Luke 9:58

9:58 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky ¹  have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” ² 

Luke 9:12

9:12 Now the day began to draw to a close, ³  so ⁴  the twelve came and said to Jesus, ⁵  “Send the crowd away, so they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging ⁶  and food, because we are in an isolated place.” ⁷ 

¹ tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).

² sn Jesus’ reply is simply this: Does the man understand the rejection he will be facing? Jesus has no home in the world (the Son of Man has no place to lay his head).

³ tn Grk “the day began to decline,” looking to the approach of sunset.

⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the disciples’ request was related to the approach of sunset.

⁵ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn That is, find someone to show them hospitality. L&N 34.61 has “find lodging,” using this verse as an example.

⁷ tn Or “in a desert” (meaning a deserted or desolate area with sparse vegetation). Here ὧδε (Jwde) has not been translated.