9:18 Once 13 when Jesus 14 was praying 15 by himself, and his disciples were nearby, he asked them, 16 “Who do the crowds say that I am?” 17 9:19 They 18 answered, 19 “John the Baptist; others say Elijah; 20 and still others that one of the prophets of long ago has risen.” 21
12:54 Jesus 25 also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, 26 you say at once, ‘A rainstorm 27 is coming,’ and it does.
1 tn Or “roof; therefore.”
2 tn Grk “I did not consider myself worthy to come to you.” See BDAG 94 s.v. ἀξιόω 1. “Presume” assumes this and expresses the idea in terms of offense.
3 tc The aorist imperative ἰαθήτω (iaqhtw, “must be healed”) is found in Ì75vid B L 1241 sa. Most
tn The aorist imperative may be translated as an imperative of command (“must be healed” or, more periphrastically, “command [my servant] to be healed”) or as a permissive imperative (“let my servant be healed”), which lessens the force of the imperative somewhat in English.
4 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
5 tn Grk “coming up, he touched.” The participle προσελθών (proselqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
6 sn The act of having touched the bier would have rendered Jesus ceremonially unclean, but it did not matter to him, since he was expressing his personal concern (Num 19:11, 16).
7 sn Although sometimes translated “coffin,” the bier was actually a stretcher or wooden plank on which the corpse was transported to the place of burial. See L&N 6.109.
8 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
9 tn Grk “Behold a man.”
10 sn Neither were they happy with Jesus (the Son of Man), even though he was the opposite of John and associated freely with people like tax collectors and sinners. Either way, God’s messengers were subject to complaint.
11 tn Grk “And”; here καί (kai) has been translated as an adversative (contrastive).
12 tn Grk “were reclining at table.”
13 tn Grk “And it happened that.” 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. Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
14 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 sn Prayer is a favorite theme of Luke and he is the only one of the gospel authors to mention it in the following texts (with the exception of 22:41): Luke 3:21; 5:16; 6:12; 9:28-29; 11:1; 22:41; 23:34, 46.
16 tn Grk “the disciples were with him, and he asked them, saying.”
17 sn “Who do the crowds say that I am?” The question of who Jesus is occurs frequently in this section of Luke: 7:49; 8:25; 9:9. The answer resolves a major theme of Luke’s Gospel.
18 tn Grk “And they.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
19 tn Grk “And answering, they said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “They answered.”
20 sn The appearance of Elijah would mean that the end time had come. According to 2 Kgs 2:11, Elijah was still alive. In Mal 4:5 it is said that Elijah would be the precursor of Messiah.
21 sn The phrase has risen could be understood to mean “has been resurrected,” but this is only a possible option, not a necessary one, since the phrase could merely mean that a figure had appeared on the scene who mirrored an earlier historical figure. Note that the three categories in the reply match the ones in Luke 9:7-8.
22 sn The saying looks at persecution both from a Jewish context as the mention of synagogues suggests, and from a Gentile one as the reference to the rulers and the authorities suggests.
sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.
23 tn Grk “and the,” 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.
24 tn Grk “about how or what you should say in your defense,” but this is redundant with the following clause, “or what you should say.”
25 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “also” and δέ (de) has not been translated.
26 sn A cloud rising in the west refers to moisture coming from the Mediterranean Sea.
27 tn The term ὄμβρος (ombro") refers to heavy rain, such as in a thunderstorm (L&N 14.12).
28 sn In the confession “I have sinned” there is a recognition of wrong that pictures the penitent coming home and “being found.”
29 sn The phrase against heaven is a circumlocution for God.
30 tn According to BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνωπιον 4.a, “in relation to ἁμαρτάνειν ἐ. τινος sin against someone Lk 15:18, 21 (cf. Jdth 5:17; 1 Km 7:6; 20:1).”
31 tn Grk “And they will say.” The plural in Greek is indefinite, referring to people in general. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
32 tn The words “he is” here and in the following clause are understood and have been supplied from the context.
33 sn Do not go out or chase after them. There will be no need to search for the Son of Man at his coming, though many will falsely claim its arrival.
34 tn Grk “For behold.”
35 tn Grk “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not borne, and the breasts that have not nursed!”
sn Normally barrenness is a sign of judgment, because birth would be seen as a sign of blessing. The reversal of imagery indicates that something was badly wrong.