1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
2 sn Then he took a cup. Only Luke mentions two cups at this meal; the other synoptic gospels (Matt, Mark) mention only one. This is the first of the two. It probably refers to the first cup in the traditional Passover meal, which today has four cups (although it is debated whether the fourth cup was used in the 1st century).
3 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
4 tn Grk “he fell on his face” (an idiom for complete prostration).
5 sn And thanked him. This action recognized God’s healing work through Jesus.
6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the introduction of a parenthetical comment.
7 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. The comment that the man was a Samaritan means that to most Jews of Jesus’ day he would have been despised as a half-breed and a heretic. The note adds a touch of irony to the account (v. 18).
5 tn Or “stood by himself and prayed like this.” The prepositional phrase πρὸς ἑαυτόν (pros eauton, “to/about himself”) could go with either the aorist participle σταθείς (staqeis, “stood”) or with the imperfect verb προσηύχετο (proshuceto, “he prayed”). If taken with the participle, then the meaning would seem at first glance to be: “stood ‘by himself’,” or “stood ‘alone’.” Now it is true that πρός can mean “by” or “with” when used with intransitive verbs such as ἵστημι ({isthmi, “I stand”; cf. BDAG 874 s.v. πρός 2.a), but πρὸς ἑαυτόν together never means “by himself” or “alone” in biblical Greek. On the other hand, if πρὸς ἑαυτόν is taken with the verb, then two different nuances emerge, both of which highlight in different ways the principal point Jesus seems to be making about the arrogance of this religious leader: (1) “prayed to himself,” but not necessarily silently, or (2) “prayed about himself,” with the connotation that he prayed out loud, for all to hear. Since his prayer is really a review of his moral résumé, directed both at advertising his own righteousness and exposing the perversion of the tax collector, whom he actually mentions in his prayer, the latter option seems preferable. If this is the case, then the Pharisee’s mention of God is really nothing more than a formality.
6 sn The Pharisee’s prayer started out as a thanksgiving psalm to God, but the praise ended up not being about God.
7 tn Here the plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is used as a generic and can refer to both men and women (NASB, NRSV, “people”; NLT, “everyone else”; NAB, “the rest of humanity”).
8 tn Or “swindlers” (BDAG 134 s.v. ἅρπαξ 2); see also Isa 10:2; Josephus, J. W. 6.3.4 [6.203].
9 sn A general category for “sinners” (1 Cor 6:9; Lev 19:3).
10 sn Note what the Pharisee assumes about the righteousness of this tax collector by grouping him with extortionists, unrighteous people, and adulterers.
7 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
8 tc Some important Western
9 sn The language of the phrase given for you alludes to Christ’s death in our place. It is a powerful substitutionary image of what he did for us.