Discovery BoxLuke 3:4 
Context3:4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
“The voice 1 of one shouting in the wilderness: 2
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make 3 his paths straight.
Luke 14:18
Context14:18 But one after another they all 4 began to make excuses. 5 The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, 6 and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me.’ 7
Luke 17:8
Context17:8 Won’t 8 the master 9 instead say to him, ‘Get my dinner ready, and make yourself ready 10 to serve me while 11 I eat and drink. Then 12 you may eat and drink’?
1 tn Or “A voice.”
2 tn Or “desert.” The syntactic position of the phrase “in the wilderness” is unclear in both Luke and the LXX. The MT favors taking it with “Prepare a way,” while the LXX takes it with “a voice shouting.” If the former, the meaning would be that such preparation should be done “in the wilderness.” If the latter, the meaning would be that the place from where John’s ministry went forth was “in the wilderness.” There are Jewish materials that support both renderings: 1QS 8:14 and 9.19-20 support the MT while certain rabbinic texts favor the LXX (see D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:290-91). While it is not absolutely necessary that a call in the wilderness led to a response in the wilderness, it is not unlikely that such would be the case. Thus, in the final analysis, the net effect between the two choices may be minimal. In any case, a majority of commentators and translations take “in the wilderness” with “The voice of one shouting” (D. L. Bock; R. H. Stein, Luke [NAC], 129; I. H. Marshall, Luke [NIGTC], 136; NIV, NRSV, NKJV, NLT, NASB, REB).
3 tn This call to “make paths straight” in this context is probably an allusion to preparation through repentance as the verb ποιέω (poiew) reappears in vv. 8, 10, 11, 12, 14.
4 tn Or “all unanimously” (BDAG 107 s.v. ἀπό 6). "One after another" is suggested by L&N 61.2.
5 sn To make excuses and cancel at this point was an insult in the culture of the time. Regardless of customs concerning responses to invitations, refusal at this point was rude.
6 sn I have bought a field. An examination of newly bought land was a common practice. It was this person’s priority.
7 sn The expression Please excuse me is probably a polite way of refusing, given the dynamics of the situation, although it is important to note that an initial acceptance had probably been indicated and it was now a bit late for a refusal. The semantic equivalent of the phrase may well be “please accept my apologies.”
8 tn The question includes a Greek particle, οὐχί (ouci), that expects a positive reply. The slave is expected to prepare a meal before eating himself.
9 tn Grk “he”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Grk “and gird yourself” (with an apron or towel, in preparation for service).
11 tn BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 2.b, “to denote contemporaneousness as long as, while… w. subjunctive… Lk 17:8.”
12 tn Grk “after these things.”
