¹ tn While “tax office” is sometimes given as a translation for τελώνιον (telwnion, so L&N 57.183), this could give the modern reader a false impression of an indoor office with all its associated furnishings.

sn The tax booth was a booth located on the edge of a city or town to collect taxes for trade. There was a tax booth in Capernaum, which was on the trade route from Damascus to Galilee and the Mediterranean. The “taxes” were collected on produce and goods brought into the area for sale, and were a sort of “sales tax” paid by the seller but obviously passed on to the purchaser in the form of increased prices (L&N 57.183). It was here that Jesus met Levi (also named Matthew [see Matt 9:9]) who was ultimately employed by the Romans, though perhaps more directly responsible to Herod Antipas. It was his job to collect taxes for Rome and he was thus despised by Jews who undoubtedly regarded him as a traitor.

² tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

³ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ sn Jesus instructs the man to declare what the Lord has done for him, in contrast to the usual instructions (e.g., 1:44; 5:43) to remain silent. Here in Gentile territory Jesus allowed more open discussion of his ministry. D. L. Bock (Luke [BECNT], 1:781) suggests that with few Jewish religious representatives present, there would be less danger of misunderstanding Jesus’ ministry as political.

⁶ tn Grk “was fearing,” “was respecting”; the imperfect tense connotes an ongoing fear or respect for John.

⁷ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Herod) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ tc In place of ἠπόρει (hporei, “he was baffled”) the majority of mss (A C D ˹ 33 Ï lat sy) have ἐποίει (epoiei, “he did”; cf. KJV’s “he did many things.”) The best mss (א B L [W] Θ 2427 co) support the reading followed in the translation. The variation may be no more than a simple case of confusion of letters, since the two readings look very much alike. The verb ποιέω (poiew, “I do”) certainly occurs more frequently than ἀπορέω (aporew, “I am at a loss”), so a scribe would be more likely to write a more familiar word. Further, even though the reading ἐποίει is the harder reading in terms of the sense, it is virtually nonsensical here, rendering it most likely an unintentional corruption.

tn Or “terribly disturbed,” “rather perplexed.” The verb ἀπορέω (aporew) means “to be in perplexity, with the implication of serious anxiety” (L&N 32.9).

¹⁰ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “and yet” to indicate the concessive nature of the final clause.

¹¹ tn Grk “him”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

¹³ tn The words “to do so” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity and stylistic reasons.

¹⁴ tn Grk “him.”

¹⁵ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.

¹⁶ tn Or “commanded” (often with the implication of a threat, L&N 33.331).

¹⁷ sn Unclean spirit refers to an evil spirit.

¹⁸ tn The words “the money” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. Direct objects were often omitted in Greek when clear from the context.

¹⁹ sn The call for sacrifice comes with a promise of eternal reward: You will have treasure in heaven. Jesus’ call is a test to see how responsive the man is to God’s direction through him. Will he walk the path God’s agent calls him to walk? For a rich person who got it right, see Zacchaeus in Luke 19:1-10.

²⁰ tn Or “chief priests and scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

²¹ tn Or “The chief priests and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

²² tn Grk “how they could destroy him.”

²³ sn A quotation from Deut 4:35.

²⁴ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

²⁵ sn The Jews most assuredly wanted to put Jesus to death, but they lacked the authority to do so. For this reason they handed him over to Pilate in hopes of securing a death sentence. The Romans kept close control of the death penalty in conquered territories to prevent it being used to execute Roman sympathizers.

²⁶ tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

sn See the note on Christ in 8:29.

²⁷ sn Mark’s wording suggests that both of the criminals spoke abusively to him. If so, one of them quickly changed his attitude toward Jesus (see Luke 23:40-43).