¹ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

² tn Grk “the one who is standing before God.”

³ tn Grk “to announce these things of good news to you.”

⁴ tn Grk “answered them all, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.

⁵ tc A few mss (C D 892 1424 pc it ) add εἰς μετάνοιαν (ei" metanoian, “for repentance”). Although two of the mss in support are early and important, it is an obviously motivated reading to add clarification, probably representing a copyist’s attempt to harmonize Luke’s version with Matt 3:11.

⁶ tn Grk “of whom I am not worthy.”

sn The humility of John is evident in the statement I am not worthy. This was considered one of the least worthy tasks of a slave, and John did not consider himself worthy to do even that for the one to come, despite the fact he himself was a prophet!

⁷ tn The term refers to the leather strap or thong used to bind a sandal. This is often viewed as a collective singular and translated as a plural, “the straps of his sandals,” but it may be more emphatic to retain the singular here.

⁸ sn With the Holy Spirit and fire. There are differing interpretations for this phrase regarding the number of baptisms and their nature. (1) Some see one baptism here, and this can be divided further into two options. (a) The baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire could refer to the cleansing, purifying work of the Spirit in the individual believer through salvation and sanctification, or (b) it could refer to two different results of Christ’s ministry: Some accept Christ and are baptized with the Holy Spirit, but some reject him and receive judgment. (2) Other interpreters see two baptisms here: The baptism of the Holy Spirit refers to the salvation Jesus brings at his first advent, in which believers receive the Holy Spirit, and the baptism of fire refers to the judgment Jesus will bring upon the world at his second coming. One must take into account both the image of fire and whether individual or corporate baptism is in view. A decision is not easy on either issue. The image of fire is used to refer to both eternal judgment (e.g., Matt 25:41) and the power of the Lord’s presence to purge and cleanse his people (e.g., Isa 4:4-5). The pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost, a fulfillment of this prophecy no matter which interpretation is taken, had both individual and corporate dimensions. It is possible that since Holy Spirit and fire are governed by a single preposition in Greek, the one-baptism view may be more likely, but this is not certain. Simply put, there is no consensus view in scholarship at this time on the best interpretation of this passage.

⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the relationship to Jesus’ miraculous cures in the preceding sentence.

¹⁰ tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” This is redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation to “he answered them.”

¹¹ sn The same verb has been translated “inform” in 7:18.

¹² sn What you have seen and heard. The following activities all paraphrase various OT descriptions of the time of promised salvation: Isa 35:5-6; 26:19; 29:18-19; 61:1. Jesus is answering not by acknowledging a title, but by pointing to the nature of his works, thus indicating the nature of the time.

¹³ 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.

¹⁴ 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.

¹⁵ tn Grk “You will love.” The future indicative is used here with imperatival force (see ExSyn 452 and 569).

¹⁶ 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.

¹⁷ tn This portion of the reply is a quotation from Lev 19:18. The verb is repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹⁸ tn Grk “answered him and said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been shortened to “answered him.”

¹⁹ tn Grk “from the manger [feeding trough],” but by metonymy of part for whole this can be rendered “stall.”

²⁰ 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.

²¹ tn Grk “but answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “but he answered.”

²² tn Or simply, “have served,” but in the emotional context of the older son’s outburst the translation given is closer to the point.

²³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to bring out the contrast indicated by the context.

²⁴ 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!”

²⁵ tn The words “at one point” are supplied to indicate that the following incident is not necessarily in chronological sequence with the preceding event.

²⁶ sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.

²⁷ tn Grk “having been asked by the Pharisees.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in keeping with contemporary English style, and the direct object, Jesus, has been supplied from the context.

²⁸ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

²⁹ tn Or “is not coming in a way that it can be closely watched” (L&N 24.48). Although there are differing interpretations of what this means, it probably refers to the cosmic signs often associated with the kingdom’s coming in the Jewish view (1 En. 91, 93; 2 Bar. 53—74). See D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1412-14, also H. Riesenfeld, TDNT 8:150.

³⁰ tn Grk “answering him, said.” This is redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation.

³¹ sn There is irony and almost a sense of mocking disbelief as the question “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that have happened there in these days?” comes to Jesus; but, of course, the readers know what the travelers do not.

³² tn Grk “in it” (referring to the city of Jerusalem).