interpretations of what this means, it probably refers to the cosmic signs often associated with the kingdom’s coming in the Jewish view (1 En. 91, 93; 2 Bar. 53—74). See D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1412-14, also H. Riesenfeld, TDNT 8:150.
25 tn Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
26 tn Grk “his brother”; but this would be redundant in English with the same phrase “his brother” at the end of the verse, so most modern translations render this phrase “the man” (so NIV, NRSV).
27 tn The use of ἵνα (Jina) with imperatival force is unusual (BDF §470.1).
28 tn Grk “and raise up seed,” an idiom for procreating children (L&N 23.59).
29 sn A quotation from Deut 25:5. Because the OT quotation does not include “a wife” as the object of the verb, it has been left as normal type. This practice is called levirate marriage (see also Ruth 4:1-12; Mishnah, m. Yevamot; Josephus, Ant. 4.8.23 [4.254-256]). The levirate law is described in Deut 25:5-10. The brother of a man who died without a son had an obligation to marry his brother’s widow. This served several purposes: It provided for the widow in a society where a widow with no children to care for her would be reduced to begging, and it preserved the name of the deceased, who would be regarded as the legal father of the first son produced from that marriage.