Luke 3:11

3:11 John ¹  answered them, ²  “The person who has two tunics ³  must share with the person who has none, and the person who has food must do likewise.”

Luke 5:29

5:29 Then ⁴  Levi gave a great banquet ⁵  in his house for Jesus, ⁶  and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting ⁷  at the table with them.

Luke 12:28

12:28 And if ⁸  this is how God clothes the wild grass, ⁹  which is here ¹⁰  today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, ¹¹  how much more ¹²  will he clothe you, you people of little faith!

¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Grk “Answering, he said to them.” This construction with passive participle and finite verb is pleonastic (redundant) and has been simplified in the translation to “answered them.”

³ tn Or “shirt” (a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin). The name for this garment (χιτών, citwn) presents some difficulty in translation. Most modern readers would not understand what a ‘tunic’ was any more than they would be familiar with a ‘chiton.’ On the other hand, attempts to find a modern equivalent are also a problem: “Shirt” conveys the idea of a much shorter garment that covers only the upper body, and “undergarment” (given the styles of modern underwear) is more misleading still. “Tunic” was therefore employed, but with a note to explain its nature.

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

⁵ sn A great banquet refers to an elaborate meal. Many of the events in Luke take place in the context of meal fellowship: 7:36-50; 9:12-17; 10:38-42; 11:37-54; 14:1-24; 22:7-38; 24:29-32, 41-43.

⁶ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁷ tn Grk “reclining.” This term reflects the normal practice in 1st century Jewish culture of eating a meal in a semi-reclining position. Since it is foreign to most modern readers, the translation “sitting” has been substituted.

⁷ tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.

⁸ tn Grk “grass in the field.”

⁹ tn Grk “which is in the field today.”

¹⁰ tn Grk “into the oven.” The expanded translation “into the fire to heat the oven” has been used to avoid misunderstanding; most items put into modern ovens are put there to be baked, not burned.

¹¹ sn The phrase how much more is a typical form of rabbinic argumentation, from the lesser to the greater. If God cares for the little things, surely he will care for the more important things.