Psalms 31:19

31:19 How great is your favor,

which you store up for your loyal followers!

In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter in you.

Matthew 6:19-20

Lasting Treasure

6:19 “Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 6:20 But accumulate for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.

Luke 12:33

12:33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves purses that do not wear out – a treasure in heaven that never decreases, where no thief approaches and no moth 10  destroys.

Luke 12:2

12:2 Nothing is hidden 11  that will not be revealed, 12  and nothing is secret that will not be made known.

Luke 4:8

4:8 Jesus 13  answered him, 14  “It is written, ‘You are to worship 15  the Lord 16  your God and serve only him.’” 17 

Luke 4:1

The Temptation of Jesus

4:1 Then 18  Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River 19  and was led by the Spirit 20  in 21  the wilderness, 22 

Luke 1:3-4

1:3 So 23  it seemed good to me as well, 24  because I have followed 25  all things carefully from the beginning, to write an orderly account 26  for you, most excellent Theophilus, 1:4 so that you may know for certain 27  the things you were taught. 28 


tn Or “How abundant are your blessings!”

tn Heb “for those who fear you.”

tn “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 2:12; 5:11-12; 34:21-22).

tn Heb “you work [your favor] for the ones seeking shelter in you before the sons of men.”

tn The term σής (shs) refers to moths in general. It is specifically the larvae of moths that destroy clothing by eating holes in it (L&N 4.49; BDAG 922 s.v.). See Jas 5:2, which mentions “moth-eaten” clothing.

sn The call to sell your possessions is a call to a lack of attachment to the earth and a generosity as a result.

tn Grk “give alms,” but this term is not in common use today.

tn Grk “in the heavens.”

tn Or “an unfailing treasure in heaven,” or “an inexhaustible treasure in heaven.”

10 tn The term σής (shs) refers to moths in general. It is specifically the larvae of moths that destroy clothing by eating holes in it (L&N 4.49; BDAG 922 s.v.). See Jas 5:2, which mentions “moth-eaten” clothing.

11 tn Or “concealed.”

12 sn I.e., be revealed by God. The passive voice verbs here (“be revealed,” be made known”) see the revelation as coming from God. The text is both a warning about bad things being revealed and an encouragement that good things will be made known, though the stress with the images of darkness and what is hidden in vv. 2-3 is on the attempt to conceal.

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

14 tc Most mss, especially the later ones (A Θ Ψ 0102 Ë13 Ï it), have “Get behind me, Satan!” at the beginning of the quotation. This roughly parallels Matt 4:10 (though the Lukan mss add ὀπίσω μου to read ὕπαγε ὀπίσω μου, σατανᾶ [{upage opisw mou, satana]); for this reason the words are suspect as a later addition to make the two accounts agree more precisely. A similar situation occurred in v. 5.

15 tn Or “You will prostrate yourself in worship before…” The verb προσκυνέω (proskunew) can allude not only to the act of worship but the position of the worshiper. See L&N 53.56.

16 tc Most later mss (A Θ 0102 Ï) alter the word order by moving the verb forward in the quotation. This alteration removes the emphasis from “the Lord your God” as the one to receive worship (as opposed to Satan) by moving it away from the beginning of the quotation.

17 sn A quotation from Deut 6:13. The word “only” is an interpretive expansion not found in either the Hebrew or Greek (LXX) text of the OT.

18 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate continuity with the previous topic.

19 tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

20 sn The double mention of the Spirit in this verse makes it clear that the temptation was neither the fault of Jesus nor an accident.

21 tc Most mss (A Θ Ξ Ψ 0102 Ë1,13 33 Ï lat) read εἰς τὴν ἔρημον (ei" thn erhmon, “into the wilderness”), apparently motivated by the parallel in Matt 4:1. However, the reading behind the translation (ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, en th ejrhmw) is found in overall better witnesses (Ì4vid,7,75vid א B D L W 579 892 1241 pc it).

22 tn Or “desert.”

23 tn The conjunction “so” is supplied here to bring out the force of the latter part of this Greek sentence, which the translation divides up because of English style. Luke, in compiling his account, is joining a tradition with good precedent.

24 sn When Luke says it seemed good to me as well he is not being critical of the earlier accounts, but sees himself stepping into a tradition of reporting about Jesus to which he will add uniquely a second volume on the early church when he writes the Book of Acts.

25 tn Grk “having followed”; the participle παρηκολουθηκότι (parhkolouqhkoti) has been translated causally.

26 sn An orderly account does not necessarily mean that all events are recorded in the exact chronological sequence in which they occurred, but that the account produced is an orderly one. This could include, for example, thematic or topical order rather than strict chronological order.

27 tn Or “know the truth about”; or “know the certainty of.” The issue of the context is psychological confidence; Luke’s work is trying to encourage Theophilus. So in English this is better translated as “know for certain” than “know certainty” or “know the truth,” which sounds too cognitive. “Certain” assumes the truth of the report. On this term, see Acts 2:36; 21:34; 22:30; and 25:26. The meaning “have assurance concerning” is also possible here.

28 tn Or “you heard about.” This term can refer merely to a report of information (Acts 21:24) or to instruction (Acts 18:25). The scope of Luke’s Gospel as a whole, which calls for perseverance in the faith and which assumes much knowledge of the OT, suggests Theophilus had received some instruction and was probably a believer.