Luke 6:1

Lord of the Sabbath

6:1 Jesus 1  was going through the grain fields on 2  a Sabbath, 3  and his disciples picked some heads of wheat, 4  rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. 5 

Luke 10:31

10:31 Now by chance 6  a priest was going down that road, but 7  when he saw the injured man 8  he passed by 9  on the other side. 10 

Luke 19:4

19:4 So 11  he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree 12  to see him, because Jesus 13  was going to pass that way.

1 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

2 tn Grk “Now it happened that on.” 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.

3 tc Most later mss (A C D Θ Ψ [Ë13] Ï lat) read ἐν σαββάτῳ δευτεροπρώτῳ (en sabbatw deuteroprwtw, “a second-first Sabbath”), while the earlier and better witnesses have simply ἐν σαββάτῳ (Ì4 א B L W Ë1 33 579 1241 2542 it sa). The longer reading is most likely secondary, though various explanations may account for it (for discussion, see TCGNT 116).

4 tn Or “heads of grain.” While the generic term στάχυς (stacus) can refer to the cluster of seeds at the top of grain such as barley or wheat, in the NT the term is restricted to wheat (L&N 3.40; BDAG 941 s.v. 1).

5 tn Grk “picked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands.” The participle ψώχοντες (ywconte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style, and the order of the clauses has been transposed to reflect the logical order, which sounds more natural in English.

6 sn The phrase by chance adds an initial note of hope and fortune to the expectation in the story.

7 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context between the priest’s expected action (helping the victim) and what he really did.

8 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the injured man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

9 sn It is not said why the priest passed by and refused to help. It is not relevant to the point of the parable that no help was given in the emergency situation.

10 sn The text suggests that the priest went out of his way (on the other side) not to get too close to the scene.

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

12 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).

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