Discovery BoxLuke 11:10 
Context11:10 For everyone who asks 1 receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door 2 will be opened.
Luke 12:38
Context12:38 Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night 3 and finds them alert, 4 blessed are those slaves! 5
Luke 12:37
Context12:37 Blessed are those slaves 6 whom their master finds alert 7 when he returns! I tell you the truth, 8 he will dress himself to serve, 9 have them take their place at the table, 10 and will come 11 and wait on them! 12
Luke 15:4
Context15:4 “Which one 13 of you, if he has a hundred 14 sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture 15 and go look for 16 the one that is lost until he finds it? 17
Luke 15:8
Context15:8 “Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins 18 and loses 19 one of them, 20 does not light a lamp, sweep 21 the house, and search thoroughly until she finds it?
1 sn The actions of asking, seeking, and knocking are repeated here from v. 9 with the encouragement that God does respond.
2 tn Grk “it”; the referent (a door) is implied by the context and has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 sn The second or third watch of the night would be between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. on a Roman schedule and 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on a Jewish schedule. Luke uses the four-watch schedule of the Romans in Acts 12:4, so that is more probable here. Regardless of the precise times of the watches, however, it is clear that the late-night watches when a person is least alert are in view here.
4 tn Grk “finds (them) thus”; but this has been clarified in the translation by referring to the status (“alert”) mentioned in v. 37.
5 tn Grk “blessed are they”; the referent (the watchful slaves, v. 37) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.
7 tn Or “watching”; Grk “awake,” but in context this is not just being awake but alert and looking out.
8 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
10 tn Grk “have them recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.
11 tn The participle παρελθών (parelqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
12 sn He…will come and wait on them is a reversal of expectation, but shows that what Jesus asks for he is willing to do as well; see John 13:5 and 15:18-27, although those instances merely foreshadow what is in view here.
13 tn Grk “What man.” The Greek word ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a somewhat generic sense.
14 sn This individual with a hundred sheep is a shepherd of modest means, as flocks often had up to two hundred head of sheep.
15 tn Or “desert,” but here such a translation might suggest neglect of the 99 sheep left behind.
16 tn Grk “go after,” but in contemporary English the idiom “to look for” is used to express this.
17 sn Until he finds it. The parable pictures God’s pursuit of the sinner. On the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, see John 10:1-18.
18 sn This silver coin is a drachma, equal to a denarius, that is, a day’s pay for the average laborer.
19 tn Grk “What woman who has ten silver coins, if she loses.” The initial participle ἔχουσα (ecousa) has been translated as a finite verb parallel to ἀπολέσῃ (apolesh) in the conditional clause to improve the English style.
20 tn Grk “one coin.”
21 tn Grk “and sweep,” 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.
