1:50 from 1 generation to generation he is merciful 2 to those who fear 3 him.
7:31 “To what then should I compare the people 4 of this generation, and what are they like?
11:29 As 6 the crowds were increasing, Jesus 7 began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it looks for a sign, 8 but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 9
1:48 because he has looked upon the humble state of his servant. 15
For 16 from now on 17 all generations will call me blessed, 18
1 tn Grk “and from.” Here καί (kai) has been translated by a semicolon to improve the English style.
2 sn God’s mercy refers to his “loyal love” or “steadfast love,” expressed in faithful actions, as the rest of the psalm illustrates.
3 tn That is, “who revere.” This refers to those who show God a reverential respect for his sovereignty.
4 tn Grk “men,” but this is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"). The comparison that follows in vv. 32-34 describes “this generation,” not Jesus and John.
7 sn The Son of Man’s suffering and rejection by this generation is another “it is necessary” type of event in God’s plan (Luke 4:43; 24:7, 26, 44) and the fifth passion prediction in Luke’s account (9:22, 44; 12:50; 13:32-33; for the last, see 18:32-33).
10 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
11 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 sn The mention of a sign alludes back to Luke 11:16. Given what Jesus had done, nothing would be good enough. This leads to the rebuke that follows.
13 sn As the following comparisons to Solomon and Jonah show, in the present context the sign of Jonah is not an allusion to Jonah being three days in the belly of the fish, but to Jesus’ teaching about wisdom and repentance.
13 tn Or “that this generation may be charged with”; or “the blood of all the prophets… may be required from this generation.” This is a warning of judgment. These people are responsible for the shedding of prophetic blood.
14 tn Or “foundation.” However, this does not suggest a time to the modern reader.
15 tn The order of the clauses in this complicated sentence has been rearranged to simplify it for the modern reader.
16 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
17 sn This is one of the hardest verses in the gospels to interpret. Various views exist for what generation means. (1) Some take it as meaning “race” and thus as an assurance that the Jewish race (nation) will not pass away. But it is very questionable that the Greek term γενεά (genea) can have this meaning. Two other options are possible. (2) Generation might mean “this type of generation” and refer to the generation of wicked humanity. Then the point is that humanity will not perish, because God will redeem it. Or (3) generation may refer to “the generation that sees the signs of the end” (vv. 25-26), who will also see the end itself. In other words, once the movement to the return of Christ starts, all the events connected with it happen very quickly, in rapid succession.
19 tn See the note on the word “servant” in v. 38.
20 tn Grk “for behold.”
21 sn From now on is a favorite phrase of Luke’s, showing how God’s acts change things from this point on (5:10; 12:52; 22:18, 69; Acts 18:6).
22 sn Mary is seen here as an example of an object of God’s grace (blessed) for all generations.
22 tn Grk “to the Ninevites.” What the Ninevites experienced was Jonah’s message (Jonah 3:4, 10; 4:1).
23 tn The repetition of the words “a sign” are not in the Greek text, but are implied and are supplied here for clarity.
24 tc Only the Western ms D and a few Itala
25 sn Gen 4:10 indicates that Abel’s blood cried out for justice.
26 sn It is not clear which Zechariah is meant here. It is probably the person mentioned in 2 Chr 24:20-25.
27 tn Or “who perished.”
28 tn Or “and the temple”; Grk “and the house,” but in this context a reference to the house of God as a place of sanctuary.
29 tn Or “required from.”
28 tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “Jesus answered.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
29 tn Grk “O.” The marker of direct address, ὦ (w), is functionally equivalent to a vocative and is represented in the translation by “you.”
30 tn Or “faithless.”
31 tn Grk “how long.”
32 tn Or “and put up with.” See Num 11:12; Isa 46:4.
33 sn The pronouns you…you are plural, indicating that Jesus is speaking to a group rather than an individual.
31 sn On the queen of the South see 1 Kgs 10:1-3 and 2 Chr 9:1-12, as well as Josephus, Ant. 8.6.5-6 (8.165-175). The South most likely refers to modern southwest Arabia, possibly the eastern part of modern Yemen, although there is an ancient tradition reflected in Josephus which identifies this geo-political entity as Ethiopia.
32 sn For the imagery of judgment, see Luke 10:13-15 and 11:19. The warnings are coming consistently now.
33 tn Grk “men”; the word here (ἀνήρ, anhr) usually indicates males or husbands, but occasionally is used in a generic sense of people in general, as is the case here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 1, 2). The same term, translated the same way, occurs in v. 32.
34 tn Grk “behold.”
35 sn The message of Jesus was something greater than what Solomon offered. On Jesus and wisdom, see Luke 7:35; 10:21-22; 1 Cor 1:24, 30.
34 tn See the note on the word “people” in v. 31.
35 tn Grk “at the preaching of Jonah.”
36 tn Grk “behold.”
37 tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
38 sn Is the manager dishonest because of what he just did? Or is it a reference to what he had done earlier, described in v. 1? This is a difficult question, but it seems unlikely that the master, having fired the man for prior dishonesty, would now commend those same actions. It would also be unusual for Jesus to make that point of the story the example. Thus it is more likely the reference to dishonesty goes back to the earliest events, while the commendation is for the cleverness of the former manager reflected in vv. 5-7.
39 sn Where this parable ends is debated: Does it conclude with v. 7, after v. 8a, after v. 8b, or after v. 9? Verse 8a looks as if it is still part of the story, with its clear reference to the manager, while 8b looks like Jesus’ application, since its remarks are more general. So it is most likely the parable stops after v. 8a.
40 tn Grk “sons” (an idiom).
41 tn Grk “with their own generation.”
42 tn Grk “sons.” Here the phrase “sons of light” is a reference to the righteous. The point is that those of the world often think ahead about consequences better than the righteous do.