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 sn Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees. The imagery of an “ax already laid at the root of the trees” is vivid, connoting sudden and catastrophic judgment for the unrepentant and unfruitful. The image of “fire” serves to further heighten the intensity of the judgment referred to. It is John’s way of summoning all people to return to God with all their heart and avoid his unquenchable wrath soon to be poured out. John’s language and imagery is probably ultimately drawn from the OT where Israel is referred to as a fruitless vine (Hos 10:1-2; Jer 2:21-22) and the image of an “ax” is used to indicate God’s judgment (Ps 74:5-6; Jer 46:22).

⁵ tn Grk “is”; the present tense (ἐκκόπτεται, ekkoptetai) has futuristic force here.

⁶ tn Grk “to receive”; but in context the repayment of the amount lent is implied. Jesus was noting that utilitarian motives are the way of the world.

⁷ sn See the note on the word sinners in v. 32.

⁸ tn Grk “to receive as much again.”

⁹ tn Or “pleased with him and amazed.” The expanded translation brings out both Jesus’ sense of wonder at the deep insight of the soldier and the pleasure he had that he could present the man as an example of faith.

¹⁰ sn There are two elements to the faith that Jesus commended: The man’s humility and his sense of Jesus’ authority which recognized that only Jesus’ word, not his physical presence, were required.

¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹² sn “Where is your faith?” The call is to trust God and realize that those who exercise faith can trust in his care.

¹³ sn The combination of fear and respect (afraid and amazed) shows that the disciples are becoming impressed with the great power at work in Jesus, a realization that fuels their question. For a similar reaction, see Luke 5:9.

¹⁴ sn Jesus’ authority over creation raised a question for the disciples about who he was exactly (“Who then is this?”). This verse shows that the disciples followed Jesus even though they did not know all about him yet.

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

¹⁶ tn Grk “said.”

¹⁷ tn Here “as well” is used to translate καί (kai) at the beginning of the statement.

¹⁸ tn Grk “men.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.

¹⁹ 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).

²⁰ tn This figurative use operates on a relative scale. God is to be loved more than family or self.

²¹ tn Grk “his own soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.

²² tn Grk “but answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “but he answered.”

²³ tn Or simply, “have served,” but in the emotional context of the older son’s outburst the translation given is closer to the point.

²⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to bring out the contrast indicated by the context.

²⁵ sn You never gave me even a goat. The older son’s complaint was that the generous treatment of the younger son was not fair: “I can’t get even a little celebration with a basic food staple like a goat!”

²⁶ tn Or “stood by himself and prayed like this.” The prepositional phrase πρὸς ἑαυτόν (pros eauton, “to/about himself”) could go with either the aorist participle σταθείς (staqeis, “stood”) or with the imperfect verb προσηύχετο (proshuceto, “he prayed”). If taken with the participle, then the meaning would seem at first glance to be: “stood ‘by himself’,” or “stood ‘alone’.” Now it is true that πρός can mean “by” or “with” when used with intransitive verbs such as ἵστημι ({isthmi, “I stand”; cf. BDAG 874 s.v. πρός 2.a), but πρὸς ἑαυτόν together never means “by himself” or “alone” in biblical Greek. On the other hand, if πρὸς ἑαυτόν is taken with the verb, then two different nuances emerge, both of which highlight in different ways the principal point Jesus seems to be making about the arrogance of this religious leader: (1) “prayed to himself,” but not necessarily silently, or (2) “prayed about himself,” with the connotation that he prayed out loud, for all to hear. Since his prayer is really a review of his moral résumé, directed both at advertising his own righteousness and exposing the perversion of the tax collector, whom he actually mentions in his prayer, the latter option seems preferable. If this is the case, then the Pharisee’s mention of God is really nothing more than a formality.

²⁷ sn The Pharisee’s prayer started out as a thanksgiving psalm to God, but the praise ended up not being about God.

²⁸ tn Here the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is used as a generic and can refer to both men and women (NASB, NRSV, “people”; NLT, “everyone else”; NAB, “the rest of humanity”).

²⁹ tn Or “swindlers” (BDAG 134 s.v. ἅρπαξ 2); see also Isa 10:2; Josephus, J. W. 6.3.4 [6.203].

³⁰ sn A general category for “sinners” (1 Cor 6:9; Lev 19:3).

³¹ sn Note what the Pharisee assumes about the righteousness of this tax collector by grouping him with extortionists, unrighteous people, and adulterers.

³² tn Grk “standing”; the Greek participle has been translated as a finite verb.

³³ tn Grk “even lift up his eyes” (an idiom).

³⁴ tn The prayer is a humble call for forgiveness. The term for mercy (ἱλάσκομαι, Jilaskomai) is associated with the concept of a request for atonement (BDAG 473-74 s.v. 1; Ps 51:1, 3; 25:11; 34:6, 18).

³⁵ tn Grk “the sinner.” The tax collector views himself not just as any sinner but as the worst of all sinners. See ExSyn 222-23.

³⁶ tn Grk “But that the dead are raised even Moses revealed.”

³⁷ sn See Exod 3:6. Jesus used a common form of rabbinic citation here to refer to the passage in question.

³⁸ sn A quotation from Exod 3:6.