Matthew 13:20-21

13:20 The 1  seed sown on rocky ground 2  is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 13:21 But he has no root in himself and does not endure; 3  when 4  trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.

Mark 4:16-17

4:16 These are the ones sown on rocky ground: As soon as they hear the word, they receive it with joy. 4:17 But 5  they have no root in themselves and do not endure. 6  Then, when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they fall away.

Mark 6:20

6:20 because Herod stood in awe of 7  John and protected him, since he knew that John 8  was a righteous and holy man. When Herod 9  heard him, he was thoroughly baffled, 10  and yet 11  he liked to listen to John. 12 

Luke 8:13

8:13 Those 13  on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, 14  but 15  in a time of testing 16  fall away. 17 

Luke 8:1

Jesus’ Ministry and the Help of Women

8:1 Some time 18  afterward 19  he went on through towns 20  and villages, preaching and proclaiming the good news 21  of the kingdom of God. 22  The 23  twelve were with him,

Luke 2:3

2:3 Everyone 24  went to his own town 25  to be registered.

Luke 2:2

2:2 This was the first registration, taken when Quirinius was governor 26  of Syria.

Luke 2:20

2:20 So 27  the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising 28  God for all they had heard and seen; everything was just as they had been told. 29 

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

2 tn Grk “The one sown on rocky ground, this is the one.” The next two statements like this one have this same syntactical structure.

3 tn Grk “is temporary.”

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

5 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

6 tn Grk “are temporary.”

7 tn Grk “was fearing,” “was respecting”; the imperfect tense connotes an ongoing fear or respect for John.

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

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

10 tc In place of ἠπόρει (hporei, “he was baffled”) the majority of mss (A C D Ë1 33 Ï lat sy) have ἐποίει (epoiei, “he did”; cf. KJV’s “he did many things.”) The best mss (א B L [W] Θ 2427 co) support the reading followed in the translation. The variation may be no more than a simple case of confusion of letters, since the two readings look very much alike. The verb ποιέω (poiew, “I do”) certainly occurs more frequently than ἀπορέω (aporew, “I am at a loss”), so a scribe would be more likely to write a more familiar word. Further, even though the reading ἐποίει is the harder reading in terms of the sense, it is virtually nonsensical here, rendering it most likely an unintentional corruption.

11 tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “and yet” to indicate the concessive nature of the final clause.

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

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

14 sn This time of temporary faith represented by the description believe for a while is presented rather tragically in the passage. The seed does not get a chance to do all it can.

15 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

16 tn Traditionally, “temptation.” Such a translation puts the emphasis on temptation to sin rather than testing of faith, which is what the context seems to indicate.

17 sn Fall away. On the idea of falling away and the warnings against it, see 2 Tim 3:1; Heb 3:12; Jer 3:14; Dan 9:9.

18 tn Grk “And it happened that some time.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

19 tn Καθεξῆς (Kaqexh") is a general temporal term and need not mean “soon afterward”; see Luke 1:3; Acts 3:24; 11:4; 18:23 and L&N 61.1.

20 tn Or “cities.”

21 sn The combination of preaching and proclaiming the good news is a bit emphatic, stressing Jesus’ teaching ministry on the rule of God.

22 sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

23 tn Grk “And the.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

24 tn Grk “And everyone.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

25 tn Or “hometown” (so CEV).

26 tn Or “was a minister of Syria.” This term could simply refer to an administrative role Quirinius held as opposed to being governor (Josephus, Ant. 18.4.2 [18.88]). See also Luke 2:1.

27 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the conclusion of the topic.

28 sn The mention of glorifying and praising God is the second note of praise in this section; see Luke 2:13-14.

29 tn Grk “just as [it] had been spoken to them.” This has been simplified in the English translation by making the prepositional phrase (“to them”) the subject of the passive verb.