1 tn Grk “But what.” Here ἀλλά (alla, a strong contrastive in Greek) produces a somewhat awkward sense in English, and has not been translated. The same situation occurs at the beginning of v. 26.
2 tn Or “soft”; see L&N 79.100.
3 sn The reference to fancy clothes makes the point that John was not rich or powerful, in that he did not come from the wealthy classes.
4 tn See L&N 88.253, “to revel, to carouse, to live a life of luxury.”
5 tn Or “palaces.”
6 tn This is a first class condition in the Greek text.
7 tn Grk “grass in the field.”
8 tn Grk “which is in the field today.”
9 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.
10 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.