Discovery BoxLuke 10:30 
Context10:30 Jesus replied, 1 “A man was going down 2 from Jerusalem 3 to Jericho, 4 and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat 5 him up, and went off, leaving him half dead. 6
Luke 12:45
Context12:45 But if 7 that 8 slave should say to himself, 9 ‘My master is delayed 10 in returning,’ and he begins to beat 11 the other 12 slaves, both men and women, 13 and to eat, drink, and get drunk,
Luke 18:13
Context18:13 The tax collector, however, stood 14 far off and would not even look up 15 to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful 16 to me, sinner that I am!’ 17
Luke 20:10
Context20:10 When harvest time came, he sent a slave 18 to the tenants so that they would give 19 him his portion of the crop. 20 However, the tenants beat his slave 21 and sent him away empty-handed.
1 tn Grk “answering, said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “replied.”
2 sn The journey from Jerusalem to Jericho was 17 mi (27 km), descending some 1800 ft (540 m) in altitude. It was known for its danger because the road ran through areas of desert and caves where the robbers hid.
3 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
4 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
5 tn Grk “and beat,” 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.
6 sn That is, in a state between life and death; severely wounded.
7 tn In the Greek text this is a third class condition that for all practical purposes is a hypothetical condition (note the translation of the following verb “should say”).
8 tn The term “that” (ἐκεῖνος, ekeino") is used as a catchword to list out, in the form of a number of hypothetical circumstances, what the possible responses of “that” servant could be. He could be faithful (vv. 43-44) or totally unfaithful (vv. 45-46). He does not complete his master’s will with knowledge (v. 47) or from ignorance (v 48). These differences are indicated by the different levels of punishment in vv. 46-48.
9 tn Grk “should say in his heart.”
10 tn Or “is taking a long time.”
11 sn The slave’s action in beginning to beat the other slaves was not only a failure to carry out what was commanded but involved doing the exact reverse.
12 tn The word “other” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
13 tn Grk “the menservants and the maidservants.” The term here, used in both masculine and feminine grammatical forms, is παῖς (pais), which can refer to a slave, but also to a slave who is a personal servant, and thus regarded kindly (L&N 87.77).
14 tn Grk “standing”; the Greek participle has been translated as a finite verb.
15 tn Grk “even lift up his eyes” (an idiom).
16 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).
17 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.
18 sn This slave (along with the next two) represent the prophets God sent to the nation, who were mistreated and rejected.
19 tc Instead of the future indicative δώσουσιν (dwsousin, “they will give”), most witnesses (C D W Θ Ψ Ë1 Ï) have the aorist subjunctive δῶσιν (dwsin, “they might give”). The aorist subjunctive is expected following ἵνα ({ina, “so that”), so it is almost surely a motivated reading. Further, early and excellent witnesses, as well as a few others (א A B Ë13 33 579 1241 2542 al), have δώσουσιν. It is thus more likely that the future indicative is authentic. For a discussion of this construction, see BDF §369.2.
20 tn Grk “from the fruit of the vineyard.”
21 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the slave sent by the owner) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
sn The image of the tenants beating up the owner’s slave pictures the nation’s rejection of the prophets and their message.
