Luke 8:12

8:12 Those along the path are the ones who have heard; then the devil ¹  comes and takes away the word ²  from their hearts, so that they may not believe ³  and be saved.

Hebrews 2:1

Warning Against Drifting Away

2:1 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

James 1:23-24

1:23 For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someone ⁴  who gazes at his own face ⁵  in a mirror. 1:24 For he gazes at himself and then goes out and immediately forgets ⁶  what sort of person he was.

¹ sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for the devil here: Matt 13:19 has “the evil one,” while Mark 4:15 has “Satan.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.

² sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.

³ tn The participle πιστεύσαντες (pisteusante") has been translated as a finite verb here. It may be regarded as an adverbial participle of attendant circumstance. From a logical standpoint the negative must govern both the participle and the finite verb.

⁴ tn The word for “man” or “individual” is ἀνήρ (anhr), which often means “male” or “man (as opposed to woman).” However, as BDAG 79 s.v. 2 says, here it is “equivalent to τὶς someone, a person.”

⁵ tn Grk “the face of his beginning [or origin].”

⁶ tn Grk “and he has gone out and immediately has forgotten.”