¹ sn The strips of cloth (traditionally, “swaddling cloths”) were strips of linen that would be wrapped around the arms and legs of an infant to keep the limbs protected.

² tn Or “a feeding trough.”

³ tn The Greek word κατάλυμα is flexible, and usage in the LXX and NT refers to a variety of places for lodging (see BDAG 521 s.v.). Most likely Joseph and Mary sought lodging in the public accommodations in the city of Bethlehem (see J. Nolland, Luke [WBC], 1:105), which would have been crude shelters for people and animals. However, it has been suggested by various scholars that Joseph and Mary were staying with relatives in Bethlehem (e.g., C. S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 194; B. Witherington, “Birth of Jesus,” DJG, 69-70); if that were so the term would refer to the guest room in the relatives’ house, which would have been filled beyond capacity with all the other relatives who had to journey to Bethlehem for the census.

sn There was no place for them in the inn. There is no drama in how this is told. There is no search for a variety of places to stay or a heartless innkeeper. (Such items are later, nonbiblical embellishments.) Bethlehem was not large and there was simply no other place to stay. The humble surroundings of the birth are ironic in view of the birth’s significance.

⁴ tn Grk “and took.”

⁵ tn Grk “the bread of presentation.”

sn The sacred bread refers to the “bread of presentation,” “showbread,” or “bread of the Presence,” twelve loaves prepared weekly for the tabernacle and later, the temple. See Exod 25:30; 35:13; 39:36; Lev 24:5-9. Each loaf was made from 3 quarts (3.5 liters; Heb “two tenths of an ephah”) of fine flour. The loaves were placed on a table in the holy place of the tabernacle, on the north side opposite the lampstand (Exod 26:35). It was the duty of the priest each Sabbath to place fresh bread on the table; the loaves from the previous week were then given to Aaron and his descendants, who ate them in the holy place, because they were considered sacred (Lev 24:9). These were the loaves that David requested from Ahimelech for himself and his men (1 Sam 21:1-6; cf. also Matt 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28).

⁶ sn Jesus’ response to the charge that what his disciples were doing was not lawful is one of analogy: ‘If David did it for his troops in a time of need, then so can I with my disciples.’ Jesus is clear that on the surface there was a violation here. What is not as clear is whether he is arguing a “greater need” makes this permissible or that this was within the intention of the law all along.

⁷ tc Most mss (א A D Θ Ë¹³ 33 Ï) read “also” here, but this looks like it is a reading made to agree with Mark 2:26. A better combination of witnesses (B L W Ψ Ë¹ lat sa) lacks the word “also.”

⁸ tc The Western ms D adds here a full saying that reads, “On the same day, as he saw someone working on the Sabbath he said, ‘Man, if you know what you are doing, you are blessed, but if you do not know, you are cursed and a violator of the law.’” Though this is not well enough attested to be considered authentic, many commentators have debated whether this saying might go back to Jesus. Most reject it, though it does have wording that looks like Rom 2:25, 27 and Jas 2:11.

sn See 1 Sam 21:1-6.

⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the boy) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹¹ sn At this point the boy was thrown down in another convulsion by the demon. See L&N 23.168.

¹² tn See L&N 23.167-68, where the second verb συσπαράσσω (susparassw) is taken to mean the violent shaking associated with the convulsions, thus the translation here “and shook him with convulsions.”

¹³ tn Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).

¹⁴ sn This is a reference to an evil spirit. See Luke 4:33.

¹⁵ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁶ tn Grk “two denarii.”

sn The two silver coins were denarii. A denarius was a silver coin worth about a day’s pay for a laborer; this would be an amount worth about two days’ pay.

¹⁷ tn Grk “when I come back”; the words “this way” are part of an English idiom used to translate the phrase.

¹⁸ tn Grk “but answering, he said.” This is somewhat redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “but he answered.”

¹⁹ tn Or simply, “have served,” but in the emotional context of the older son’s outburst the translation given is closer to the point.

²⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “yet” to bring out the contrast indicated by the context.

²¹ sn You never gave me even a goat. The older son’s complaint was that the generous treatment of the younger son was not fair: “I can’t get even a little celebration with a basic food staple like a goat!”

²² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

²³ tc Some important Western mss (D it) lack the words from this point to the end of v. 20. However, the authenticity of these verses is very likely. The inclusion of the second cup is the harder reading, since it differs from Matt 26:26-29 and Mark 14:22-25, and it has much better ms support. It is thus easier to explain the shorter reading as a scribal accident or misunderstanding. Further discussion of this complicated problem (the most difficult in Luke) can be found in TCGNT 148-50.

²⁴ sn The language of the phrase given for you alludes to Christ’s death in our place. It is a powerful substitutionary image of what he did for us.