Discovery BoxLuke 1:13 
Context1:13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, 1 and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son; you 2 will name him John. 3
Luke 8:15
Context8:15 But as for the seed that landed on good soil, these are the ones who, after hearing 4 the word, cling to it 5 with an honest and good 6 heart, and bear fruit with steadfast endurance. 7
Luke 11:46
Context11:46 But Jesus 8 replied, 9 “Woe to you experts in religious law as well! 10 You load people 11 down with burdens difficult to bear, yet you yourselves refuse to touch 12 the burdens with even one of your fingers!
1 tn The passive means that the prayer was heard by God.
sn Your prayer has been heard. Zechariah’s prayer while offering the sacrifice would have been for the nation, but the answer to the prayer also gave them a long hoped-for child, a hope they had abandoned because of their old age.
2 tn Grk “a son, and you”; καί (kai) has not been translated. Instead a semicolon is used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
3 tn Grk “you will call his name John.” The future tense here functions like a command (see ExSyn 569-70). This same construction occurs in v. 31.
sn “Do not be afraid…you must call his name John.” This is a standard birth announcement (see Gen 16:11; Isa 7:14; Matt 1:21; Luke 1:31).
4 tn The aorist participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") has been taken temporally, reflecting action antecedent (prior to) that of the main verb.
5 sn There is a tenacity that is a part of spiritual fruitfulness.
6 sn In an ancient context, the qualifier good described the ethical person who possessed integrity. Here it is integrity concerning God’s revelation through Jesus.
7 sn Given the pressures noted in the previous soils, bearing fruit takes time (steadfast endurance), just as it does for the farmer. See Jas 1:2-4.
8 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Grk “said.”
10 tn Here “as well” is used to translate καί (kai) at the beginning of the statement.
11 tn Grk “men.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.
12 tn Grk “you yourselves do not touch.” This could mean one of two things: (1) Either they make others do what they themselves do not (through various technical exceptions) or (2) they make no effort to help the others fulfill what they are required to do. Considering the care these religious figures are said to have given to the law, the second option is more likely (see L&N 18.11).
