Luke 12:37

12:37 Blessed are those slaves ¹  whom their master finds alert ²  when he returns! I tell you the truth, ³  he will dress himself to serve, ⁴  have them take their place at the table, ⁵  and will come ⁶  and wait on them! ⁷ 

Luke 13:29

13:29 Then ⁸  people ⁹  will come from east and west, and from north and south, and take their places at the banquet table ¹⁰  in the kingdom of God. ¹¹ 

Luke 16:22

16:22 “Now ¹²  the poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. ¹³  The ¹⁴  rich man also died and was buried. ¹⁵ 

Revelation 3:20-21

3:20 Listen! ¹⁶  I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into his home ¹⁷  and share a meal with him, and he with me. 3:21 I will grant the one ¹⁸  who conquers ¹⁹  permission ²⁰  to sit with me on my throne, just as I too conquered ²¹  and sat down with my Father on his throne.

¹ tn See the note on the word “slave” in 7:2.

² tn Or “watching”; Grk “awake,” but in context this is not just being awake but alert and looking out.

³ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

⁴ tn See v. 35 (same verb).

⁵ tn Grk “have them recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

⁶ tn The participle παρελθών (parelqwn) has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

⁷ sn He…will come and wait on them is a reversal of expectation, but shows that what Jesus asks for he is willing to do as well; see John 13:5 and 15:18-27, although those instances merely foreshadow what is in view here.

⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the discourse.

⁹ tn Grk “they”; the referent (people who will come to participate in the kingdom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁰ tn Grk “and recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away. The word “banquet” has been supplied to clarify for the modern reader the festive nature of the imagery The banquet imagery is a way to describe the fellowship and celebration of accompanying those who are included as the people of God at the end.

¹¹ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

¹² tn Grk “Now it happened that the.” 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.

¹³ tn Grk “to Abraham’s bosom.” The phrase “carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom” describes being gathered to the fathers and is a way to refer to heaven (Gen 15:15; 47:30; Deut 31:16).

¹⁴ tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁵ sn The shorter description suggests a different fate, which is confirmed in the following verses.

¹⁶ tn Grk “Behold.”

¹⁷ tn Grk “come in to him.”

¹⁸ tn Grk “The one who conquers, to him I will grant.”

¹⁹ tn Or “who is victorious”; traditionally, “who overcomes.”

²⁰ tn Grk “I will give [grant] to him.”

²¹ tn Or “have been victorious”; traditionally, “have overcome.”