Discovery BoxLuke 11:43-54 
Context11:43 Woe to you Pharisees! You love the best seats 1 in the synagogues 2 and elaborate greetings 3 in the marketplaces! 11:44 Woe to you! 4 You are like unmarked graves, and people 5 walk over them without realizing it!” 6
11:45 One of the experts in religious law 7 answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things you insult 8 us too.” 11:46 But Jesus 9 replied, 10 “Woe to you experts in religious law as well! 11 You load people 12 down with burdens difficult to bear, yet you yourselves refuse to touch 13 the burdens with even one of your fingers! 11:47 Woe to you! You build 14 the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors 15 killed. 11:48 So you testify that you approve of 16 the deeds of your ancestors, 17 because they killed the prophets 18 and you build their 19 tombs! 20 11:49 For this reason also the wisdom 21 of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 11:50 so that this generation may be held accountable 22 for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning 23 of the world, 24 11:51 from the blood of Abel 25 to the blood of Zechariah, 26 who was killed 27 between the altar and the sanctuary. 28 Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against 29 this generation. 11:52 Woe to you experts in religious law! You have taken away 30 the key to knowledge! You did not go in yourselves, and you hindered 31 those who were going in.”
11:53 When he went out from there, the experts in the law 32 and the Pharisees began to oppose him bitterly, 33 and to ask him hostile questions 34 about many things, 11:54 plotting against 35 him, to catch 36 him in something he might say.
1 tn Or “seats of honor.” The term here is plural and is not a reference only to the lead “seat of Moses” in the synagogue, but includes the front seats near the ark.
2 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.
3 tn Grk “and the greetings.”
sn The later Jewish summary of oral tradition, the Talmud, notes elaborate greetings for rabbis. The rebuke here is for pride.
4 tc Most
5 tn Grk “men.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.
6 sn In Judaism to come into contact with the dead or what is associated with them, even without knowing it, makes one unclean (Num 19:11-22; Lev 21:1-3; Mishnah, m. Demai 2:3). To Pharisees, who would have been so sensitive about contracting ceremonial uncleanness, it would have been quite a stinging rebuke to be told they caused it.
7 sn That is, an expert in the interpretation of the Mosaic law. They worked closely with the Pharisees.
8 tn For this term, see Matt 22;6; Luke 18:32; Acts 14:5; 1 Thess 2:2.
9 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Grk “said.”
11 tn Here “as well” is used to translate καί (kai) at the beginning of the statement.
12 tn Grk “men.” This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both males and females.
13 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).
14 sn The effect of what the experts in the law were doing was to deny the message of the prophets and thus honor their death by supporting those who had sought their removal. The charge that this is what previous generations did shows the problem is chronic. As T. W. Manson said, the charge here is “The only prophet you honor is a dead prophet!” (The Sayings of Jesus, 101).
15 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
16 tn Grk “you are witnesses and approve of.”
17 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
18 tn Grk “them”; the referent (the prophets) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
19 tn “Their,” i.e., the prophets.
20 tc The majority of
21 sn The expression the wisdom of God is a personification of an attribute of God that refers to his wise will.
22 tn Or “that this generation may be charged with”; or “the blood of all the prophets… may be required from this generation.” This is a warning of judgment. These people are responsible for the shedding of prophetic blood.
23 tn Or “foundation.” However, this does not suggest a time to the modern reader.
24 tn The order of the clauses in this complicated sentence has been rearranged to simplify it for the modern reader.
25 sn Gen 4:10 indicates that Abel’s blood cried out for justice.
26 sn It is not clear which Zechariah is meant here. It is probably the person mentioned in 2 Chr 24:20-25.
27 tn Or “who perished.”
28 tn Or “and the temple”; Grk “and the house,” but in this context a reference to the house of God as a place of sanctuary.
29 tn Or “required from.”
30 sn You have taken away the key to knowledge is another stinging rebuke. They had done the opposite of what they were trying to do.
31 tn Or “you tried to prevent.”
32 tn Or “the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.
33 tn Or “terribly.”
34 tn For this term see L&N 33.183.
35 tn Grk “lying in ambush against,” but this is a figurative extension of that meaning.
36 tn This term was often used in a hunting context (BDAG 455 s.v. θηρεύω; L&N 27.30). Later examples of this appear in Luke 20.
