3:15 While the people were filled with anticipation 1 and they all wondered 2 whether perhaps John 3 could be the Christ, 4
21:34 “But be on your guard 8 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. 9
1 tn Or “with expectation.” The participle προσδοκῶντος (prosdokwnto") is taken temporally.
2 tn Grk “pondered in their hearts.”
3 tn Grk “in their hearts concerning John, (whether) perhaps he might be the Christ.” The translation simplifies the style here.
4 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”
5 tn Or “banquet.” This may not refer only to a wedding feast, because this term can have broader sense (note the usage in Esth 2:18; 9:22 LXX). However, this difference does not affect the point of the parable.
6 tn Grk “do not recline in the place of honor.” 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.
7 tn Grk “by him”; the referent (the host) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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.