Discovery BoxLuke 17:2 
Context17:2 It would be better for him to have a millstone 1 tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea 2 than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3
Luke 17:6
Context17:6 So 4 the Lord replied, 5 “If 6 you had faith the size of 7 a mustard seed, you could say to this black mulberry 8 tree, ‘Be pulled out by the roots and planted in the sea,’ 9 and it would obey 10 you.
Luke 21:25
Context21:25 “And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, 11 and on the earth nations will be in distress, 12 anxious 13 over the roaring of the sea and the surging waves.
1 tn This term refers to the heavy upper stone of a grinding mill (L&N 7.70; BDAG 660 s.v. μυλικός).
sn The punishment of drowning with a heavy weight attached is extremely gruesome and reflects Jesus’ views concerning those who cause others who believe in him to sin.
2 tn Grk “if a millstone were tied…and he were thrown.” The conditional construction in Greek has been translated by English infinitives: “to have… and be thrown.”
3 tn Or “to stumble.” This verb, σκανδαλίσῃ (skandalish), has the same root as the noun σκάνδαλον (skandalon) in 17:1, translated “stumbling blocks”; this wordplay is difficult to reproduce in English. It is possible that the primary cause of offense here would be leading disciples (“little ones”) astray in a similar fashion.
4 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
5 tn Grk “said.”
6 tn This is a mixed condition, with ἄν (an) in the apodosis.
7 tn Grk “faith as,” “faith like.”
8 sn A black mulberry tree is a deciduous fruit tree that grows about 20 ft (6 m) tall and has black juicy berries. This tree has an extensive root system, so to pull it up would be a major operation.
9 tn The passives here (ἐκριζώθητι and φυτεύθητι, ekrizwqhti and futeuqhti) are probably a circumlocution for God performing the action (the so-called divine passive, see ExSyn 437-38). The issue is not the amount of faith (which in the example is only very tiny), but its presence, which can accomplish impossible things. To cause a tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea is impossible. The expression is a rhetorical idiom. It is like saying a camel can go through the eye of a needle (Luke 18:25).
10 tn The verb is aorist, though it looks at a future event, another rhetorical touch to communicate certainty of the effect of faith.
11 sn Signs in the sun and moon and stars are cosmic signs that turn our attention to the end and the Son of Man’s return for the righteous. OT imagery is present: See Isa 13:9-10; 24:18-20; 34:4; Ezek 32:7-8; Joel 2:1, 30-31; 3:15.
12 tn Grk “distress of nations.”
13 tn Or “in consternation” (L&N 32.9).
