Luke 1:1

Explanatory Preface

1:1 Now ¹  many have undertaken to compile an account ²  of the things ³  that have been fulfilled ⁴  among us,

Luke 1:63

1:63 He ⁵  asked for a writing tablet ⁶  and wrote, ⁷  “His name is John.” And they were all amazed. ⁸ 

Luke 2:45

2:45 When ⁹  they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem ¹⁰  to look for him.

Luke 5:2

5:2 He ¹¹  saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets.

Luke 10:32-33

10:32 So too a Levite, when he came up to ¹²  the place and saw him, ¹³  passed by on the other side. 10:33 But ¹⁴  a Samaritan ¹⁵  who was traveling ¹⁶  came to where the injured man ¹⁷  was, and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him. ¹⁸ 

Luke 11:38

11:38 The ¹⁹  Pharisee was astonished when he saw that Jesus ²⁰  did not first wash his hands ²¹  before the meal.

Luke 11:43

11:43 Woe to you Pharisees! You love the best seats ²²  in the synagogues ²³  and elaborate greetings ²⁴  in the marketplaces!

Luke 14:11

14:11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but ²⁵  the one who humbles ²⁶  himself will be exalted.”

Luke 16:20

16:20 But at his gate lay ²⁷  a poor man named Lazarus ²⁸  whose body was covered with sores, ²⁹ 

Luke 20:18

20:18 Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, ³⁰  and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.” ³¹ 

Luke 23:30

23:30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ³²  ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ ³³ 

¹ tn Grk “Since” or “Because.” This begins a long sentence that extends through v. 4. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence and the tendency of contemporary English style to use shorter sentences, the Greek sentence has been divided up into shorter English sentences in the translation.

² tn This is sometimes translated “narrative,” but the term itself can refer to an oral or written account. It is the verb “undertaken” which suggests a written account, since it literally is “to set one’s hand” to something (BDAG 386 s.v. ἐπιχειρέω). “Narrative” is too specific, denoting a particular genre of work for the accounts that existed in the earlier tradition. Not all of that material would have been narrative.

³ tn Or “events.”

⁴ tn Or “have been accomplished.” Given Luke’s emphasis on divine design (e.g., Luke 24:43-47) a stronger sense (“fulfilled”) is better than a mere reference to something having taken place (“accomplished”).

⁵ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁶ sn The writing tablet requested by Zechariah would have been a wax tablet.

⁷ tn Grk “and wrote, saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant is English and has not been translated.

⁸ sn The response, they were all amazed, expresses a mixture of surprise and reflection in this setting where they were so certain of what the child’s name would be.

⁹ tn Grk “And when.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁰ sn The return to Jerusalem would have taken a second day, since they were already one day’s journey away.

¹³ tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

¹⁷ tn Here κατά (kata) has been translated “up to”; it could also be translated “upon.”

¹⁸ tn The clause containing the aorist active participle ἐλθών (elqwn) suggests that the Levite came up to the place, took a look, and then moved on.

²¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context between the previous characters (considered by society to be examples of piety and religious duty) and a hated Samaritan.

²² tn This is at the beginning of the clause, in emphatic position in the Greek text.

²³ tn The participle ὁδεύων (Jodeuwn) has been translated as an adjectival participle (cf. NAB, NASB, TEV); it could also be taken temporally (“while he was traveling,” cf. NRSV, NIV).

²⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the injured man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁵ tn “Him” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The verb means “to feel compassion for,” and the object of the compassion is understood.

²⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

²⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²⁷ tn The words “his hands” are not in the Greek text, but have been supplied for clarity.

²⁹ tn Or “seats of honor.” The term here is plural and is not a reference only to the lead “seat of Moses” in the synagogue, but includes the front seats near the ark.

³⁰ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.

³¹ tn Grk “and the greetings.”

³³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context, which involves the reversal of expected roles.

³⁴ sn The point of the statement the one who humbles himself will be exalted is humility and the reversal imagery used to underline it is common: Luke 1:52-53; 6:21; 10:15; 18:14.

³⁷ tn The passive verb ἐβέβλητο (ebeblhto) does not indicate how Lazarus got there. Cf. BDAG 163 s.v. βάλλω 1.b, “he lay before the door”; Josephus, Ant. 9.10.2 (9.209).

³⁸ sn This is the one time in all the gospels that a figure in a parable is mentioned by name. It will become important later in the account.

³⁹ tn Or “was covered with ulcers.” The words “whose body” are implied in the context (L&N 23.180).

⁴¹ tn On this term, see BDAG 972 s.v. συνθλάω.

⁴² tn Grk “on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”

⁴⁵ sn The figure of crying out to the mountains ‘Fall on us!’ (appealing to creation itself to hide them from God’s wrath), means that a time will come when people will feel they are better off dead (Hos 10:8).

⁴⁶ sn An allusion to Hos 10:8 (cf. Rev 6:16).