21:34 “But be on your guard 15 so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day close down upon you suddenly like a trap. 16
1 sn The allusion to Sodom, the most wicked of OT cities from Gen 19:1-29, shows that to reject the current message is even more serious than the worst sins of the old era and will result in more severe punishment. The noun Sodom is in emphatic position in the Greek text.
2 tn Or “city.”
3 sn The phrase by chance adds an initial note of hope and fortune to the expectation in the story.
4 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context between the priest’s expected action (helping the victim) and what he really did.
5 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the injured man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 sn It is not said why the priest passed by and refused to help. It is not relevant to the point of the parable that no help was given in the emergency situation.
7 sn The text suggests that the priest went out of his way (on the other side) not to get too close to the scene.
5 tn Grk “In that hour.”
6 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Grk “and sicknesses,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
8 tn Or “and bestowed (sight) on.”
7 sn This widow was not necessarily old, since many people lived only into their thirties in the 1st century.
8 tn Or “town.”
9 tn This is an iterative imperfect; the widow did this on numerous occasions.
9 tn Grk “watch out for yourselves.”
10 sn Or like a thief, see Luke 12:39-40. The metaphor of a trap is a vivid one. Most modern English translations traditionally place the words “like a trap” at the end of v. 34, completing the metaphor. In the Greek text (and in the NRSV and REB) the words “like a trap” are placed at the beginning of v. 35. This does not affect the meaning.
11 tn Grk “because behold.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this clause has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
12 tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”
13 sn Mistreatment of the prophets is something Luke often notes (Luke 11:47-51; Acts 7:51-52).
13 sn Most of the roofs in the NT were flat roofs made of pounded dirt, sometimes mixed with lime or stones, supported by heavy wooden beams. They generally had an easy means of access, either a sturdy wooden ladder or stone stairway, sometimes on the outside of the house.
14 sn The swiftness and devastation of the judgment will require a swift escape. There is no time to come down from one’s roof and pick up anything from inside one’s home.
15 tn Here and in v. 49 the Greek text reads ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), while the parallel account in Matt 7:24-27 uses ἀνήρ (anhr) in vv. 24 and 26.
16 tn There are actually two different Greek verbs used here: “who dug (ἔσκαψεν, eskayen) and dug deep (ἐβάθυνεν, ebaqunen).” Jesus is placing emphasis on the effort to which the man went to prepare his foundation.
17 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
18 sn The picture here is of a river overflowing its banks and causing flooding and chaos.
19 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in the context.
20 tc Most