1 tn Grk “And answering, Jesus said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “Jesus answered.” Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
2 tn Grk “O.” The marker of direct address, ὦ (w), is functionally equivalent to a vocative and is represented in the translation by “you.”
3 tn Or “faithless.”
4 tn Grk “how long.”
5 tn Or “and put up with.” See Num 11:12; Isa 46:4.
6 sn The pronouns you…you are plural, indicating that Jesus is speaking to a group rather than an individual.
7 sn On the queen of the South see 1 Kgs 10:1-3 and 2 Chr 9:1-12, as well as Josephus, Ant. 8.6.5-6 (8.165-175). The South most likely refers to modern southwest Arabia, possibly the eastern part of modern Yemen, although there is an ancient tradition reflected in Josephus which identifies this geo-political entity as Ethiopia.
8 sn For the imagery of judgment, see Luke 10:13-15 and 11:19. The warnings are coming consistently now.
9 tn Grk “men”; the word here (ἀνήρ, anhr) usually indicates males or husbands, but occasionally is used in a generic sense of people in general, as is the case here (cf. BDAG 79 s.v. 1, 2). The same term, translated the same way, occurs in v. 32.
10 tn Grk “behold.”
11 sn The message of Jesus was something greater than what Solomon offered. On Jesus and wisdom, see Luke 7:35; 10:21-22; 1 Cor 1:24, 30.
13 tn See the note on the word “people” in v. 31.
14 tn Grk “at the preaching of Jonah.”
15 tn Grk “behold.”
19 tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
20 sn Is the manager dishonest because of what he just did? Or is it a reference to what he had done earlier, described in v. 1? This is a difficult question, but it seems unlikely that the master, having fired the man for prior dishonesty, would now commend those same actions. It would also be unusual for Jesus to make that point of the story the example. Thus it is more likely the reference to dishonesty goes back to the earliest events, while the commendation is for the cleverness of the former manager reflected in vv. 5-7.
21 sn Where this parable ends is debated: Does it conclude with v. 7, after v. 8a, after v. 8b, or after v. 9? Verse 8a looks as if it is still part of the story, with its clear reference to the manager, while 8b looks like Jesus’ application, since its remarks are more general. So it is most likely the parable stops after v. 8a.
22 tn Grk “sons” (an idiom).
23 tn Grk “with their own generation.”
24 tn Grk “sons.” Here the phrase “sons of light” is a reference to the righteous. The point is that those of the world often think ahead about consequences better than the righteous do.