A song, a psalm written by the Korahites; for the music director; according to the machalath-leannoth style; 2 a well-written song 3 by Heman the Ezrachite.
88:1 O Lord God who delivers me! 4
By day I cry out
and at night I pray before you. 5
18:1 Then 12 Jesus 13 told them a parable to show them they should always 14 pray and not lose heart. 15
1 sn Psalm 88. The psalmist cries out in pain to the Lord, begging him for relief from his intense and constant suffering. The psalmist regards God as the ultimate cause of his distress, but nevertheless clings to God in hope.
2 tn The Hebrew phrase מָחֲלַת לְעַנּוֹת (makhalat lÿ’annot) may mean “illness to afflict.” Perhaps it refers to a particular style of music, a tune title, or a musical instrument. The term מָחֲלַת also appears in the superscription of Ps 53.
3 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. The word is derived from a verb meaning “to be prudent; to be wise.” Various options are: “a contemplative song,” “a song imparting moral wisdom,” or “a skillful [i.e., well-written] song.” The term occurs in the superscriptions of Pss 32, 42, 44, 45, 52-55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142, as well as in Ps 47:7.
4 tn Heb “O
5 tn Heb “[by] day I cry out, in the night before you.”
6 tn Grk “living with her husband for seven years from her virginity and she was a widow for eighty four years.” The chronology of the eighty-four years is unclear, since the final phrase could mean “she was widowed until the age of eighty-four” (so BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 1.b.α). However, the more natural way to take the syntax is as a reference to the length of her widowhood, the subject of the clause, in which case Anna was about 105 years old (so D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:251-52; I. H. Marshall, Luke, [NIGTC], 123-24).
7 sn The statements about Anna worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day make her extreme piety clear.
8 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
9 sn The prayers have to do with the righteous who cry out to him to receive justice. The context assumes the righteous are persecuted.
10 tn The emphatic particles in this sentence indicate that God will indeed give justice to the righteous.
11 sn The issue of delay has produced a whole host of views for this verse. (1) Does this assume provision to endure in the meantime? Or (2) does it mean God restricts the level of persecution until he comes? Either view is possible.
12 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
13 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 tn Or “should pray at all times” (L&N 67.88).
15 sn This is one of the few parables that comes with an explanation at the start: …they should always pray and not lose heart. It is part of Luke’s goal in encouraging Theophilus (1:4).
16 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
17 tn Or “the angel of the Lord.” See the note on the word “Lord” in 1:11.
18 tn Or “stood in front of.”
19 tn Grk “they feared a great fear” (a Semitic idiom which intensifies the main idea, in this case their fear).
20 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.
21 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.
22 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.
23 tn Grk “having followed”; the participle παρηκολουθηκότι (parhkolouqhkoti) has been translated causally.
24 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.