Discovery BoxLuke 8:8 
Context8:8 But 1 other seed fell on good soil and grew, 2 and it produced a hundred times as much grain.” 3 As he said this, 4 he called out, “The one who has ears to hear had better listen!” 5
Luke 14:35
Context14:35 It is of no value 6 for the soil or for the manure pile; it is to be thrown out. 7 The one who has ears to hear had better listen!” 8
Luke 17:2
Context17:2 It would be better for him to have a millstone 9 tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea 10 than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 11
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in the final stage of the parable.
2 tn Grk “when it grew, after it grew.”
3 sn Unlike the parallel accounts in Matt 13:8 and Mark 4:8, there is no distinction in yield in this version of the parable.
4 tn Grk “said these things.”
5 tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 14:35).
6 tn Or “It is not useful” (L&N 65.32).
7 tn Grk “they throw it out.” The third person plural with unspecified subject is a circumlocution for the passive here.
8 tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8).
9 tn This term refers to the heavy upper stone of a grinding mill (L&N 7.70; BDAG 660 s.v. μυλικός).
sn The punishment of drowning with a heavy weight attached is extremely gruesome and reflects Jesus’ views concerning those who cause others who believe in him to sin.
10 tn Grk “if a millstone were tied…and he were thrown.” The conditional construction in Greek has been translated by English infinitives: “to have… and be thrown.”
11 tn Or “to stumble.” This verb, σκανδαλίσῃ (skandalish), has the same root as the noun σκάνδαλον (skandalon) in 17:1, translated “stumbling blocks”; this wordplay is difficult to reproduce in English. It is possible that the primary cause of offense here would be leading disciples (“little ones”) astray in a similar fashion.
