Discovery BoxLuke 8:8 
Context8:8 But 1 other seed fell on good soil and grew, 2 and it produced a hundred times as much grain.” 3 As he said this, 4 he called out, “The one who has ears to hear had better listen!” 5
Luke 14:35
Context14:35 It is of no value 6 for the soil or for the manure pile; it is to be thrown out. 7 The one who has ears to hear had better listen!” 8
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in the final stage of the parable.
2 tn Grk “when it grew, after it grew.”
3 sn Unlike the parallel accounts in Matt 13:8 and Mark 4:8, there is no distinction in yield in this version of the parable.
4 tn Grk “said these things.”
5 tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 14:35).
6 tn Or “It is not useful” (L&N 65.32).
7 tn Grk “they throw it out.” The third person plural with unspecified subject is a circumlocution for the passive here.
8 tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8).
