¹ tn Grk “before.”

² tn Grk “and he”; because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun in the translation.

³ tn Grk “even from his mother’s womb.” While this idiom may be understood to refer to the point of birth (“even from his birth”), Luke 1:41 suggests that here it should be understood to refer to a time before birth.

sn He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. This is the language of the birth of a prophet (Judg 13:5, 7; Isa 49:1; Jer 1:5; Sir 49:7); see 1:41 for the first fulfillment.

⁴ tn Grk “And it happened that when.” 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.

⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

⁶ sn Note how although angels delivered the message, it was the Lord whose message is made known, coming through them.

⁷ tn Or “A voice.”

⁸ tn Or “desert.” The syntactic position of the phrase “in the wilderness” is unclear in both Luke and the LXX. The MT favors taking it with “Prepare a way,” while the LXX takes it with “a voice shouting.” If the former, the meaning would be that such preparation should be done “in the wilderness.” If the latter, the meaning would be that the place from where John’s ministry went forth was “in the wilderness.” There are Jewish materials that support both renderings: 1QS 8:14 and 9.19-20 support the MT while certain rabbinic texts favor the LXX (see D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:290-91). While it is not absolutely necessary that a call in the wilderness led to a response in the wilderness, it is not unlikely that such would be the case. Thus, in the final analysis, the net effect between the two choices may be minimal. In any case, a majority of commentators and translations take “in the wilderness” with “The voice of one shouting” (D. L. Bock; R. H. Stein, Luke [NAC], 129; I. H. Marshall, Luke [NIGTC], 136; NIV, NRSV, NKJV, NLT, NASB, REB).

⁹ tn This call to “make paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance as the verb ποιέω (poiew) reappears in vv. 8, 10, 11, 12, 14.

¹⁰ tn Grk “And after these things.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹¹ tc There is a difficult textual problem here and in v. 17, where the number is either “seventy” (א A C L W Θ Ξ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï and several church fathers and early versions) or “seventy-two” (Ì⁷⁵ B D 0181 pc lat as well as other versions and fathers). The more difficult reading is “seventy-two,” since scribes would be prone to assimilate this passage to several OT passages that refer to groups of seventy people (Num 11:13-17; Deut 10:22; Judg 8:30; 2 Kgs 10:1 et al.); this reading also has slightly better ms support. “Seventy” could be the preferred reading if scribes drew from the tradition of the number of translators of the LXX, which the Letter of Aristeas puts at seventy-two (TCGNT 127), although this is far less likely. All things considered, “seventy-two” is a much more difficult reading and accounts for the rise of the other. Only Luke notes a second larger mission like the one in 9:1-6.

¹² tn Or “city.”

¹³ tn Grk “And he”; the referent (the expert in religious law, shortened here to “the expert”) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹⁴ tn Grk “You will love.” The future indicative is used here with imperatival force (see ExSyn 452 and 569).

¹⁵ sn A quotation from Deut 6:5. The fourfold reference to different parts of the person says, in effect, that one should love God with all one’s being.

¹⁶ tn This portion of the reply is a quotation from Lev 19:18. The verb is repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁷ 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 been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

¹⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁹ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

²⁰ sn John refers to John the Baptist.

²¹ sn It was not unusual for Jewish groups to have their own prayer as a way of expressing corporate identity. Judaism had the Eighteen Benedictions and apparently John the Baptist had a prayer for his disciples as well.

²² tn Grk “And the Lord said.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

²³ tn Or “administrator,” “steward” (L&N 37.39).

²⁴ tn This term, θεραπεία (qerapeia), describes the group of servants working in a particular household (L&N 46.6).

²⁵ tn Grk “answered him and said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been shortened to “answered him.”

²⁶ tn Grk “from the manger [feeding trough],” but by metonymy of part for whole this can be rendered “stall.”

²⁷ sn The charge here is hypocrisy, but it is only part one of the response. Various ancient laws detail what was allowed with cattle; see Mishnah, m. Shabbat 5; CD 11:5-6.

²⁸ sn Your house is forsaken. The language here is from Jer 12:7 and 22:5. It recalls exilic judgment.

²⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 118:26. The judgment to come will not be lifted until the Lord returns. See Luke 19:41-44.

³⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.

³¹ tn Grk “said.”

³² tn This is a mixed condition, with ἄν (an) in the apodosis.

³³ tn Grk “faith as,” “faith like.”

³⁴ sn A black mulberry tree is a deciduous fruit tree that grows about 20 ft (6 m) tall and has black juicy berries. This tree has an extensive root system, so to pull it up would be a major operation.

³⁵ tn The passives here (ἐκριζώθητι and φυτεύθητι, ekrizwqhti and futeuqhti) are probably a circumlocution for God performing the action (the so-called divine passive, see ExSyn 437-38). The issue is not the amount of faith (which in the example is only very tiny), but its presence, which can accomplish impossible things. To cause a tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea is impossible. The expression is a rhetorical idiom. It is like saying a camel can go through the eye of a needle (Luke 18:25).

³⁶ tn The verb is aorist, though it looks at a future event, another rhetorical touch to communicate certainty of the effect of faith.

³⁷ tn Grk “But that the dead are raised even Moses revealed.”

³⁸ sn See Exod 3:6. Jesus used a common form of rabbinic citation here to refer to the passage in question.

³⁹ sn A quotation from Exod 3:6.