¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast.

² tn Grk “he said to them.”

³ tn Grk “Why is it that you were looking for me?”

⁴ tn Or “I must be about my Father’s business” (so KJV, NKJV); Grk “in the [things] of my Father,” with an ellipsis. This verse involves an idiom that probably refers to the necessity of Jesus being involved in the instruction about God, given what he is doing. The most widely held view today takes this as a reference to the temple as the Father’s house. Jesus is saying that his parents should have known where he was.

⁵ tn Grk “answering, he said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “he replied.”

⁶ tn There is some discussion about the grammar of this verse in Greek. If “these” is the subject, then it reads, “These are my mother and brothers, those who.” If “these” is a nominative absolute, which is slightly more likely, then the verse more literally reads, “So my mother and brothers, they are those who.” The sense in either case is the same.

⁷ sn Hearing and doing the word of God is another important NT theme: Luke 6:47-49; Jas 1:22-25.

⁸ tn Grk “And he said to him.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated. The rest of the phrase has been simplified to “the slave replied,” with the referent (the slave) specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ tn See note on the phrase “fattened calf” in v. 23.

¹⁰ tn Grk “him”; the referent (the younger son) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the first debtor) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹² sn A measure (sometimes translated “bath”) was just over 8 gallons (about 30 liters). This is a large debt – about 875 gallons (3000 liters) of olive oil, worth 1000 denarii, over three year’s pay for a daily worker.

¹³ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the manager) has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated for stylistic reasons.

¹⁴ sn The bill was halved (sit down quickly, and write fifty). What was the steward doing? This is debated. 1) Did he simply lower the price? 2) Did he remove interest from the debt? 3) Did he remove his own commission? It is hard to be sure. Either of the latter two options is more likely. The goal was clear: The manager would be seen in a favorable light for bringing a deflationary trend to prices.

¹⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹⁶ tn Or “obey”; Grk “hear.” See the note on the phrase “respond to” in v. 29.

¹⁷ sn The concluding statement of the parable, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead, provides a hint that even Jesus’ resurrection will not help some to respond. The message of God should be good enough. Scripture is the sign to be heeded.

¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

¹⁹ tn Grk “they”; the referent (the disciples, v. 22) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁰ tn Grk “answering, they said to him.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified in the translation.

²¹ sn The question “Where, Lord?” means, “Where will the judgment take place?”

²² tn Or “corpse.”

²³ tn The same Greek term can refer to “eagles” or “vultures” (L&N 4.42; BDAG 22 s.v. ἀετός), but in this context it must mean vultures, because the gruesome image is one of dead bodies being consumed by scavengers.

sn Jesus’ answer is that when the judgment comes, the scenes of death will be obvious and so will the location of the judgment.

²⁴ tn Grk “will be gathered.” The passive construction has been translated as an active one in English.

²⁵ tn Grk “he said”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁶ sn That is, Peter’s denials will happen before the sun rises.

²⁷ sn Once again, Jesus is quite aware that Peter will deny him. Peter, however, is too nonchalant about the possibility of stumbling.