Discovery BoxLuke 18:13 
Context18:13 The tax collector, however, stood 1 far off and would not even look up 2 to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful 3 to me, sinner that I am!’ 4
Luke 20:10
Context20:10 When harvest time came, he sent a slave 5 to the tenants so that they would give 6 him his portion of the crop. 7 However, the tenants beat his slave 8 and sent him away empty-handed.
1 tn Grk “standing”; the Greek participle has been translated as a finite verb.
2 tn Grk “even lift up his eyes” (an idiom).
3 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).
4 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.
5 sn This slave (along with the next two) represent the prophets God sent to the nation, who were mistreated and rejected.
6 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.
7 tn Grk “from the fruit of the vineyard.”
8 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.
