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 6:17

The Sermon on the Plain

6:17 Then ⁶  he came down with them and stood on a level place. ⁷  And a large number ⁸  of his disciples had gathered ⁹  along with ¹⁰  a vast multitude from all over Judea, from ¹¹  Jerusalem, ¹²  and from the seacoast of Tyre ¹³  and Sidon. ¹⁴  They came to hear him and to be healed ¹⁵  of their diseases,

Luke 6:48

6:48 He is like a man ¹⁶  building a house, who dug down deep, ¹⁷  and laid the foundation on bedrock. When ¹⁸  a flood came, the river ¹⁹  burst against that house but ²⁰  could not shake it, because it had been well built. ²¹ 

Luke 11:31

11:31 The queen of the South ²²  will rise up at the judgment ²³  with the people ²⁴  of this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon – and now, ²⁵  something greater ²⁶  than Solomon is here!

Luke 18:14

18:14 I tell you that this man went down to his home justified ²⁷  rather than the Pharisee. ²⁸  For everyone who exalts ²⁹  himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

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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 [˹³] 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 ˹ 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 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁷ tn Or “on a plateau.” This could refer to a message given in a flat locale or in a flat locale in the midst of a more mountainous region (Jer 21:13; Isa 13:2). It is quite possible that this sermon is a summary version of the better known Sermon on the Mount from Matt 5-7.

⁸ tn Grk “large crowd.”

⁹ tn There is no verb in Greek at this point, but since “a large crowd” (see preceding tn) is in the nominative case, one needs to be supplied.

¹⁰ tn Grk “and.”

¹¹ tn Grk “and from,” 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.

¹² map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹³ map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.

¹⁴ sn These last two locations, Tyre and Sidon, represented an expansion outside of traditional Jewish territory. Jesus’ reputation continued to expand into new regions.

map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.

¹⁵ sn To hear him and to be healed. Jesus had a two-level ministry: The word and then wondrous acts of service that showed his message of God’s care were real.

¹⁶ tn Here and in v. 49 the Greek text reads ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), while the parallel account in Matt 7:24-27 uses ἀνήρ (anhr) in vv. 24 and 26.

¹⁷ tn There are actually two different Greek verbs used here: “who dug (ἔσκαψεν, eskayen) and dug deep (ἐβάθυνεν, ebaqunen).” Jesus is placing emphasis on the effort to which the man went to prepare his foundation.

¹⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹⁹ sn The picture here is of a river overflowing its banks and causing flooding and chaos.

²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in the context.

²¹ tc Most mss, especially later ones (A C D Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï latt), read “because he built [it] on the rock” rather than “because it had been well built” (Ì^75vid א B L W Ξ 33 579 892 1241 2542 pc sa). The reading of the later mss seems to be a harmonization to Matt 7:25, rendering it most likely secondary.

²² sn On the queen of the South see 1 Kgs 10:1-3 and 2 Chr 9:1-12, as well as Josephus, Ant. 8.6.5-6 (8.165-175). The South most likely refers to modern southwest Arabia, possibly the eastern part of modern Yemen, although there is an ancient tradition reflected in Josephus which identifies this geo-political entity as Ethiopia.

²³ sn For the imagery of judgment, see Luke 10:13-15 and 11:19. The warnings are coming consistently now.

²⁴ tn Grk “men”; the word here (ἀνήρ, anhr) usually indicates males or husbands, but occasionally is used in a generic sense of people in general, as is the case here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 1, 2). The same term, translated the same way, occurs in v. 32.

²⁵ tn Grk “behold.”

²⁶ sn The message of Jesus was something greater than what Solomon offered. On Jesus and wisdom, see Luke 7:35; 10:21-22; 1 Cor 1:24, 30.

²⁷ sn The prayer that was heard and honored was the one given with humility; in a surprising reversal it was the tax collector who went down to his home justified.

²⁸ tn Grk “the other”; the referent (the Pharisee, v. 10) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁹ sn Everyone who exalts himself. See Luke 14:11. Jesus often called for humility and condemned those who sought honor.