‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance; 8
we wailed in mourning, 9 yet you did not weep.’
10:13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! 10 Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if 11 the miracles 12 done in you had been done in Tyre 13 and Sidon, 14 they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
22:35 Then 44 Jesus 45 said to them, “When I sent you out with no money bag, 46 or traveler’s bag, 47 or sandals, you didn’t lack 48 anything, did you?” They replied, 49 “Nothing.”
1 tn Grk “to receive”; but in context the repayment of the amount lent is implied. Jesus was noting that utilitarian motives are the way of the world.
2 sn See the note on the word sinners in v. 32.
3 tn Grk “to receive as much again.”
4 sn The background to the image pressed down, shaken together, running over is pouring out grain for measure in the marketplace. One often poured the grain into a container, shook it to level out the grain and then poured in some more. Those who are generous have generosity running over for them.
5 tn Grk “they will give”; that is, “pour.” The third person plural has been replaced by the passive in the translation.
6 tn Grk “by [the measure] with which you measure it will be measured back to you.”
7 tn Grk “They are like children sitting…and calling out…who say.”
8 sn ‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance…’ The children of this generation were making the complaint (see vv. 33-34) that others were not playing the game according to the way they played the music. John and Jesus did not follow “their tune.” Jesus’ complaint was that this generation wanted things their way, not God’s.
9 tn The verb ἐθρηνήσαμεν (eqrhnhsamen) refers to the loud wailing and lamenting used to mourn the dead in public in 1st century Jewish culture.
10 sn Chorazin was a town of Galilee that was probably fairly small in contrast to Bethsaida and is otherwise unattested. Bethsaida was declared a polis by the tetrarch Herod Philip, sometime after
11 tn This introduces a second class (contrary to fact) condition in the Greek text.
12 tn Or “powerful deeds.”
13 map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
14 sn Tyre and Sidon are two other notorious OT cities (Isa 23; Jer 25:22; 47:4). The remark is a severe rebuke, in effect: “Even the sinners of the old era would have responded to the proclamation of the kingdom, unlike you!”
map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
15 sn This is what past prophets and kings had wanted very much to see, yet the fulfillment had come to the disciples. This remark is like 1 Pet 1:10-12 or Heb 1:1-2.
16 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Grk “said.”
18 tn Here “as well” is used to translate καί (kai) at the beginning of the statement.
19 tn Grk “men.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.
20 tn Grk “you yourselves do not touch.” This could mean one of two things: (1) Either they make others do what they themselves do not (through various technical exceptions) or (2) they make no effort to help the others fulfill what they are required to do. Considering the care these religious figures are said to have given to the law, the second option is more likely (see L&N 18.11).
21 sn Your house is forsaken. The language here is from Jer 12:7 and 22:5. It recalls exilic judgment.
22 sn A quotation from Ps 118:26. The judgment to come will not be lifted until the Lord returns. See Luke 19:41-44.
23 tn Grk “host, and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate this action is a result of the situation described in the previous verse. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
24 tn Or “then in disgrace”; Grk “with shame.” In this culture avoiding shame was important.
25 tn Grk “lowest place” (also in the repetition of the phrase in the next verse).
26 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
27 tn Grk “said.”
28 tn This is a mixed condition, with ἄν (an) in the apodosis.
29 tn Grk “faith as,” “faith like.”
30 sn A black mulberry tree is a deciduous fruit tree that grows about 20 ft (6 m) tall and has black juicy berries. This tree has an extensive root system, so to pull it up would be a major operation.
31 tn The passives here (ἐκριζώθητι and φυτεύθητι, ekrizwqhti and futeuqhti) are probably a circumlocution for God performing the action (the so-called divine passive, see ExSyn 437-38). The issue is not the amount of faith (which in the example is only very tiny), but its presence, which can accomplish impossible things. To cause a tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea is impossible. The expression is a rhetorical idiom. It is like saying a camel can go through the eye of a needle (Luke 18:25).
32 tn The verb is aorist, though it looks at a future event, another rhetorical touch to communicate certainty of the effect of faith.
33 tn Some translations describe the slaves as “worthless” (NRSV) or “unworthy” (NASB, NIV) but that is not Jesus’ point. These disciples have not done anything deserving special commendation or praise (L&N 33.361), but only what would normally be expected of a slave in such a situation (thus the translation “we have only done what was our duty”).
34 tn Or “we have only done what we were supposed to do.”
35 sn See Luke 14:33.
36 tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were frequently omitted in Greek when clear from the context.
37 sn See Luke 1:50-53; 6:20-23; 14:12-14.
38 sn The call for sacrifice comes with a promise of eternal reward: …you will have treasure in heaven. Jesus’ call is a test to see how responsive the man is to God’s direction through him. Will he walk the path God’s agent calls him to walk? For a rich person who got it right, see Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10.
39 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the conversation.
40 tn Grk “saying.”
41 tn Grk “the village lying before [you]” (BDAG 530 s.v. κατέναντι 2.a).
42 tn Grk “in which entering.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek, but because of the length and complexity of the construction a new sentence was started here in the translation.
43 tn Grk “a colt tied there on which no one of men has ever sat.”
44 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
45 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
46 tn Traditionally, “purse” (likewise in v. 36).
47 tn Or possibly “beggar’s bag” (L&N 6.145).
48 sn This refers back to 9:3 and 10:3-4. The Greek construction anticipates a negative reply which is indicated in the translation by the ‘tag’ at the end, “did you?” Nothing was lacking.
49 tn Grk “said.”
50 tn This term also appears in v. 2.
51 tn Grk “behold, I” A transitional use of ἰδού (idou) has not been translated here.
52 tn Grk “nothing did I find in this man by way of cause.” The reference to “nothing” is emphatic.