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 7:8

7:8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me. ⁵  I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, ⁶  and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 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 Grk “having soldiers under me.”

⁶ sn I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes. The illustrations highlight the view of authority the soldier sees in the word of one who has authority. Since the centurion was a commander of a hundred soldiers, he understood what it was both to command others and to be obeyed.

⁷ tn The word “it” is not in the Greek text, but is implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.