¹ tn Grk “And,” but “now” better represents the somewhat parenthetical nature of this statement in the flow of the narrative.

² tn Grk “all the multitude.” While “assembly” is sometimes used here to translate πλῆθος (plhqo"), that term usually implies in English a specific or particular group of people. However, this was simply a large group gathered outside, which was not unusual, especially for the afternoon offering.

³ tn The “hour of the incense offering” is another way to refer to the time of sacrifice.

⁴ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁵ sn The word translated will turn is a good summary term for repentance and denotes John’s call to a change of direction (Luke 3:1-14).

⁶ tn Grk “sons”; but clearly this is a generic reference to people of both genders.

⁷ sn John’s role, to give his people knowledge of salvation, is similar to that of Jesus (Luke 3:1-14; 5:31-32).

⁸ sn Forgiveness is another major Lukan theme (Luke 4:18; 24:47; Acts 10:37).

⁹ tn The syntax of this verse is disputed. Most read “light” and “glory” in parallelism, so Jesus is a light for revelation to the Gentiles and is glory to the people for Israel. Others see “light” (1:78-79) as a summary, while “revelation” and “glory” are parallel, so Jesus is light for all, but is revelation for the Gentiles and glory for Israel. Both readings make good sense and either could be correct, but Luke 1:78-79 and Acts 26:22-23 slightly favor this second option.

¹⁰ sn In other words, Jesus is a special cause for praise and honor (“glory”) for the nation.

¹¹ tn Or “kept increasing.” The imperfect tense suggests something of a progressive force to the verb.

¹² tn On construction μὲν οὖν καί (men oun kai), see BDF §451.1.

¹³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁴ tn The words “the people” are not in the Greek text but have been supplied.

¹⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁶ tn Grk “After he had completed all his sayings in the hearing of the people.”

¹⁷ sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region.

map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 C3; Map3 B2.

¹⁸ tn Grk “men,” but this is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"). The comparison that follows in vv. 32-34 describes “this generation,” not Jesus and John.

¹⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

²⁰ tn This is a distributive use of κατά (kata); see L&N 83:12 where this verse is cited as an example of the usage.

²¹ tn Or “preaching the gospel.”

sn This verse is similar to Luke 9:2, except for good news at this point. The change means that to “preach the kingdom” is to “preach the good news.” The ideas are interchangeable as summaries for the disciples’ message. They are combined in Luke 8:1.

²² tn Grk “And they did thus.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the disciples’ action was a result of Jesus’ instructions. The adverb οὕτως ({outw", “thus”) has been expanded in the translation to “as Jesus directed” to clarify what was done.

²³ tn Grk “and they”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁴ tn Grk “And whatever town you enter,” but this is more often expressed in English as “whenever you enter a town.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

²⁵ tn Or “city.” Jesus now speaks of the town as a whole, as he will in vv. 10-12.

²⁶ tn Grk “and they”; the referent (the people who live in the town) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁷ tc Most mss (A [D] W Θ Ψ Ë¹³ Ï it) have “experts in the law and Pharisees, hypocrites” after “you,” but this looks like an assimilation to the parallel in Matt 23:25, 27, 29. The shorter reading has earlier attestation from a variety of reliable mss (Ì^45,75 א B C L ˹ 33 1241 2542 lat sa).

²⁸ tn Grk “men.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.

²⁹ sn In Judaism to come into contact with the dead or what is associated with them, even without knowing it, makes one unclean (Num 19:11-22; Lev 21:1-3; Mishnah, m. Demai 2:3). To Pharisees, who would have been so sensitive about contracting ceremonial uncleanness, it would have been quite a stinging rebuke to be told they caused it.

³⁰ sn John, like Jesus, was not a part of the official rabbinic order. So the question “John’s baptism – was it from heaven or from men?” draws an analogy between John the Baptist and Jesus. See Luke 3:1-20; 7:24-27. The phrase John’s baptism refers to the baptism practiced by John.

³¹ tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is used here (and in v. 6) in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NAB, NRSV, “of human origin”; TEV, “from human beings”; NLT, “merely human”).

sn The question is whether John’s ministry was of divine or human origin.

³² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ response is a result of their framing of the question.

³³ tn Grk “sons of this age” (an idiom, see L&N 11.16). The following clause which refers to being “given in marriage” suggests both men and women are included in this phrase.

³⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

³⁵ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³⁶ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

³⁷ 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.