‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance; 2
we wailed in mourning, 3 yet you did not weep.’
1 tn Grk “They are like children sitting…and calling out…who say.”
2 sn ‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance…’ The children of this generation were making the complaint (see vv. 33-34) that others were not playing the game according to the way they played the music. John and Jesus did not follow “their tune.” Jesus’ complaint was that this generation wanted things their way, not God’s.
3 tn The verb ἐθρηνήσαμεν (eqrhnhsamen) refers to the loud wailing and lamenting used to mourn the dead in public in 1st century Jewish culture.
4 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
5 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Grk “stepped out on land.”
7 tn Or “city.”
8 tn Grk “who had demons.”
9 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the demon-possessed man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 tn Or “in.”
7 sn This is what past prophets and kings had wanted very much to see, yet the fulfillment had come to the disciples. This remark is like 1 Pet 1:10-12 or Heb 1:1-2.
10 tn Or “crows.” Crows and ravens belong to the same family of birds. English uses “crow” as a general word for the family. Palestine has several indigenous members of the crow family.
11 tn Or “God gives them food to eat.” L&N 23.6 has both “to provide food for” and “to give food to someone to eat.”
13 tn The verb διχοτομέω (dicotomew) means to cut an object into two parts (L&N 19.19). This is an extremely severe punishment compared to the other two later punishments. To translate it simply as “punish” is too mild. If taken literally this servant is dismembered, although it is possible to view the stated punishment as hyperbole (L&N 38.12).
14 tn Or “unbelieving.” Here the translation employs the slightly more ambiguous “unfaithful,” which creates a link with the point of the parable – faithfulness versus unfaithfulness in servants. The example of this verse must be taken together with the examples of vv. 47-48 as part of a scale of reactions with the most disobedient response coming here. The fact that this servant is placed in a distinct group, unlike the one in vv. 47-48, also suggests ultimate exclusion. This is the hypocrite of Matt 24:51.
16 tn Grk “He”; the referent (the nobleman of v. 12, now a king) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Grk “out of your own mouth” (an idiom).
18 tn Note the contrast between this slave, described as “wicked,” and the slave in v. 17, described as “good.”
19 tn Or “exacting,” “harsh,” “hard.”
19 tn Grk “They will raze you to the ground.”
20 tn Grk “your children within you.” The phrase “[your] walls” has been supplied in the translation to clarify that the city of Jerusalem, metaphorically pictured as an individual, is spoken of here.
21 sn (Not) one stone on top of another is an idiom for total destruction.
22 tn Grk “leave stone on stone.”
23 tn Grk “the time of your visitation.” To clarify what this refers to, the words “from God” are supplied at the end of the verse, although they do not occur in the Greek text.