Luke 24:4-5

24:4 While 1  they were perplexed 2  about this, suddenly 3  two men stood beside them in dazzling 4  attire. 24:5 The 5  women 6  were terribly frightened 7  and bowed 8  their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living 9  among the dead?

1 tn Grk “And it happened that while.” 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.

2 tn Or “bewildered.” The term refers to a high state of confusion and anxiety.

3 tn Grk “behold.”

4 sn The brilliantly shining clothing (dazzling attire) points to the fact that these are angels (see 24:23).

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

6 tn Grk “they”; the referent (the women) has been specified in the translation for clarity (the same has been done in v. 8).

7 tn Or “They were extremely afraid.”

8 sn Bowed their faces to the ground. Such respect for angels is common: Dan 7:28; 10:9, 15.

9 sn By referring to Jesus as the living, the angels make it clear that he is alive. There should be no surprise.