Discovery BoxLuke 12:54-57 
Context12:54 Jesus 1 also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, 2 you say at once, ‘A rainstorm 3 is coming,’ and it does. 12:55 And when you see the south wind 4 blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and there is. 12:56 You hypocrites! 5 You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but how can you not know how 6 to interpret the present time?
12:57 “And 7 why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?
1 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “also” and δέ (de) has not been translated.
2 sn A cloud rising in the west refers to moisture coming from the Mediterranean Sea.
3 tn The term ὄμβρος (ombro") refers to heavy rain, such as in a thunderstorm (L&N 14.12).
4 sn The south wind comes from the desert, and thus brings scorching heat.
5 sn In Luke, the term hypocrites occurs here, in 6:42, and in 13:15.
6 tc Most
7 tn Jesus calls for some personal reflection. However, this unit probably does connect to the previous one – thus the translation of δέ (de) here as “And” – to make a good spiritual assessment, thus calling for application to the spiritual, rather than personal, realm.
