Luke 1:12

1:12 And Zechariah, visibly shaken when he saw the angel, was seized with fear.

Luke 19:41

Jesus Weeps for Jerusalem under Judgment

19:41 Now when Jesus approached and saw the city, he wept over it,

Luke 21:1-2

The Widow’s Offering

21:1 Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box. 21:2 He also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.


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

tn Or “and he was afraid”; Grk “fear fell upon him.” Fear is common when supernatural agents appear (1:29-30, 65; 2:9; 5:8-10; 9:34; 24:38; Exod 15:16; Judg 6:22-23; 13:6, 22; 2 Sam 6:9).

tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

tn Grk “he.”

sn When Jesus approached and saw the city. This is the last travel note in Luke’s account (the so-called Jerusalem journey), as Jesus approached and saw the city before entering it.

tn Grk “He”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

tn Grk “looking up, he saw.” The participle ἀναβλέψας (anableya") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

tn On the term γαζοφυλάκιον (gazofulakion), often translated “treasury,” see BDAG 186 s.v., which states, “For Mk 12:41, 43; Lk 21:1 the mng. contribution box or receptacle is attractive. Acc. to Mishnah, Shekalim 6, 5 there were in the temple 13 such receptacles in the form of trumpets. But even in these passages the general sense of ‘treasury’ is prob., for the contributions would go [into] the treasury via the receptacles.” Based upon the extra-biblical evidence (see sn following), however, the translation opts to refer to the actual receptacles and not the treasury itself.

sn These two small copper coins were lepta (sing. “lepton”), the smallest and least valuable coins in circulation in Palestine, worth one-half of a quadrans or 1/128 of a denarius, or about six minutes of an average daily wage. This was next to nothing in value.