2:1 Now 34 in those days a decree 35 went out from Caesar 36 Augustus 37 to register 38 all the empire 39 for taxes.
4:14 Then 48 Jesus, in the power of the Spirit, 49 returned to Galilee, and news about him spread 50 throughout the surrounding countryside. 51 4:15 He 52 began to teach 53 in their synagogues 54 and was praised 55 by all.
4:16 Now 56 Jesus 57 came to Nazareth, 58 where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue 59 on the Sabbath day, as was his custom. 60 He 61 stood up to read, 62
1 tn Grk “And when.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.
2 tn Grk “having brought them.” The participle ἐπιλαβόμενοι (epilabomenoi) has been taken temporally. It is also possible in English to translate this participle as a finite verb: “they brought them before the magistrates and said.”
3 tn BDAG 309 s.v. ἐκταράσσω has “agitate, cause trouble to, throw into confusion” for the meaning of this verb.
4 tn Grk “being Jews, and they are proclaiming.” The participle ὑπάρχοντες (Juparconte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
5 tn Grk “proclaiming,” but in relation to customs, “advocating” is a closer approximation to the meaning.
6 tn Or “acknowledge.”
7 sn Customs that are not lawful for us to accept or practice. Ironically, the charges are similar to those made against Jesus in Luke 23:2, where Jews argued he was “twisting” their customs. The charge has three elements: (1) a racial element (Jewish); (2) a social element (unlawful); and (3) a traditional element (not their customs).
8 tn Grk “we being Romans.” The participle οὖσιν (ousin) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle.
9 tn See BDAG 977-78 s.v. σύρω on this verb. It was used in everyday speech of dragging in fish by a net, or dragging away someone’s (presumably) dead body (Paul in Acts 14:19).
10 tn L&N 37.93 defines πολιτάρχης (politarch") as “a public official responsible for administrative matters within a town or city and a member of the ruling council of such a political unit – ‘city official’” (see also BDAG 845 s.v.).
11 tn Or “rebellion.” BDAG 72 s.v. ἀναστατόω has “disturb, trouble, upset,” but in light of the references in the following verse to political insurrection, “stirred up rebellion” would also be appropriate.
12 tn Or “the empire.” This was a way of referring to the Roman empire (BDAG 699 s.v. οἰκουμένη 2.b).
13 tn Grk “whom.” Because of the awkwardness in English of having two relative clauses follow one another (“who have stirred up trouble…whom Jason has welcomed”) the relative pronoun here (“whom”) has been replaced by the conjunction “and,” creating a clause that is grammatically coordinate but logically subordinate in the translation.
14 tn Grk “and they.” Because of the length of the Greek sentence, the conjunction καί (kai) has not been translated here. Instead a new English sentence is begun.
15 tn Or “the emperor’s” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
16 tn The word “named” is not in the Greek text, but is supplied for clarity.
17 sn Acting…saying…Jesus. The charges are serious, involving sedition (Luke 23:2). If the political charges were true, Rome would have to react.
18 tn Grk “For having found.” The participle εὑρόντες (Jeurontes) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.
19 tn L&N 22.6 has “(a figurative extension of meaning of λοιμός ‘plague,’ 23.158) one who causes all sorts of trouble – ‘troublemaker, pest.’ … ‘for we have found this man to be a troublemaker” Ac 24:5.”
20 tn Or “dissensions.” While BDAG 940 s.v. στάσις 3 translates this phrase “κινεῖν στάσεις (v.l. στάσιν) τισί create dissension among certain people Ac 24:5,” it is better on the basis of the actual results of Paul’s ministry to categorize this usage under section 2, “uprising, riot, revolt, rebellion” (cf. the use in Acts 19:40).
21 tn This term is yet another NT hapax legomenon (BDAG 894 s.v. πρωτοστάτης).
22 sn The sect of the Nazarenes is a designation for followers of Jesus the Nazarene, that is, Christians.
23 tn Grk “who.” Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative pronoun (“who”) was replaced by the third person singular pronoun (“he”) and a new sentence begun here in the translation.
24 tn Or “profane” (BDAG 173 s.v. βεβηλόω). The term was also used of profaning the Sabbath.
25 tn Or “seized.” Grk “whom also we arrested.” Because of the awkwardness of a relative clause in English at this point, the relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced by the pronoun “him” as object of the verb.
26 tn Or “serve.”
