¹ tn Or “know the truth about”; or “know the certainty of.” The issue of the context is psychological confidence; Luke’s work is trying to encourage Theophilus. So in English this is better translated as “know for certain” than “know certainty” or “know the truth,” which sounds too cognitive. “Certain” assumes the truth of the report. On this term, see Acts 2:36; 21:34; 22:30; and 25:26. The meaning “have assurance concerning” is also possible here.

² tn Or “you heard about.” This term can refer merely to a report of information (Acts 21:24) or to instruction (Acts 18:25). The scope of Luke’s Gospel as a whole, which calls for perseverance in the faith and which assumes much knowledge of the OT, suggests Theophilus had received some instruction and was probably a believer.

³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

⁴ sn Only Luke states this man is a ruler (cf. the parallels in Matt 19:16-22 and Mark 10:17-22, where the questioner is described only as “someone”). He is probably a civic leader of some kind, a leader in the society.

⁵ sn The rich man wanted to know what he must do to inherit eternal life, but Jesus had just finished teaching that eternal life was not earned but simply received (18:17). See the similar question about inheriting eternal life in Luke 10:25.

⁶ sn A creditor was a moneylender, whose business was to lend money to others at a fixed rate of interest.

⁷ tn The word “him” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

⁸ tn Grk “five hundred denarii.”

sn The silver coins were denarii. The denarius was worth about a day’s wage for a laborer; this would be an amount worth not quite two years’ pay. The debts were significant: They represented two months’ pay and one and three quarter years’ pay (20 months) based on a six day work week.

⁹ tn Grk “And he.” Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the connection to the preceding statement.

¹⁰ tn Grk “a parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated here.

¹¹ tn Or “yielded a plentiful harvest.”

¹² tn Grk “lose heart, saying.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in the Greek text, but a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the pronominal subject “He.”

¹³ tn Or “town.”

¹⁴ sn The judge here is apparently portrayed as a civil judge who often handled financial cases.

¹⁵ tn Grk “man,” but the singular ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used as a generic in comparison to God.