Discovery BoxLuke 3:9 
Context3:9 Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, 1 and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be 2 cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Luke 12:46
Context12:46 then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, and will cut him in two, 3 and assign him a place with the unfaithful. 4
Luke 23:53
Context23:53 Then 5 he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, 6 and placed it 7 in a tomb cut out of the rock, 8 where no one had yet been buried. 9
1 sn Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees. The imagery of an “ax already laid at the root of the trees” is vivid, connoting sudden and catastrophic judgment for the unrepentant and unfruitful. The image of “fire” serves to further heighten the intensity of the judgment referred to. It is John’s way of summoning all people to return to God with all their heart and avoid his unquenchable wrath soon to be poured out. John’s language and imagery is probably ultimately drawn from the OT where Israel is referred to as a fruitless vine (Hos 10:1-2; Jer 2:21-22) and the image of an “ax” is used to indicate God’s judgment (Ps 74:5-6; Jer 46:22).
2 tn Grk “is”; the present tense (ἐκκόπτεται, ekkoptetai) has futuristic force here.
3 tn The verb διχοτομέω (dicotomew) means to cut an object into two parts (L&N 19.19). This is an extremely severe punishment compared to the other two later punishments. To translate it simply as “punish” is too mild. If taken literally this servant is dismembered, although it is possible to view the stated punishment as hyperbole (L&N 38.12).
4 tn Or “unbelieving.” Here the translation employs the slightly more ambiguous “unfaithful,” which creates a link with the point of the parable – faithfulness versus unfaithfulness in servants. The example of this verse must be taken together with the examples of vv. 47-48 as part of a scale of reactions with the most disobedient response coming here. The fact that this servant is placed in a distinct group, unlike the one in vv. 47-48, also suggests ultimate exclusion. This is the hypocrite of Matt 24:51.
5 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
6 tn The term σινδών (sindwn) can refer to a linen cloth used either for clothing or for burial.
7 tn In the Greek text this pronoun (αὐτόν, auton) is masculine, while the previous one (αὐτό, auto) is neuter, referring to the body.
8 tn That is, cut or carved into an outcropping of natural rock, resulting in a cave-like structure (see L&N 19.26).
9 tc Codex Bezae (D), with some support from 070, one Itala ms, and the Sahidic version, adds the words, “And after he [Jesus] was laid [in the tomb], he [Joseph of Arimathea] put a stone over the tomb which scarcely twenty men could roll.” Although this addition is certainly not part of the original text of Luke, it does show how interested the early scribes were in the details of the burial and may even reflect a very primitive tradition. Matt 27:60 and Mark 15:46 record the positioning of a large stone at the door of the tomb.
tn Or “laid to rest.”
