Luke 7:12-16

7:12 As he approached the town gate, a man ¹  who had died was being carried out, ²  the only son of his mother (who ³  was a widow ⁴ ), and a large crowd from the town ⁵  was with her. 7:13 When ⁶  the Lord saw her, he had compassion ⁷  for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” ⁸  7:14 Then ⁹  he came up ¹⁰  and touched ¹¹  the bier, ¹²  and those who carried it stood still. He ¹³  said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 7:15 So ¹⁴  the dead man ¹⁵  sat up and began to speak, and Jesus ¹⁶  gave him back ¹⁷  to his mother. 7:16 Fear ¹⁸  seized them all, and they began to glorify ¹⁹  God, saying, “A great prophet ²⁰  has appeared ²¹  among us!” and “God has come to help ²²  his people!”

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¹ tn Grk “behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

² tn That is, carried out for burial. This was a funeral procession.

³ tn Grk “and she.” The clause introduced by καί (kai) has been translated as a relative clause for the sake of English style.

⁴ sn The description of the woman as a widow would mean that she was now socially alone and without protection in 1st century Jewish culture.

⁵ tn Or “city.”

⁶ tn Grk “And seeing her, the Lord.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. The participle ἰδών (idwn) has been taken temporally.

⁷ sn He had compassion. It is unusual for Luke to note such emotion by Jesus, though the other Synoptics tend to mention it (Matt 14:14; Mark 6:34; Matt 15:32; Mark 8:2).

⁸ tn The verb κλαίω (klaiw) denotes the loud wailing or lamenting typical of 1st century Jewish mourning.

⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹⁰ tn Grk “coming up, he touched.” The participle προσελθών (proselqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

¹¹ 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).

¹² 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.

¹³ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the result of Jesus’ command.

¹⁵ tn Or “the deceased.”

¹⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁷ tn In the context, the verb δίδωμι (didwmi) has been translated “gave back” rather than simply “gave.”

¹⁸ tn Or “Awe.” Grk “fear,” but the context and the following remark show that it is mixed with wonder; see L&N 53.59. This is a reaction to God’s work; see Luke 5:9.

¹⁹ tn This imperfect verb has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

²⁰ sn That Jesus was a great prophet was a natural conclusion for the crowd to make, given the healing; but Jesus is more than this. See Luke 9:8, 19-20.

²¹ tn Grk “arisen.”

²² tn Grk “visited,” but this conveys a different impression to a modern reader. L&N 85.11 renders the verb, “to be present, with the implication of concern – ‘to be present to help, to be on hand to aid.’ … ‘God has come to help his people’ Lk 7:16.” The language recalls Luke 1:68, 78.