Luke 21:1

The Widow’s Offering

21:1 Jesus ¹  looked up ²  and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box. ³ 

Luke 9:16

9:16 Then ⁴  he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks ⁵  and broke them. He gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

Luke 19:5

19:5 And when Jesus came to that place, he looked up ⁶  and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, ⁷  because I must ⁸  stay at your house today.” ⁹ 

¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent has been specified in the translation for clarity. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² tn Grk “looking up, he saw.” The participle ἀναβλέψας (anableya") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

³ 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.

⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁵ sn Gave thanks adds a note of gratitude to the setting. The scene is like two other later meals: Luke 22:19 and 24:30. Jesus gives thanks to God “with respect to” the provision of food. The disciples learn how Jesus is the mediator of blessing. John 6 speaks of him in this scene as picturing the “Bread of Life.”

⁷ tc Most mss (A [D] W [Ψ] ˹³ 33^vid Ï latt) read “Jesus looking up, saw him and said.” The words “saw him and” are not in א B L T Θ Ë¹ 579 1241 2542 pc co. Both the testimony for the omission and the natural tendency toward scribal expansion argue for the shorter reading here.

⁸ tn Grk “hastening, come down.” σπεύσας (speusa") has been translated as a participle of manner.

⁹ sn I must stay. Jesus revealed the necessity of his associating with people like Zacchaeus (5:31-32). This act of fellowship indicated acceptance.

¹⁰ sn On today here and in v. 9, see the note on today in 2:11.