Mark 4:11

4:11 He said to them, “The secret ¹  of the kingdom of God has been given ²  to you. But to those outside, everything is in parables,

Matthew 16:15

16:15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Luke 9:20

9:20 Then ³  he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter ⁴  answered, ⁵  “The Christ ⁶  of God.”

Luke 9:1

The Sending of the Twelve Apostles

9:1 After ⁷  Jesus ⁸  called ⁹  the twelve ¹⁰  together, he gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure ¹¹  diseases,

Luke 2:7

2:7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in strips of cloth ¹²  and laid him in a manger, ¹³  because there was no place for them in the inn. ¹⁴ 

¹ tn Grk “the mystery.”

² tn This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).

³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁵ tn Grk “Peter answering, said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “Peter answered.”

⁶ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁸ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ tn An aorist participle preceding an aorist main verb may indicate either contemporaneous (simultaneous) action (“When he called… he gave”) or antecedent (prior) action (“After he called… he gave”). The participle συγκαλεσάμενος (sunkalesameno") has been translated here as indicating antecedent action.

¹⁰ tc Some mss add ἀποστόλους (apostolou", “apostles”; א C* L Θ Ψ 070 0291 ˹³ 33 579 892 1241 1424 2542 pc lat) or μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ (maqhta" autou, “his disciples”; C³ al it) here, but such clarifying notes are clearly secondary.

¹¹ sn Note how Luke distinguishes between exorcisms (authority over all demons) and diseases here.

¹² sn The strips of cloth (traditionally, “swaddling cloths”) were strips of linen that would be wrapped around the arms and legs of an infant to keep the limbs protected.

¹³ tn Or “a feeding trough.”

¹⁴ tn The Greek word κατάλυμα is flexible, and usage in the LXX and NT refers to a variety of places for lodging (see BDAG 521 s.v.). Most likely Joseph and Mary sought lodging in the public accommodations in the city of Bethlehem (see J. Nolland, Luke [WBC], 1:105), which would have been crude shelters for people and animals. However, it has been suggested by various scholars that Joseph and Mary were staying with relatives in Bethlehem (e.g., C. S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 194; B. Witherington, “Birth of Jesus,” DJG, 69-70); if that were so the term would refer to the guest room in the relatives’ house, which would have been filled beyond capacity with all the other relatives who had to journey to Bethlehem for the census.