27 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
28 sn That is, the law of Moses. Paul was claiming that he legitimately worshiped the God of Israel. He was arguing that this amounted to a religious dispute rather than a political one, so that the Roman authorities need not concern themselves with it.
29 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
30 tn Grk “behold.”
31 tn Grk “this one”; the referent (the child) is supplied in the translation for clarity.
32 sn The phrase the falling and rising of many emphasizes that Jesus will bring division in the nation, as some will be judged (falling) and others blessed (rising) because of how they respond to him. The language is like Isa 8:14-15 and conceptually like Isa 28:13-16. Here is the first hint that Jesus’ coming will be accompanied with some difficulties.
33 tn Grk “and for a sign of contradiction.”
34 tn Grk “Now it happened that.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
35 sn This decree was a formal decree from the Roman Senate.
36 tn Or “from the emperor” (“Caesar” is a title for the Roman emperor).
37 sn Caesar Augustus refers to Octavian, who was Caesar from 27
38 tn Grk “that all the empire should be registered for taxes.” The passive infinitive ἀπογράφεσθαι (apografesqai) has been rendered as an active in the translation to improve the English style. The verb is regarded as a technical term for official registration in tax lists (BDAG 108 s.v. ἀπογράφω a).
39 tn Grk “the whole (inhabited) world,” but this was a way to refer to the Roman empire (L&N 1.83).
40 tn Grk “And this.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
41 sn The sign functions for the shepherds like Elizabeth’s conception served for Mary in 1:36.
42 tn Or “a feeding trough,” see Luke 2:7.
43 tn Grk “answered them all, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant and has not been translated.
44 tc A few
45 tn Grk “of whom I am not worthy.”
46 tn The term refers to the leather strap or thong used to bind a sandal. This is often viewed as a collective singular and translated as a plural, “the straps of his sandals,” but it may be more emphatic to retain the singular here.
47 sn With the Holy Spirit and fire. There are differing interpretations for this phrase regarding the number of baptisms and their nature. (1) Some see one baptism here, and this can be divided further into two options. (a) The baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire could refer to the cleansing, purifying work of the Spirit in the individual believer through salvation and sanctification, or (b) it could refer to two different results of Christ’s ministry: Some accept Christ and are baptized with the Holy Spirit, but some reject him and receive judgment. (2) Other interpreters see two baptisms here: The baptism of the Holy Spirit refers to the salvation Jesus brings at his first advent, in which believers receive the Holy Spirit, and the baptism of fire refers to the judgment Jesus will bring upon the world at his second coming. One must take into account both the image of fire and whether individual or corporate baptism is in view. A decision is not easy on either issue. The image of fire is used to refer to both eternal judgment (e.g., Matt 25:41) and the power of the Lord’s presence to purge and cleanse his people (e.g., Isa 4:4-5). The pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost, a fulfillment of this prophecy no matter which interpretation is taken, had both individual and corporate dimensions. It is possible that since Holy Spirit and fire are governed by a single preposition in Greek, the one-baptism view may be more likely, but this is not certain. Simply put, there is no consensus view in scholarship at this time on the best interpretation of this passage.
48 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
49 sn Once again Jesus is directed by the Spirit. Luke makes a point about Jesus’ association with the Spirit early in his ministry (3:22, 4:1 [2x]; 4:18).
50 tn Grk “went out.”
51 tn Grk “all the surrounding region.”
52 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
53 tn The imperfect verb has been translated ingressively.
54 sn The next incident in Luke 4:16-30 is probably to be seen as an example of this ministry of teaching in their synagogues in Galilee. Synagogues were places for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (cf. Luke 8:41). Though the origin of the synagogue is not entirely clear, it seems to have arisen in the postexilic community during the intertestamental period. A town could establish a synagogue if there were at least ten men. In normative Judaism of the NT period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present (see the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2).
55 tn Grk “being glorified.” The participle δοξαζόμενος (doxazomeno") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style. This is the only place Luke uses the verb δοξάζω (doxazw) of Jesus.
56 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
57 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
58 sn Nazareth was Jesus’ hometown (which is why he is known as Jesus of Nazareth) about 20 miles (30 km) southwest from Capernaum.
59 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.
60 tn Grk “according to his custom.”
61 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
62 sn In normative Judaism of the period, the OT scripture was read and discussed in the synagogue by the men who were present. See the Mishnah, m. Megillah 3-4; m. Berakhot 2. First came the law, then the prophets, then someone was asked to speak on the texts. Normally one stood up to read out of respect for the scriptures, and then sat down (v. 20) to expound them.